Nem (Not Even, Neither/Nor) | Portuguese (Portugal) Grammar

Nem is one of the small words that defines the texture of spoken European Portuguese. In a single syllable it does the work of English nor, not even, neither, and a handful of idiomatic flourishes that don't translate at all. Strip nem out of a PT-PT conversation and the conversation collapses into something stiff and unnatural — it's that frequent.

This page covers the full working range of nem: as a negative coordinator linking two negated items, as an emphatic "not even" reinforcing a negation (often intensified to nem sequer), in the hypothetical nem que construction, as the casual hedge nem por isso, and in a cluster of idioms (nem pensar!, nem eu, nem mais nem menos) that a learner cannot do without.

Nem as coordinator: "neither / nor"

The first and most grammatical use of nem is to join two (or more) negated constituents. It is the negative counterpart of e "and" and ou "or": where e joins positives and ou gives alternatives, nem joins negatives.

The standard pattern: não… nem…

When there is a finite verb already negated by não, nem introduces the second negated item. A pre-verbal não is still required — nem does not replace it.

Não falo francês nem alemão.

I speak neither French nor German.

Ela não bebe café nem chá depois das seis.

She doesn't drink coffee or tea after six.

Não tenho tempo nem paciência para isso hoje.

I don't have time or patience for that today.

Não gosto de coentros nem de pimenta.

I don't like coriander or pepper.

Notice how English often collapses this into "I don't like X or Y" with or; Portuguese keeps the symmetry with nem.

The emphatic pattern: nem… nem…

For stronger contrast — "not this one AND not the other one" — you can repeat nem on both items. This construction can also front the whole coordination, dropping the não.

Não quero nem café nem chá — quero água.

I want neither coffee nor tea — I want water.

Nem ele nem ela apareceram para o almoço.

Neither he nor she showed up for lunch.

Nem o frio nem a chuva o fizeram desistir.

Neither the cold nor the rain made him give up.

Three or more items

Nem scales freely to lists of any length.

Nem pão, nem queijo, nem presunto — a despensa estava completamente vazia.

No bread, no cheese, no ham — the pantry was completely empty.

Não trouxe carteira, nem chaves, nem telemóvel. Que manhã!

I didn't bring my wallet, or keys, or phone. What a morning!

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When the coordination is fronted (before the verb), no pre-verbal não appears: Nem ele nem ela vieram. When the coordination is post-verbal, the pre-verbal não is obligatory: Não veio nem ele nem ela. This mirrors the general double-negation rule.

Nem alone as "not even"

Far more distinctively PT-PT — and much more common in everyday speech than the coordinating use — is nem used alone as the adverbial "not even." In this use it often stands at the beginning of a clause, modifying a single constituent or the whole predication.

Nem sei o que dizer.

I don't even know what to say.

Ele nem veio à minha festa de anos.

He didn't even come to my birthday party.

Nem tentes — ela não vai mudar de ideias.

Don't even try — she's not going to change her mind.

Eu nem tinha reparado nisso, obrigado por me dizeres.

I hadn't even noticed that, thanks for telling me.

A sopa está tão quente que nem consigo provar.

The soup is so hot I can't even taste it.

The "not even" sense of nem implies a scalar context: the speaker expected at least something, and got less than the minimum. Nem sei = "I'm so lost I can't even claim knowledge of the basics." Ele nem veio = "of all the things he could have done, he didn't even manage the most minimal."

Nem as an intensifier of disbelief

In exclamations and reactions, bare nem expresses surprised disbelief — often almost the opposite of the English "not even" in tone, coloured by the emotional weight of what follows.

Nem acredito no que estou a ouvir!

I can't even believe what I'm hearing!

Nem imaginas o trânsito que apanhei para chegar aqui.

You can't even imagine the traffic I got stuck in to get here.

Nem queiras saber como foi a reunião.

You don't even want to know how the meeting went.

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Nem imaginas… and nem queiras saber… are among the most characteristic PT-PT storytelling openers. Both are idiomatic and mean roughly "you have no idea…" — a way of announcing that something remarkable is about to be told.

Nem sequer — "not even" (emphatic)

Sequer is a polarity adverb meaning roughly "at all, so much as," and it lives almost exclusively in negative environments. The combination nem sequer is a more emphatic "not even" — more indignant, more incredulous than bare nem.

Ele nem sequer me disse olá quando entrou.

He didn't even say hello to me when he walked in.

Nem sequer tentaram perceber o meu ponto de vista.

They didn't even try to understand my point of view.

Ela saiu sem nem sequer fechar a porta.

She left without even closing the door.

Split vs joined

Nem and sequer can either sit together or be split around the verb/clitic. Both are correct; the split form tends to sound slightly more formal.

Não me disse nem sequer olá.

He didn't even say hello to me. (split, slightly formal)

Nem sequer me disse olá.

He didn't even say hello to me. (joined, more colloquial)

Não li nem sequer a introdução.

I didn't even read the introduction.

Nem sequer li a introdução.

I didn't even read the introduction.

