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German Phrase

Ich hab keine Nachricht bekommen.

/ɪç haːp ˈkaɪ̯nə ˈnaːχʁɪçt bəˈkɔmən/
Meaning"I didn’t receive any message."
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Meaning

Literally, ‘I have no message received.’ In everyday English it means ‘I didn’t receive any message.’ The phrase is used to state that you were expecting some communication (email, text, letter) but it never arrived.

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When to use

Use this sentence when you want to tell someone that a message you were supposed to get never arrived – for example after checking your inbox, after a phone call, or when a colleague asks if you got the latest update.

✦Grammar Breakdown

IchhabkeineNachrichtbekommen

1

hab (habe)

‘hab’ is the colloquial contraction of the auxiliary verb ‘habe’ used in spoken German.

2

keine (negation)

‘keine’ is the negative indefinite article that negates a feminine noun in the accusative case.

3

Nachricht (noun)

‘Nachricht’ is a feminine noun (die Nachricht) meaning ‘message, news, notification’.

4

bekommen (verb)

‘bekommen’ is a regular verb meaning ‘to receive, to get’; here it appears as a past participle in a perfect construction.

5

Perfect tense

The sentence uses the perfect tense: auxiliary ‘haben’ + past participle ‘bekommen’ to describe a completed action in the past.

🗨In Conversation

A

Hast du die E‑Mail von der Firma bekommen?

Did you get the email from the company?

Ich hab keine Nachricht bekommen.

I didn’t receive any message.

B

✕Common Mistakes

  • Ich hab nicht Nachricht bekommen.

    ‘nicht’ is not used to negate a noun; you need ‘keine’ for feminine nouns in the accusative.

  • Ich hab keine Nachricht bekommen.

    In formal writing you should use the full auxiliary ‘habe’. The contraction is only for informal speech.

↔Alternatives

  • Ich habe keine Nachricht erhalten.

    I have not received any message.

  • Ich habe nichts bekommen.

    I got nothing.

  • Ich habe keine Mitteilung bekommen.

    I didn’t get any notice.

de

Cultural Tip

In German ‘Nachricht’ can refer to any kind of communication – a text, an email, a voicemail, or even a newspaper article. In formal contexts you’ll often hear ‘erhalten’ instead of the more colloquial ‘bekommen’. Also, the contraction ‘hab’ is typical in spoken German and informal writing (e.g., chats, texts), but in formal emails you should use the full form ‘habe’.