Tampoco (Neither, Not Either)

Tampoco is the negative counterpart of también (also, too). Where English uses neither, nor, or not either, Spanish uses this single word. It's short, extremely common in spoken Latin American Spanish, and once you get the hang of it, you'll find dozens of daily situations to use it.

Tampoco = Not... Either

The easiest way to understand tampoco is to remember this equation:

If you know when to use también, you already know when to use tampoco—just flip the polarity of the sentence.

Agreeing with a Negative Statement

The most common use of tampoco is to agree with someone who has made a negative statement. It's the equivalent of English "me neither" or "I don't either."

Note the structure A mí tampoco—this is used when the original statement contains an indirect object construction like me gusta, me duele, me importa. If the statement is a plain subject-verb ("I don't know"), you use Yo tampoco.

Inside a Sentence

Tampoco can also appear inside a full sentence, not just as a response. Its position is flexible: it can go before the verb (no no needed) or after (with no before the verb).

Both sentences mean essentially the same thing. Placing tampoco before the verb is slightly more emphatic; placing it at the end is slightly more conversational.

With Pronouns and Objects

When the sentence has object pronouns, tampoco fits naturally either before the verb (along with no) or at the end.

In the last example, notice how tampoco coexists with another negative word (nada). This is fine—Spanish allows multiple negatives in the same sentence, as covered in Double Negation Rules.

Ni Tampoco (Not Even, And Not Either)

You'll sometimes hear ni tampoco used together for emphasis, roughly meaning "and not... either" or "nor... either." It adds a strong sense of piling on.

This combination is more common in writing and formal speech but does appear in conversation for extra emphasis.

For the related pattern of joining two negative items, see Ni...Ni.