German Phrase
Wir haben nur Seife.
Meaning
The sentence states that the only thing we possess at the moment is soap. It can imply a shortage of other toiletries or cleaning supplies.
When to use
Use this phrase when you want to explain a limited supply of items, for example in a hotel room, at a campsite, or when a friend asks what you have for a cleaning task.
✦Grammar Breakdown
WirhabennurSeife
Subject pronoun (Wir)
‘Wir’ is the first‑person plural pronoun meaning ‘we’, and it always takes the verb in the 1st‑person plural form.
Verb ‘haben’ (present)
‘haben’ means ‘to have’. In the present tense for ‘wir’ it is conjugated as ‘haben’.
Adverb ‘nur’
‘nur’ means ‘only’ or ‘just’. It is placed directly before the word or phrase it limits.
Noun ‘Seife’ (feminine)
‘Seife’ is a feminine noun (die Seife). In this sentence it appears in the accusative case, which for feminine nouns looks the same as the nominative.
🗨In Conversation
Haben wir genug Toilettenartikel?
Do we have enough bathroom supplies?
Wir haben nur Seife.
We only have soap.
✕Common Mistakes
Wir haben Seife nur.
‘nur’ should precede the noun, not follow it.
Wir nur haben Seife.
The adverb must stay with the noun, not split the verb.
Wir haben nur der Seife.
‘Seife’ is feminine; the correct article is ‘die’.
↔Alternatives
Wir besitzen nur Seife.
We only own soap.
Wir haben lediglich Seife.
We have merely soap.
Wir haben ausschließlich Seife.
We have exclusively soap.
Nur Seife haben wir.
Only soap we have.
Cultural Tip
In German the adverb ‘nur’ normally comes directly before the word it limits. Placing it after the noun (e.g., ‘Wir haben Seife nur’) sounds unnatural. Also, ‘Seife’ is feminine, so if you add an article you must use ‘die Seife’, not ‘der’ or ‘das’. In everyday speech Germans often shorten ‘Wir haben nur Seife’ to ‘Nur Seife haben wir’ for emphasis.