Negative Words (Nada, Ninguém, Nenhum, Nunca, Nem) | Portuguese (Portugal) Grammar

Portuguese has a small, tight set of negative words that do most of the work of negation alongside não. Five of them — nada, ninguém, nenhum, nunca, and nem — cover the everyday landscape, with two more — jamais and tampouco — adding formal or emphatic colour. This page is the reference catalogue. For each word: what it means, how it inflects, where it sits, the special syntactic and idiomatic patterns, and which positive counterpart it replaces in negative contexts.

The page assumes you have read the Negation Overview and the Double Negation pages. The structural rules — não before the verb when the negative word follows, and dropping não when the negative word precedes — are not rehearsed here in full; they are taken as background.

Nada — nothing, anything (in negative contexts)

Nada is invariable. It can function as a pronoun (object or, less commonly, subject), as an adverbial intensifier ("not... at all"), and even as a noun (o nada — "nothingness").

Nada as pronoun

Não há nada no frigorífico.

There's nothing in the fridge.

Não sei nada sobre ele.

I don't know anything about him.

Nada disso me interessa.

None of that interests me.

Nada me surpreende já.

Nothing surprises me anymore.

In subject position, nada triggers a singular verb (nada me surpreende, not surpreendem) — it is grammatically singular regardless of the multiplicity of things it refers to.

Nada as adverbial intensifier — "at all"

When nada sits next to an adjective, an adverb, or a verb, it functions as an emphatic adverb meaning "at all / in the slightest."

Não estou nada cansado, podemos continuar.

I'm not tired at all, we can keep going.

A sopa não estava nada má.

The soup wasn't bad at all.

Ela não me parece nada feliz.

She doesn't seem at all happy to me.

Não gosto nada deste filme.

I don't like this film at all.

This is one of the most useful colloquial intensifiers in PT-PT. Master it.

Nada as noun

O universo veio do nada.

The universe came from nothing. (philosophical / formal)

O nada é uma ideia difícil de pensar.

Nothingness is a difficult idea to think about.

Useful expressions with nada

Expression	Meaning
de nada	you're welcome
quase nada	almost nothing
antes de mais nada	first of all
por nada deste mundo	for nothing in the world
nada feito	no deal
não é nada de mais	it's no big deal
nada disso	none of that / no way
do nada	out of the blue

— Obrigado pela ajuda. — De nada!

— Thanks for the help. — You're welcome!

A chuva começou do nada.

The rain started out of nowhere.

Por nada deste mundo perderia esse concerto.

For nothing in the world would I miss that concert.

Ninguém — nobody, anybody (in negative contexts)

Ninguém is an invariable pronoun referring to people. It is grammatically singular and triggers singular agreement, even when it functions as the subject of a sentence about no people at all.

Ninguém me ligou ontem.

Nobody called me yesterday.

Não vi ninguém no escritório.

I didn't see anyone in the office.

Ninguém sabe a resposta.

Nobody knows the answer.

Não falei com ninguém durante o jantar.

I didn't talk to anyone during dinner.

Ninguém has no plural form. To refer to more than one absent person you still use the singular ninguém; if you need to specify "none of them," use nenhum deles / nenhuma delas.

Convidei vinte pessoas e não veio ninguém.

I invited twenty people and nobody came.

Nenhum dos meus amigos veio à festa.

None of my friends came to the party. (specifying the group)

Ninguém in idioms

Ele acha que aqui não é ninguém.

He thinks he's nobody here. (= he feels insignificant)

É um ninguém.

He's a nobody. (= an unimportant person)

In the second sentence ninguém is being used as a count noun ("a nobody") — a pejorative idiom; with the indefinite article um, it shifts from pronoun to noun.

Nenhum / Nenhuma / Nenhuns / Nenhumas — no, none

Nenhum is the negative determiner/pronoun. Unlike the other negative words, it agrees in gender and number with the noun it modifies or refers to.

	Singular	Plural
Masculine	nenhum	nenhuns (rare)
Feminine	nenhuma	nenhumas (rare)

The plural forms nenhuns / nenhumas exist but are very uncommon — Portuguese speakers usually rephrase with the singular (não tenho nenhum livro) or with nenhum dos / nenhuma das + plural noun (nenhum dos meus amigos).

As determiner — before a noun

Não tenho nenhum problema com isso.

I have no problem with that.

Não há nenhuma razão para te preocupares.

There's no reason for you to worry.

Nenhum aluno conseguiu resolver o exercício.

Not a single student managed to solve the exercise.

Nenhuma das opções me convence.

None of the options convince me.

As pronoun — standing alone

— Tens livros do Saramago? — Não, não tenho nenhum.

— Do you have any Saramago books? — No, I don't have any.

Comprei várias maçãs, mas nenhuma estava boa.

I bought several apples, but none of them was good.

Post-nominal nenhum — emphatic PT-PT

A characteristic European Portuguese pattern places nenhum after the noun for extra emphasis. The negative force is the same, but the tone is stronger and warmer-sounding:

Não tenho amigo nenhum em Lisboa.

