Inherited fromMiddle Frenchrien, fromOld Frenchrien, fromLatinrem(“thing”). CompareCatalanres(“nothing”) orGalicianren(“nothing”).

• IPA^(key):/ʁjɛ̃/
• (Quebec)IPA^(key):[ʁjɛn]

• Audio:

  (file)

• Rhymes:-jɛ̃

rien

1. nothing
   • Antoine Lavoisier

     Rien ne se perd,rien ne se crée, tout se transforme.

     Nothing is lost,nothingis created, everything is transformed.

   Je n’ai besoin derien d’autre.

   I need nothing else.

2. (archaic)anything
   • 1630,François de Malherbe,Le traité des bienfaits de Sénèque, III, 10:

     En tous les bienfaits d’importance, la preuve ne peut avoir de lieu ; car il n’y a bien souvent que deux qui en sachentrien.

     In any good deed of importance proof is unnecessary; for perfectly often there are only two knowing anything of it.

• Word order:^[1] When used as the direct object of a transitive verb,rien is placed in differing positions depending on what other elements are present in the sentence.
  • rien comes after a verb in simple tense.

    Je nefaisrien. ―I'm not doing anything.

  • As the direct object of a verb in compound tense,rien usually comes between the auxiliary and participle.

    Je n’airiendit. ―I didn't say anything.

    • When followed by acomplément,rien usually comes after the participle element.^[2]

      Je n’aiditriende tel. ―I said no such thing.

  • rien precedes a verb in the infinitive.

    Je ne veuxrienfaire. ―I don't want to do anything.

  • rien can either precede or follow the adverbial pronounsy oren with the second option being the more literary.

• que dalle

• rien de rien
• rien du tout

• ⇒ Louisiana Creole:arien
• ⇒ Saint Dominican Creole French:arien
  • Haitian Creole:anyen

rien m (pluralriens)

1. anothing

   petits riens – little things, little nothings

• ne
• néant
• pas

• nier,rein

• rijenn,rîgen

FromOld Dutch*rīan, fromProto-West Germanic*rīhan.

• IPA^(key):/ˈriːən/

riën

1. tosew together, to put athread through

This verb needs aninflection-table template.

• Dutch:rijgen
• Limburgish:riege

• Verwijs, E.,Verdam, J. (1885–1929) “riën (I)”, inMiddelnederlandsch Woordenboek, The Hague: Martinus Nijhoff,→ISBN, page riën

FromOld Frenchrien.

rien f (pluralriens)

1. thing (miscellaneous item)

• French:rien

• Godefroy, Frédéric,Dictionnaire de l’ancienne langue française et de tous ses dialectes duIX^e auXV^e siècle (1881) (rien)

rien

1. construct state ofriah

• ren(Anglo-Norman)

FromLatinrem, accusative ofrēs.

• IPA^(key):/ˈri͡ɛn/
• Rhymes:-en

rienoblique singular, f (oblique pluralriens,nominative singularriens,nominative pluralriens)

1. thing;object
   • c.1180,Chrétien de Troyes,Lancelot ou le Chevalier de la charrette:

     "Dex te mete,
     Chevaliers, joie et cuer parfite
     De larien qui plus te delite !"

     "That God gives you
     Knight, joy and a perfect heart
     From the thing that pleases you the most

2. being;creature

rien

1. thing
   • c.1170,Chrétien de Troyes,Érec et Énide:

     "Oïl, mout m'an sovient il bien.
     Seneschaus, savez vos anrien?

     Yes, I remember it well
     Seneschal, do you know anything about it?

2. (used with "ne")nothing

• Middle French:rien
  • French:rien

rien

1. water

• Stephen Adolphe Wurm,New Guinea Area Languages and Language Study (1976)