Mit dem Messer fast alles kaputt gemacht

What does “auf keinen Fall” mean in German?

Auf keinen Fall is the German hard-no, the emphatic equivalent of English “no way” or “absolutely not.” Translated literally as “in no case,” it stops a conversation cold when used at full volume. Germans deploy it in many situations: at the dinner table over the last Bratwurst, in the office when a deadline shifts, at the hardware store rejecting the wrong drill bit.

In this clip a DIY-er threatens to break a piece of trim with a knife and his partner shouts “auf keinen Fall!” The phrase pairs naturally with an exasperated head-shake. Two siblings of the phrase soften it: auf gar keinen Fall (even more emphatic) and auf jeden Fall (the opposite, “absolutely yes”).