I don't have a single friend in Lisbon.

Não há dúvida nenhuma.

There's no doubt whatsoever.

Não tenho problema nenhum em ajudar-te a mudar de casa.

I have no problem at all helping you move.

Não vejo razão nenhuma para mudar de ideias.

I see no reason at all to change my mind.

This post-nominal nenhum is very common in spoken PT-PT and worth using actively. It is more colloquial and often more natural-sounding than the pre-nominal version.

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The position of nenhum changes the emphasis, not the meaning. Não tenho nenhum problema = "I have no problem"; Não tenho problema nenhum = "I don't have any problem at all." The post-nominal version sounds slightly more emphatic and slightly more colloquial.

Choosing nenhum vs nada

Both translate as "no / none / nothing" in some English contexts, but the choice is grammatically determined:

Nenhum modifies a count noun (or stands for one): nenhum livro, nenhuma pessoa.
Nada is for mass ideas, abstract reference, or pronoun "nothing": não há nada, não sei nada.

Não tenho nenhum livro deste autor.

I have no books by this author. (count noun)

Não tenho nada para te dar.

I have nothing to give you. (mass / abstract)

Não há nenhuma cadeira livre.

There isn't a single free chair.

Não há nada que possamos fazer.

There's nothing we can do.

Nunca — never, ever (in negative contexts)

Nunca is the everyday adverb for never. It is invariable. It can sit before the verb (no não) or after the verb (with não), and both positions are common.

Nunca fui a Tóquio.

I've never been to Tokyo.

Não fui nunca a Tóquio.

I've never been to Tokyo. (same meaning, slightly more emphatic)

Nunca vi nada igual.

I've never seen anything like it.

Não me digas nunca uma coisa dessas!

Don't ever say something like that to me!

Nunca mais — never again

Nunca mais lá vou.

I'm never going there again.

Ela disse que nunca mais me telefonava.

She said she'd never call me again.

Nunca mais na vida volto a comprar este produto.

I'm never in my life buying this product again.

Quase nunca — hardly ever

Quase nunca saio à noite durante a semana.

I hardly ever go out at night during the week.

Ele quase nunca chega a horas.

He hardly ever arrives on time.

Nunca... que eu saiba — never, as far as I know

— Ele já esteve em Portugal? — Nunca, que eu saiba.

— Has he ever been to Portugal? — Never, as far as I know.

Jamais — never (stronger / literary)

Jamais is never with extra emphasis or formality. It is closer in tone to English never with stress on it ("I will never...") or to "never ever." In modern PT-PT, jamais is used in writing, oratory, songs, and emphatic spoken declarations — but for everyday "never" you want nunca.

Jamais farei isso.

I will never do that. (emphatic)

Jamais te esquecerei.

I will never forget you. (literary / emphatic — common in songs)

Não voltarei jamais àquela casa.

I will never return to that house. (emphatic / literary)

Nunca, jamais, em tempo algum aceitarei essa proposta.

Never, ever, at any time will I accept that proposal. (very emphatic — stacking)

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The combination nunca jamais is a fixed emphatic intensifier — "never ever." It is melodramatic when used in casual speech but at home in songs, poems, and declarations.

Nem — nor, not even, neither

Nem is the most multifunctional of the negative words. It serves as a coordinating conjunction (neither... nor...), an emphatic particle (not even), an additive negative (me neither), and it appears in dozens of fixed expressions. It deserves — and gets — a full sibling page on its own.

A summary of its core uses:

Nem... nem... — neither... nor...

Nem o Pedro nem a Ana vêm à festa.

Neither Pedro nor Ana is coming to the party.

Não como nem carne nem peixe.

I eat neither meat nor fish.

Nem — additive negative ("nor")

Não falo francês nem alemão.

I don't speak French or German.

Não tenho tempo nem paciência para isto.

I have neither time nor patience for this.

Nem — "not even" (emphatic)

Nem sequer me cumprimentou.

He didn't even greet me.

Ela nem olhou para mim.

She didn't even look at me.

Nem ele sabia o que dizer.

Not even he knew what to say.

Nem eu — me neither

— Não gosto de coentros. — Nem eu.

— I don't like coriander. — Me neither.

— Não vou conseguir terminar isto hoje. — Nem eu.

— I'm not going to finish this today. — Me neither.

Nem por isso — not really, not particularly

— Estás cansado? — Nem por isso.

— Are you tired? — Not really.

For the full treatment — including nem que, nem sequer, nem pensar, and the rich idiom set — see the sibling page on nem.

Tampouco — nor (formal)

Tampouco is the formal/written counterpart of também não (neither, not either). It belongs to careful prose, journalism, and formal speech. In everyday PT-PT speech, também não is overwhelmingly more common.

Não vi o filme, tampouco li o livro.

I didn't see the film, nor did I read the book. (formal)

Ele não compareceu à reunião; tampouco enviou justificação.

