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?**
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translation verbs politeness negation phrase-requests
How to say "no thank you, I don't want / need it"?
Usually you can say this (for food if offered) for refusing politely:

Iie, kekkou desu. いいえ、結構です (けっこうです)

Using the japanese for 'I dont need, I don't want' (verb iru) might be a
little rude. Use it only if you have to refuse it strongly:

"Irimasen desu" Polite (somewhat rude) [いりませんです]

"Iranai" (rude/familiar) [いらない]
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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".
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Just to add to other answers. For "no thanks", from young people you'll often
hear

> 大丈夫{だいじょうぶ}です

which originally means "I'm fine (safe, alright)".

Some might even find いいです or 結構です a bit cold or rude.

Some links:  
<http://questionbox.jp.msn.com/qa8287306.html>  
<http://detail.chiebukuro.yahoo.co.jp/qa/question_detail/q1323030728>
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