Definition
Contraction of 'would not', expressing conditional negation or refusal in the past tense or hypothetical situations.
Etymology
English contraction formed from 'would' (Old English 'wolde', past tense of 'willan' meaning 'to wish') + 'not' (Old English 'naught'). The apostrophe marks the omission of the 'o' from 'not'.
Kelly Says
This contraction perfectly captures the efficiency of spoken English, where we naturally compress sounds. The missing 'o' creates a rhythmic flow that makes conditional statements feel more conversational and less formal than their full forms.
Translations
ARالعربية
لا يمكنه
la yakun
BNবাংলা
করতে পারেনি
kor-te par-e-nee
CACatalà
no podria
no po-dree-ah
CSČeština
ne mohl
ne moh-l
DADansk
kunne ikke
koon-neh nee-keh
DEDeutsch
würde nicht
vuer-deh nishht
ELΕλληνικά
δεν θα μπορούσε
den tha boroo-seh
ESEspañol
no podría
no po-dree-ah
FAفارسی
نمیتوانست
na-mee-tee-va-nest
FRFrançais
ne pourrait pas
nuh po-tray pah
GUGU
કરશે નહીં
kar-she neh-ee
HEעברית
לא יכול היה
lo y-cho-leh ya-heh
HIहिन्दी
नहीं कर सकता था
nahin kar sak-ta tha
HUMagyar
nem volna
nem vo-l-nah
IDBahasa Indonesia
tidak bisa
tidak bee-sah
ITItaliano
non potrebbe
non po-treh-beh
KO한국어
할 수 없겠어요
hal su eobt-sseoyo
MRMR
करू शकत नाही
karoo shak-tah nah-ee
MSBahasa Melayu
tidak boleh
tidak bo-leh
NLNederlands
zouden niet
zau-den niet
NONorsk
kunne ikke
koon-neh nee-keh
PAPA
ਕਰ ਸਕਦਾ ਨਹੀਂ
kar sak-dah nah-ee
PLPolski
nie mogłoby
nee moh-loh-bee
PTPortuguês
não poderia
now po-deh-ree-ah
RORomână
nu ar fi putut
noo ar fee poo-too
SVSvenska
kunde inte
koon-deh in-teh
SWKiswahili
hawezi
ha-weh-zee
TAதமிழ்
முடியாது
moo-dee-a-thoo
TEతెలుగు
చేయలేడు
chey-la-le-du
THไทย
ไม่สามารถ
mai sa-ma-tan
TLTL
hindi magagawa
hin-dee ma-ga-ga-wah
TRTürkçe
yaşayamazdı
yah-shah-ah-maz-dee
UKУкраїнська
не міг
nye mig
URاردو
نہیں کر سکتا تھا
nahin kar sak-ta tha
VITiếng Việt
không thể
khong the