He did not attend the meeting; nor did he send an explanation. (formal / journalistic)

The everyday equivalent:

Não vi o filme e também não li o livro.

I didn't see the film and I didn't read the book either.

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If you find yourself reaching for tampouco in conversation, replace it with também não and you will sound more natural. Tampouco is for the kind of register where you would also write outrossim, sobremaneira, or destarte — high-formal Portuguese.

Nem sequer / Não... sequer — not even

The intensifier sequer combines with nem (most common) or with não... sequer (slightly more formal) to mean "not even." See the sibling page on nem for full details.

Nem sequer me deu um abraço.

He didn't even give me a hug.

Não me disse sequer uma palavra.

He didn't say even one word to me. (formal)

Não tenho sequer um cêntimo.

I don't even have a single cent.

Reference table: which negative for which kind of antecedent

What you're negating	Use	Example
A thing / abstract object	nada	Não sei nada.
A person	ninguém	Não vi ninguém.
A time / occasion	nunca / jamais	Nunca o vi. / Jamais farei isso.
A specific count noun	nenhum / nenhuma	Não tenho nenhum livro dele.
Two alternatives (X or Y)	nem... nem...	Não quero nem café nem chá.
An additional negative ("nor")	nem / também não / tampouco	Não vou, nem eu. / Também não vou.
An emphatic "not even"	nem sequer / não... sequer	Nem sequer olhou.
An adjective intensifier ("at all")	nada	Não estou nada cansado.

Positive vs negative pairs — the contrast

The negative words have positive counterparts that they replace in negative sentences. Choosing the wrong one is the most common English-speaker error.

Positive (affirmative)	Negative (under não / pre-verb)
algo (something)	nada (nothing)
alguém (someone)	ninguém (nobody)
algum / alguma (some)	nenhum / nenhuma (no, none)
sempre / às vezes (always / sometimes)	nunca / jamais (never)
e / também (and / also)	nem / também não / tampouco
até (even)	nem / nem sequer (not even)

Há alguém à porta.

There's someone at the door.

Não há ninguém à porta.

There's nobody at the door. (NOT *não há alguém*)

Sei alguma coisa sobre isso.

I know something about that.

Não sei nada sobre isso.

I don't know anything about that. (NOT *não sei alguma coisa*)

The positive forms (algo, alguém, algum) can in theory appear under negation, but they then carry a marked, partitive meaning — Não vi alguém would be read as "there is someone whom I didn't see," not as "I saw nobody." For everyday negation, always switch to the negative forms.

Common mistakes

❌ Não vi alguém na rua.

With não, you need ninguém — not alguém. The positive pronoun in a negative sentence sounds bizarre or marked.

✅ Não vi ninguém na rua.

I didn't see anyone in the street.

❌ Não tenho algum livro dele.

Same problem — algum is positive. Use nenhum in a negated sentence.

✅ Não tenho nenhum livro dele.

I don't have any of his books.

❌ Não tenho nenhum dúvida.

Agreement — dúvida is feminine, so use nenhuma.

✅ Não tenho nenhuma dúvida.

I have no doubt.

❌ Não vieram ninguéns à festa.

Ninguém has no plural form — there is no *ninguéns*. Keep ninguém singular regardless of how many people would have been involved: Não veio ninguém à festa.

✅ Não veio ninguém à festa.

Nobody came to the party (even though many were invited).

❌ Estou nada cansado.

Word order and missing negator — adverbial intensifier nada needs the não in front of the verb: não estou nada cansado.

✅ Não estou nada cansado.

I'm not tired at all.

❌ Tampouco eu vou.

Acceptable in formal writing, but in conversation overwhelmingly marked. Use também não.

✅ Eu também não vou.

I'm not going either.

❌ Nunca não vou ao cinema.

Don't combine nunca with não when nunca is pre-verbal — pick one negator.

✅ Nunca vou ao cinema. / Não vou nunca ao cinema.

I never go to the cinema.

❌ Não há razão nenhum para te zangares.

Razão is feminine — agreement requires nenhuma.

✅ Não há razão nenhuma para te zangares.

There's no reason at all for you to get angry.

Key takeaways

Nada — invariable. Pronoun "nothing/anything"; adverbial intensifier "at all"; can also be a noun ("nothingness").
Ninguém — invariable, only singular. Pronoun "nobody/anybody."
Nenhum / nenhuma — agrees in gender and number with the noun. Determiner or pronoun. Plural nenhuns / nenhumas exists but is rare. Post-nominal nenhum is an emphatic PT-PT pattern.
Nunca — invariable adverb "never." Combines with mais (nunca mais), with quase (quase nunca).
Jamais — emphatic / literary "never." Use for emphasis or in writing; nunca is the everyday choice.
Nem — multifunctional: neither... nor..., nor, not even (often as nem sequer), and the additive me neither (nem eu). See the sibling page on nem.
Tampouco — formal "nor / not either." In speech, prefer também não.
The positive counterparts algo / alguém / algum are NOT used in everyday negative sentences — switch to the negative forms.