The single most useful word to learn on day one of Portuguese is não. It does double duty — it is both no (the standalone answer) and not (the verbal negator). This page is the foundational rulebook: exactly where não sits, how it interacts with the rest of the sentence, and the half-dozen structures where learners reliably get it wrong. Nail this page and your negations will be correct in 95% of the sentences you ever produce.
Unlike English, Portuguese does not use an auxiliary (do / does / did) to form negatives. The lexical verb is negated directly. This means Portuguese negation is structurally simpler than English — you just add one word — but the placement of that one word is strict, and it interacts closely with pronoun placement.
The core rule: immediately before the finite verb
Não sits right in front of the verb that carries tense and person. Nothing slips between them.
Vou à praia.
I'm going to the beach.
Não vou à praia.
I'm not going to the beach.
A Maria estuda medicina.
Maria studies medicine.
A Maria não estuda medicina.
Maria doesn't study medicine.
Eles moram em Coimbra.
They live in Coimbra.
Eles não moram em Coimbra.
They don't live in Coimbra.
The subject can appear before or after the verb (or be dropped entirely, as Portuguese is a pro-drop language) — but não is always glued to the verb.
Não sei.
I don't know.
Hoje não trabalho.
I'm not working today.
With clitic pronouns: não + clitic + verb
This is the placement rule most learners need to drill. When there is a clitic pronoun (me, te, se, o, a, nos, vos, os, as, lhe, lhes), the default European Portuguese word order puts it after the verb (enclisis): Vi-o, Disse-me, Lavou-se. But negation flips the pronoun to the front of the verb — a phenomenon called proclisis (see Próclise Triggers).
So with negation, the order is always: não + clitic + verb.
Vi-o ontem.
I saw him yesterday. (affirmative — enclisis)
Não o vi ontem.
I didn't see him yesterday. (negative — proclisis)
Disseste-me a verdade.
You told me the truth.
Não me disseste a verdade.
You didn't tell me the truth.
Lembro-me do Pedro.
I remember Pedro.
Não me lembro do Pedro.
I don't remember Pedro.
Sentámo-nos na esplanada.
We sat down on the terrace.
Não nos sentámos na esplanada.
We didn't sit on the terrace.
With modal + infinitive: não on the modal
Modals like poder, querer, dever, ter de, saber, conseguir, precisar de, gostar de take an infinitive after them. Put não on the finite modal, not on the infinitive.
Posso sair agora.
I can leave now.
Não posso sair agora.
I can't leave now.
Quero comer gelado.
I want to eat ice cream.
Não quero comer gelado.
I don't want to eat ice cream.
Sei cozinhar.
I can cook (I know how to cook).
Não sei cozinhar.
I can't cook.
Consigo dormir bem.
I'm able to sleep well.
Não consigo dormir bem.
I can't sleep well.
Putting não on the infinitive is possible only when you specifically want to negate the infinitive as a thing in itself — Prefiro não dizer nada ("I prefer not to say anything"). There, não dizer is a nominalised infinitive clause functioning as the object of prefiro. At A1, stick with the simpler pattern.
Prefiro não ir.
I prefer not to go. (marked structure — non-ir is the thing preferred)
Não prefiro ir.
I don't prefer to go. (different meaning — denies the preference itself)
With compound tenses (ter + past participle): não on the auxiliary
Portuguese compound tenses use ter as the auxiliary (not haver in everyday speech — haver is literary in this role). Não goes on ter.
Tenho visto muitos filmes.
I've been seeing a lot of films lately.
Não tenho visto muitos filmes.
I haven't been seeing many films lately.
Tinha ido ao médico antes.
I had gone to the doctor before.
Não tinha ido ao médico antes.
I hadn't gone to the doctor before.
Teria ajudado se soubesse.
I would have helped if I had known.
Não teria ajudado mesmo assim.
I wouldn't have helped anyway.
With estar a + infinitive (PT-PT progressive): não on estar
European Portuguese expresses "to be doing" as estar a + infinitive (compare Brazilian estar + gerund). Negate the finite estar.
