Ex nihilo nihil fit
“Nothing comes from nothing.”
Principle from Lucretius, De rerum natura 1.150
What does “Ex nihilo nihil fit” mean?
Ex nihilo nihil fit translates as “Nothing comes from nothing.”
Nothing comes from nothing. Results need a cause: effort, material, time.
“Ex nihilo nihil fit” word by word
| Latin | English | Grammar |
|---|---|---|
| Ex | out of, from | preposition that takes the ablative case |
| nihilo | nothing | ablative singular of nihil, “nothing” (an indeclinable noun whose ablative nihilo is formed on the pattern of nihilum) |
| nihil | nothing | nominative singular of nihil; the subject of the verb |
| fit | comes about, is made, arises | third person singular present indicative of fio, “I become, I am made” (it also serves as the passive of facio) |
How to pronounce “Ex nihilo nihil fit”
The classical form is eks NIH-hih-loh NIH-hil fit; the church form is eks NEE-hee-loh NEE-heel feet, with the h often dropped in speech. The stress falls on the first syllable of nihilo and nihil in both.
The story behind it
Word for word the line says “out of nothing, nothing comes about”. It is a short statement of the idea that nothing can arise without a cause or some existing material.
The thought belongs to early Greek philosophy and was taken up by the Epicureans. Lucretius sets it out in De rerum natura, his Latin poem on Epicurean physics, in the first book. He uses it as the first principle of the poem: if things could appear from nothing, anything could come from anything, and the natural world would have no order.
The sentence is often called a principle rather than a quotation, and the exact wording ex nihilo nihil fit is the form that stuck in later philosophy. Today people use it for the plain point that results need a cause, whether effort, material or time.
How to use “Ex nihilo nihil fit”
A fit for a desk motto, a note to a student or a team about effort, or a tattoo for someone who values hard work over luck. It also works in an essay on causation, creation or the origins of the universe.
- Latin
- Ex nihilo nihil fit
- English
- Nothing comes from nothing.
- Source
- Principle from Lucretius, De rerum natura 1.150
- Era
- Antiquity
- Theme
- Effort
Common mistakes
- It does not mean “something can come from nothing”. It says the opposite.
- Do not confuse it with creatio ex nihilo (“creation out of nothing”), the Christian doctrine, which asserts that God made the world from nothing. The two ideas point in opposite directions.
- The words are often written as “Ex nihilo nihil”, dropping fit. The short form is common but leaves out the verb.
- It is a statement of principle from Lucretius and earlier thinkers, not a line spoken by one person on one occasion, so be careful about naming a single originator.
Questions about “Ex nihilo nihil fit”
What does “Ex nihilo nihil fit” mean literally?
“Out of nothing, nothing comes about.” In plain English: nothing comes from nothing.
Who said “Ex nihilo nihil fit”?
The idea goes back to early Greek philosophers. Lucretius states it in De rerum natura, book 1, and it is often cited in that Latin form.
How do you pronounce “Ex nihilo nihil fit”?
Classical: eks NIH-hih-loh NIH-hil fit. Church Latin: eks NEE-hee-loh NEE-heel feet.
Is “Ex nihilo nihil fit” the same as “creatio ex nihilo”?
No. “Ex nihilo nihil fit” denies that anything arises from nothing. “Creatio ex nihilo” is a religious doctrine that God created the world from nothing.
More to explore
Translation and grammar checked by Latin Quoter · last reviewed November 2026
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