What is the difference caused by using “nope” instead of ”no”?
Is it used because “nope” sounds better and not straight like “no”? In some situations, it feels like nope is better to use than no even though it adds 2 more characters. What is the reason why many use it?
From here, they have no difference in meaning; but nope is more informal, only used in a sense of opposite to yes (or yup). Also, nope is not used often in writing.
You wouldn't say "there were nope errors", for example.
The first and most important point to note it that it's very informal (more so than using contractions such as my it's there, for example).
The main reason for using it at all stems from that "extreme informality". It normally conveys a relaxed attitude on the part of the speaker. Depending on context, it can be more or less emphatic than "No".
You only use nope to mean [my answer is] "No" – it never replaces no in any other contexts. And you wouldn't normally use it where you want to be very emphatic (shouting "No!" at the top of your voice). Which example illustrates a defining characteristic – "Nope" isn't often followed by an exclamation mark!
Finally, I'd echo John Lawler's words: "nope" occurs only as a one-word answer to Y/N questions. That's to say, a written form such as:
"Nope I don't want to"
doesn't look right. We expect a full stop (or at the very least a comma) after "Nope" because in real-world speech there always would be a pause there. But that doesn't happen with:
"No I don't want to!"
because it's perfectly possible to speak those words without pausing appreciably after "No" (without necessarily placing extra stress on "don't", either; I just italicised it as one possible enunciation).
"Nope" is informal. You wouldn't usually want to use it, for example, answering questions for a job interview, but it would be an appropriate answer to a friend's question "Have you seen that movie yet?"
In my opinion Nope is a dismissive and slightly rude version of no. Nope should never be used in a professional context e.g. it should never be used as an option for web site or search engine users to select as a response to a question, because it makes the company using it look un-professional and rude to their customers. The use of the word nope by Google and others makes me cringe so much that I will never click on it in response to a question.
Nope is used informally, normally during chat where you want to give a quick, fluid answer to a question without halting it like 'No' would.
They both mean the same thing, and 'Nope' is very rarely written.
I think there's another nuance in meaning beyond the informal vs formal. For instance:
You don't think I'm pretty.
If someone responds "no" it is because he is disagreeing with the statement - he actually does think the speaker is pretty.
If someone responds "nope" it is because he agrees with the implication - he really does not think the speaker is pretty.
It's a subtle difference, but one to note.
Nope is an informal variant of one of the meanings No which is:
3 : not so —used to express negation, dissent, denial, or refusal (e.g. no, I'm not going)
Webster-Merriam
That is why, we can only use it for Yes/No questions.
I agree with the person who says that nope is dismissive and slightly rude and I would add that a text nope feels rude to the recipient. It feels like a "final" no.
I think the context has a lot to do with how the word Nope is perceived:
Somebody asks you for something.
- Will you do something for me?
- Nope. << Rude
Somebody asks for information.
- Is your name Sam?
- Nope. << Playful / informal
Maybe the word Nope implies a casual, relaxed attitude, which in some cases may come off as dismissive.
'Nope' is a variant of 'no' (exclamation).
First known use: 1888 (M-W)
Phonologically, pronunciation can explain where the P came from.
Suppose someone asked you a question and you said 'No'. You'd usually pause after saying 'No' (exclamation) with your lips already positioned to articulate a P, that's why most people articulate a P. That's called excrescent P. (Sometimes producing a little puff of air is for emphasising 'no' while leaving it unreleased indicates lazy and sloppy speech.)
I think there is a subtle difference between emphatic and dismissive or terminal. And I think that nope is often used in the latter two ways. Think of how the lips must close together and this gives nope its terminal feeling in a physical way. Pursed lips. Can't pry them open. Not going to change.