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Sequer on its own is almost exclusively a polarity item — it survives in negative, interrogative, and hypothetical contexts, but it does not appear in plain positive sentences. The most common companion is nem.

Nem que + imperfect subjunctive: "not even if"

Nem que introduces a hypothetical clause whose content is explicitly rejected, no matter how extreme. It is followed by the imperfect subjunctive (conjuntivo imperfeito), matching its counterfactual force.

Nem que me pagassem, faria aquilo.

Not even if they paid me would I do that.

Nem que fosse a última pessoa na Terra, casava com ele.

Not even if he were the last person on Earth would I marry him.

Nem que chovesse canivetes, deixaria de ir ao concerto.

Not even if it rained knives would I miss the concert.

Nem que me puxasses pela orelha, eu não entro naquela casa.

Not even if you dragged me by the ear would I go into that house.

The nem que construction is a strong rhetorical device for swearing off something categorically. It rhymes with the ainda que ("even if") and mesmo que ("even if") constructions but carries a more absolute, dismissive tone.

Ainda que me peçam desculpa, eu já não esqueço.

Even if they apologize, I won't forget it.

Nem que me peçam desculpa, eu nunca mais lá vou.

Not even if they apologize will I ever go there again. (stronger)

Nem por isso — "not really / not that much"

This is one of the most recognisably PT-PT hedges. Literally "not by that," it means something like "not really," "not that much," "not especially" — a softened negative that falls short of a blunt "no."

— Gostas de sushi? — Nem por isso.

— Do you like sushi? — Not really.

— Estás zangado? — Nem por isso, mas fiquei surpreendido.

— Are you angry? — Not really, but I was surprised.

— Foi um bom filme? — Nem por isso. Esperava melhor.

— Was it a good film? — Not really. I was expecting better.

O restaurante é caro? Nem por isso — é razoável.

Is the restaurant expensive? Not really — it's reasonable.

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Nem por isso is a PT-PT politeness move. Where an English speaker might say "not really, but…" to cushion a negative, PT-PT speakers reach straight for nem por isso. Using it fluently is a small but recognisable fluency marker.

Nem pensar! — "No way!"

A short idiomatic refusal, equivalent to English No way!, Don't even think about it!, or Not a chance. Extremely frequent in spoken PT-PT.

— Posso ir à discoteca esta noite? — Nem pensar!

— Can I go to the club tonight? — No way!

Emprestar-te o carro outra vez? Nem pensar.

Lend you the car again? Don't even think about it.

Fazer um exame no sábado de manhã? Nem pensar, estou de férias!

Take an exam on Saturday morning? No chance, I'm on holiday!

The construction is a fossilised nem + infinitive ("not even to think"): literally you are refusing even the thought of whatever was proposed. The force is unambiguous — nem pensar! is a definitive no.

Nem um / nem uma — "not a single"

When nem modifies the indefinite article um/uma, the result is an emphatic "not a single." Post-verbally it typically triggers the full double-negation structure; pre-verbally it stands on its own.

Não disse nem uma palavra durante toda a reunião.

He didn't say a single word during the entire meeting.

Não comeu nem um bocado do jantar que preparei.

She didn't eat a single bite of the dinner I prepared.

Nem uma lágrima derramou quando recebeu a notícia.

She didn't shed a single tear when she got the news.

Nem um cêntimo me sobrou ao fim do mês.

I didn't have a single cent left at the end of the month.

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Nem um / nem uma is more emphatic than nenhum / nenhuma. The latter is a plain "no/none"; the former stresses that not even one token of the category materialised.

Nem eu / nem ele — "me neither, him neither"

In reactive contexts, nem + pronoun is the standard short reply meaning "X neither" / "not X either."

— Não gosto de chuva. — Nem eu.

— I don't like rain. — Neither do I.

— Ainda não acabei o trabalho. — Nem eu, estou a meio.

— I still haven't finished the work. — Neither have I, I'm halfway.

— Ela nunca foi a Paris. — Nem ele, nem o irmão.

— She's never been to Paris. — Neither has he, nor his brother.

— Não quero sobremesa. — Nem nós.

— I don't want dessert. — Neither do we.

The equivalent with the full form também não is perfectly grammatical but longer:

— Não gosto de chuva. — Eu também não.

— I don't like rain. — I don't either. (longer, equally correct)

In casual PT-PT, the nem-form is noticeably more compact and quicker off the tongue.

Nem mais nem menos — "nothing more, nothing less"

An idiomatic formula meaning "exactly that, precisely so." Used to confirm a statement with a touch of finality.

— Então ele tem razão? — Nem mais nem menos.

— So he's right? — Exactly.

Paguei trezentos euros pelo bilhete, nem mais nem menos.

I paid three hundred euros for the ticket, nothing more, nothing less.

Foi ele quem decidiu, nem mais nem menos.

He was the one who decided, nothing more and nothing less.

A closely related confirmation idiom is the shorter nem mais, a colloquial agreement marker.

— A comida ali é incrível. — Nem mais!