Está a chover.
It's raining.
Não está a chover.
It's not raining.
Estou a estudar para o exame.
I'm studying for the exam.
Não estou a estudar para o exame.
I'm not studying for the exam.
Estão a trabalhar no jardim.
They're working in the garden.
Não estão a trabalhar no jardim.
They're not working in the garden.
Saying Está a não chover is ungrammatical — you cannot progressively not-rain. The negation always climbs to the finite estar.
In questions
Questions simply add the same não before the verb. Yes-no questions rely on intonation (rising pitch at the end) or question marks in writing; word order does not change.
Não vais à festa?
Aren't you going to the party?
Não queres mesmo vir?
You really don't want to come?
Porque não me disseste antes?
Why didn't you tell me before?
Não sabes onde fica a estação?
Don't you know where the station is?
A special PT-PT construction combines an affirmative and its negation — Vens ou não? — to demand a decision:
Vens ou não?
Are you coming or not?
Gostas ou não gostas?
Do you like it or not?
Emphatic repeated não
In speech, it is extremely common to say Não twice — first as the standalone answer, then as the negator of the restated verb. This is not a mistake; it is the natural rhythm of PT-PT spoken replies.
— Vais sair hoje? — Não, não vou.
— Are you going out today? — No, I'm not.
— Estudaste ontem? — Não, não estudei.
— Did you study yesterday? — No, I didn't.
— Conheces a Ana? — Não, não conheço.
— Do you know Ana? — No, I don't.
Each não has a distinct job: the first answers the question, the second negates the restated verb. It is like saying "No. I don't."
Não as a standalone word
On its own, Não is simply no. It is the shortest possible answer and works in every register.
— Precisas de ajuda? — Não.
— Do you need help? — No.
— Está tudo bem? — Não.
— Is everything OK? — No.
At the end of a statement, a soft tag não? can function as a confirmation-seeker, though the fuller não é? is more common:
Está bom o vinho, não?
The wine's good, no? (casual)
Está bom o vinho, não é?
The wine's good, isn't it? (neutral)
Negative answers with softeners
When declining an offer or expressing a negative opinion politely, Portuguese has several off-the-shelf formulas. These soften a bare não into something more natural.
Não, obrigado.
No, thank you. (male speaker)
Não, obrigada.
No, thank you. (female speaker)
Acho que não.
I don't think so.
Espero que não.
I hope not.
Ainda não.
Not yet.
Hoje não.
Not today.
Agora não, obrigado.
Not now, thanks. (male speaker)
Notice that it is the speaker, not the addressee, who agrees in obrigado (masculine) / obrigada (feminine). This catches English speakers out repeatedly.
Compounds with não-: "non-..."
Portuguese forms noun and adjective compounds with não- plus a hyphen to mean non-. These live in formal, journalistic, and academic registers.
| Portuguese | English |
|---|---|
| não-fumador | non-smoker |
| não-violência | non-violence |
| não-aceitação | non-acceptance |
| não-intervenção | non-intervention |
| não-proliferação | non-proliferation |
| não-alinhado | non-aligned |
| não-governamental | non-governmental |
O restaurante tem uma secção para não-fumadores.
The restaurant has a section for non-smokers.
A não-aceitação do acordo surpreendeu toda a gente.
The non-acceptance of the agreement surprised everyone. (formal)
Trabalha numa organização não-governamental.
She works for a non-governmental organisation.
Register: blunt não vs softened refusals
A bare não in response to an invitation can sound curt in PT-PT. Softeners vary by formality:
| Register | Portuguese | English |
|---|---|---|
| Curt / direct | Não. | No. |
| Neutral | Não, obrigado/a. | No, thanks. |
| Polite / softened | Hoje não, mas fica para a próxima. | Not today, but another time. |
| Formal / apologetic | Infelizmente não me é possível. | I'm afraid I can't. |
| Emphatic refusal | Nem pensar! | No way! |
— Vens jantar connosco? — Hoje não posso, obrigado. Fica para a próxima!
