If you had to name the single most versatile negative word in Brazilian Portuguese, it would be nem. It descends from Latin nec ("and not / nor"), and the simplest way to feel what it does is to read it as não + e ("and not"): it negates and connects at the same time. Depending on context, nem translates as "nor", "and not", "not even", or anchors the correlative "neither… nor". On top of that it heads a cluster of high-frequency scoped idioms — nem sempre, nem tudo, nem por isso — and a colloquial comparison, que nem. This page works through all of it.
1. "Nem" = "and not / nor"
When you chain two negated predicates, the second is introduced by nem rather than by e não. Think of it as the negative counterpart of "and".
Não comi nem dormi a noite toda.
I didn't eat or sleep all night.
Não bebo nem fumo.
I don't drink or smoke.
English uses "or" inside a negative ("don't drink or smoke") or "nor" in formal style; Portuguese uses nem for both. The first não sets the negative frame, and nem carries it across to the second verb. You could repeat não (Não bebo e não fumo), but it sounds heavier and less idiomatic — nem is the natural link.
2. "Nem" = "not even"
Standing in front of a single element, nem means "not even" — it marks something as the minimal case that still fails to happen.
Ele nem me ligou.
He didn't even call me.
Nem cheguei a ver o filme até o fim.
I didn't even get to watch the film to the end.
Foi tão rápido que nem percebi.
It was so fast I didn't even notice.
When nem sits before the verb like this, it carries the negation by itself — no não needed (the positional rule from the negative-words page). Ele nem me ligou, never Ele nem não me ligou.
3. The correlative "nem… nem" (neither… nor)
Repeat nem and you get the correlative pair = English "neither… nor". It can join nouns, verbs, adjectives or whole phrases.
Não quero nem café nem chá.
I want neither coffee nor tea.
Nem o João nem a Maria vieram.
Neither João nor Maria came.
Ele não é nem alto nem baixo.
He's neither tall nor short.
There is one agreement subtlety worth its own line. When nem… nem joins two subjects and the pair sits before the verb, BR normally uses a plural verb: Nem o João nem a Maria vieram (came-3pl), because the two together form the subject set. A singular verb (veio) is also heard and is not wrong, but plural is the prescriptive and more common choice. Note also that the fronted nem… nem subject takes no não, exactly as a single fronted negative would. (For the broader family of correlatives — tanto… quanto, ou… ou — see the correlative-conjunctions page.)
Nem ele nem ela sabiam da verdade.
Neither he nor she knew the truth.
4. "Nem sequer" / "nem ao menos" — emphatic "not even"
To intensify "not even", add sequer or ao menos. Both heighten the sense that even the bare minimum did not occur. Nem sequer is slightly more formal; nem ao menos is common in careful speech.
Ela nem sequer olhou para mim.
She didn't even so much as look at me.
Não me deram nem ao menos uma explicação.
They didn't even give me an explanation.
5. "Nem que" + subjunctive — "not even if"
Nem que introduces a concessive clause meaning "not even if", and it requires the subjunctive (because it sets up a hypothetical that the speaker rejects). This is a B1+ construction that natives use constantly to express stubborn refusal.
Não vou lá nem que me paguem.
I won't go there even if they pay me.
Nem que chova canivete, eu vou nessa festa.
Even if it rains cats and dogs, I'm going to that party.
Notice paguem and chova are subjunctive. The logic: nem que describes a condition extreme enough that, even granted, the outcome still won't change — and unrealized hypotheticals live in the subjunctive. (Nem que chova canivete, literally "even if it rains pocket-knives", is a fixed idiom = "no matter what".)
6. The scoped idioms
A handful of nem + word combinations have meanings you cannot fully predict from the parts. They are high-frequency and worth memorising as units.
| Phrase | Meaning | Note |
|---|---|---|
| nem sempre | not always | negates "always", not the verb |
| nem tudo | not everything | negates "everything" |
| nem todo / nem todos | not every / not all | agrees with the noun |
| nem por isso | not because of that / not really | denies an expected consequence |
| nem aí | (couldn't) care less | (informal): "tô nem aí" |
| nem pensar | no way / don't even think about it | flat refusal |
The key insight is scope: in nem sempre and nem tudo, nem negates the following quantifier, not the verb. Nem sempre dá certo doesn't mean "it never works out" — it means "it doesn't always work out" (i.e. sometimes it does).
Nem sempre dá pra fazer tudo num dia só.
You can't always get everything done in a single day.
Nem tudo que reluz é ouro.
Not all that glitters is gold.
Estudei muito, mas nem por isso passei.
I studied a lot, but I still didn't pass.
That nem por isso example shows its typical use: you grant a premise and deny that the expected result followed — "…and even so, not." It is a compact, very Brazilian way to puncture an assumption.
7. Colloquial "que nem" = "just like"
Finally, a trap: que nem in casual speech is not negative at all. It means "just like / the same as", a synonym of como or igual a. It is (informal/regional) but extremely widespread.
Ele fala que nem o pai.
He talks just like his father.
Tá frio que nem geladeira aqui.
It's cold as a fridge in here.
Here que nem is purely comparative. Beginners panic at the nem and read a negation that isn't there — context and the comparative frame tell you it means "like".
Common Mistakes
❌ Não bebo e não fumo nem.
Unidiomatic — use 'nem' as the connector, not a trailing tag.
✅ Não bebo nem fumo.
I don't drink or smoke.
Nem links the two negated verbs; it doesn't dangle at the end.
❌ Ele nem não me ligou.
Incorrect — pre-verbal 'nem' already negates; no 'não'.
✅ Ele nem me ligou.
He didn't even call me.
❌ Não vou nem que me pagam.
Incorrect — 'nem que' requires the subjunctive: 'paguem'.
✅ Não vou nem que me paguem.
I won't go even if they pay me.
The indicative pagam states a fact; nem que needs the hypothetical subjunctive paguem.
❌ Nem sempre significa que nunca dá certo.
Mistranslation — 'nem sempre' = 'not always', not 'never'.
✅ Nem sempre dá certo, mas às vezes dá.
It doesn't always work out, but sometimes it does.
Watch the scope: nem negates sempre, leaving room for "sometimes".
❌ Ele fala que nem não o pai.
Incorrect — comparative 'que nem' is not negative and takes no extra negator.
✅ Ele fala que nem o pai.
He talks just like his father.
Key Takeaways
- Nem (from Latin nec) reads like não
- e: it negates and connects.
- Core senses: "nor / and not", "not even", and the correlative "neither… nor".
- Pre-verbal nem needs no não; nem… nem subjects normally take a plural verb and no não.
- Nem que
- subjunctive = "not even if".
- Mind the scope idioms: nem sempre = not always, nem tudo = not everything, nem por isso = not on that account.
- Colloquial que nem = "just like" — not a negation.
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Start learning Portuguese→Related Topics
- Negative Words: Nada, Nunca, Ninguém, NemA1 — The Brazilian Portuguese negative words and the positional rule that decides whether they need 'não' alongside them.
- Negation: OverviewA1 — How Brazilian Portuguese says no — 'não' before the verb, obligatory negative concord, the emphatic 'não...não' tail, and a map of the whole negation system.
- Correlative ConjunctionsB2 — Paired connectors in Brazilian Portuguese — não só...mas também, tanto...quanto, ou...ou, nem...nem, ora...ora, seja...seja — including the verb-agreement rule and the demand for parallel structure.
- Negative Words at Sentence Start (No 'Não' Needed)A2 — All the ways Brazilian Portuguese expresses negation without using 'não' — fronted negative words, 'sem', 'nem', prefixes, and lexical negatives.