— The food there is amazing. — Absolutely!

— Temos de mudar de estratégia. — Nem mais, estamos a perder tempo.

— We have to change strategy. — Exactly, we're wasting time.

Nem um pio, nem uma vírgula — hyperbolic idioms

A cluster of fixed emphatic expressions uses nem + a small quantity noun to mean "absolutely nothing" or "absolute silence."

Nem um pio! Quero toda a gente em silêncio.

Not a peep! I want everyone silent. (pio = chirp)

Ele leu o meu texto e não mudou nem uma vírgula.

He read my text and didn't change a single comma.

A plateia ficou em silêncio absoluto — nem se ouvia uma mosca.

The audience was in absolute silence — you couldn't even hear a fly. (lit. not even a fly was heard)

Não há nem uma pinga de leite em casa.

There isn't a single drop of milk in the house.

These idioms are hyperbolic — the "pio," "vírgula," or "pinga" stands in for the smallest conceivable unit of its category, which is then explicitly ruled out.

Position and clitic interaction

Nem before the verb triggers proclisis

When nem precedes the verb directly, it is a proclisis trigger — clitic pronouns climb in front of the verb, not after.

Nem me olhou quando passou.

He didn't even look at me when he passed.

Nem o vi entrar na sala.

I didn't even see him come into the room.

Nem te imaginas o que ele disse.

You can't even imagine what he said.

Ela nem se lembrou do meu aniversário.

She didn't even remember my birthday.

Compare the neutral enclitic olhou-me, vi-o, lembrou-se with the proclitic forms above. The trigger is nem, exactly as with não.

Nem in coordination with não

When nem is the second conjunct after a verb already negated by não, clitic placement follows the rules set by the first verb — the não is what triggers proclisis.

Não me disse olá nem me cumprimentou.

He didn't say hello to me nor did he greet me.

Não o vi ontem nem o encontrei hoje.

I didn't see him yesterday nor did I find him today.

Nem vs não — the semantic split

A common learner question: when should I use nem, and when is plain não enough? The distinction is scalar.

Não is neutral negation. It just says "not X."
Nem adds an exclusionary or scalar sense: "not X, not even X, not X either, not this AND not that."

Não sei o que dizer.

I don't know what to say. (neutral)

Nem sei o que dizer.

I don't even know what to say. (scalar — expected to know something, don't even have that)

Não falo francês.

I don't speak French. (neutral)

Não falo nem francês nem alemão.

I speak neither French nor German. (coordinated exclusion)

Nem um francês me entenderia.

Not even a Frenchman would understand me. (scalar intensive)

The guideline: if you want to simply negate, use não. If you want to add "not even / nor / neither," reach for nem.

Reference table

Construction	Meaning	Example
não… nem…	not… nor…	Não falo francês nem alemão.
nem… nem…	neither… nor…	Nem ele nem ela vieram.
nem (adverbial)	not even	Nem sei o que dizer.
nem sequer	not even (emphatic)	Nem sequer me cumprimentou.
nem que + imp. subj.	not even if	Nem que me pagassem, faria isso.
nem por isso	not really	— Gostas? — Nem por isso.
nem pensar!	no way!	Emprestar-te o carro? Nem pensar.
nem um / nem uma	not a single	Nem uma palavra disse.
nem eu / nem ele	me neither / him neither	— Não gosto. — Nem eu.
nem mais nem menos	exactly, nothing more or less	Foi ele, nem mais nem menos.
nem mais!	absolutely, exactly!	— Temos de mudar. — Nem mais!
nem um pio	not a peep	Nem um pio até eu voltar!

Common mistakes

❌ Eu também não falo francês também não alemão.

Incorrect — use *nem* for the second item after a negation, not a second *também não*.

✅ Não falo francês nem alemão.

I don't speak French or German.

❌ Ele nem veio, e também nem telefonou.

Overuse of *nem*. The second coordinated clause takes *e nem*, or simply *e também não*.

✅ Ele nem veio nem telefonou.

He neither came nor called.

❌ Não vi ninguém nem nada.

Redundant — *nem* already carries the double-negation force. Use one construction or the other.

✅ Não vi ninguém, nem nada.

I saw nobody, not a single thing. (with comma for stylistic emphasis; cleaner: *Não vi ninguém nem nada.* if joining tightly)

❌ Nem que me pagariam, faria isso.

Wrong mood — *nem que* requires the imperfect subjunctive, not the conditional.

✅ Nem que me pagassem, faria isso.

Not even if they paid me would I do that.

❌ — Gostas? — Nem muito.

Unidiomatic — the PT-PT hedge is *nem por isso*, not *nem muito*.

✅ — Gostas? — Nem por isso.

— Do you like it? — Not really.

❌ Nem ele veio nem ele telefonou.

Repeating the subject in both conjuncts is unnatural — share the subject across the coordinated verbs: Ele nem veio nem telefonou. (Or, with a fronted nem... nem... pair binding two subjects: Nem ele nem o irmão telefonaram.)