— Are you coming to dinner with us? — I can't today, thanks. Another time!
A subtle placement puzzle: não vs nem
When negating a compound object like café e chá, English uses "neither... nor..." — I don't want coffee or tea / I want neither coffee nor tea. Portuguese has two natural patterns:
- Não quero café nem chá. (standard — nem replaces the second e)
- Não quero nem café nem chá. (more emphatic — nem... nem...)
Both are correct; the second is more emphatic. Never say não quero café e não chá.
Não quero café nem chá.
I don't want coffee or tea.
Não quero nem café nem chá.
I want neither coffee nor tea. (emphatic)
See the sibling page Negation with Nem for the full treatment of nem.
Common mistakes
❌ Eu do não falar português.
No Portuguese auxiliary. Drop the do — just add não before the conjugated verb.
✅ Eu não falo português.
I don't speak Portuguese.
❌ Não vi-o.
Negation triggers proclisis — the pronoun moves in front of the verb, and não comes before the pronoun. Never keep the enclitic hyphenated form after negation.
✅ Não o vi.
I didn't see him.
❌ Eu quero não comer chocolate.
For a simple 'I don't want to eat chocolate', put não on the modal, not the infinitive.
✅ Eu não quero comer chocolate.
I don't want to eat chocolate.
❌ Está a não chover.
Nonsensical in Portuguese. With estar a + infinitive, não climbs to the finite estar.
✅ Não está a chover.
It's not raining.
❌ Vi ninguém.
When a negative word (nada, ninguém, nunca) follows the verb, não is obligatory before the verb.
✅ Não vi ninguém.
I didn't see anyone.
❌ Eu vou tambem não.
Wrong order. The standard phrase is também não, placed between subject and verb.
✅ Eu também não vou.
I'm not going either.
❌ Não, obrigada. (said by a male speaker)
Wrong agreement — obrigado/obrigada agrees with the speaker, not the addressee. A man says obrigado, a woman says obrigada, regardless of who they are talking to.
✅ Não, obrigado. (male speaker) / Não, obrigada. (female speaker)
No, thanks.
❌ Não tenho nunca visto isso.
Word order off — nunca as an adverb follows either the auxiliary cluster entirely or the phrase. Prefer Nunca tinha visto isso or Não tinha visto isso nunca.
✅ Nunca tinha visto isso.
I had never seen that.
Key takeaways
- Não sits immediately before the finite verb.* No auxiliary, no agreement.
- With a clitic pronoun, the order is não
- clitic + verb
- With modals + infinitive, with compound tenses, and with estar a
- infinitive, não attaches to the finite verb.
- In replies, the doubled Não, não... is normal spoken PT-PT: first não answers, second negates.
- Declining offers politely: Não, obrigado/a, Acho que não, Ainda não, Hoje não.
- Não- as a prefix forms hyphenated compounds meaning "non-": não-fumador, não-violência.
- Bare não is blunt; PT-PT prefers softened refusals in everyday interaction.
Related Topics
- Negation OverviewA1 — How to make sentences negative in Portuguese — from the basic não before the verb to the double-negation system, pre-verbal negatives, tag questions, and emphatic strengthenings.
- Double Negation (Não...nada, Não...ninguém)A2 — Using negative words with não — why Portuguese stacks negatives without cancelling them, the full list of paired constructions, and how to handle triple and quadruple negation.
- Negative Words (Nada, Ninguém, Nenhum, Nunca, Nem)A2 — The main negative pronouns and adverbs of European Portuguese — what each one means, how it inflects, where it sits, and how to choose between them.
- Próclise Triggers — Complete ListB1 — The complete catalogue of words and structures that force the pronoun before the verb in European Portuguese
- Próclise (Pronoun Before Verb)B1 — When the object pronoun moves before the verb in European Portuguese, triggered by specific words and structures
- Adverbs of Affirmation and NegationA2 — Saying yes, no, and indicating truth value — sim, pois, claro, de facto, não, nem, tampouco, talvez, se calhar, and the mood split between talvez and se calhar.