How to say "no thank you, I don't want / need it"?


Sometimes I am offered something but because I'm just a beginner I don't know
what verb they used.

I know the proper way to say "no" is to answer with the negative form of the
verb the other person used, that いいえ alone is too abrupt.

Also from experience I know that the words in some languages meaning "want" or
"need" might have nuances that make them inappropriate.

Usually I want to say "I don't need it" or "I don't want one" in a shop that
offers me a bag or a drinking straw or disposable chopsticks. But this evening
while exploring Naha I discovered I had wandered into the red light district
and was offered a "nice girl"!

**How should I correctly express "no thanks, I don't want one" when I didn't
hear the verb used?**




I'm familiar with the following options.

> いらない  
>  いらないです  
>  いりません
>
> 結構です
>
> いい  
>  いいです

Their usage overlaps (after all, they all mean "no, thank you" in some sense).
結構です is quite formal and いいです probably the most common option, closely
followed by いらないです. (The forms based on いらない are more direct.) If you want to
be informal, use いい or いらない.

The first reaction "No" is usually voiced as いや and can be used with all the
options above, e.g. いや、いいです. いいえ can be used in いいえ、結構です.

_Caveat._ Although いいです is understood to mean "No, thank you", いいですね would
usually be interpreted to mean "Yes, please".

