Neither... nor: non ... né ... né
To say "neither... nor", use né... né. Like most negative structures in Italian, if it comes after the verb, you must place non before the verb.
| I want to see neither the waiter nor the cook. | Non voglio vedere né il cameriere né il cuoco. |
| I eat neither raw meat nor burnt fish. | Non mangio né la carne cruda né il pesce bruciato. |
Notice that né requires an accent mark. You can use it to link nouns or adjectives.
| This dish was neither cooked nor salty. | Questo piatto non era né cotto né salato. |
Not even: nemmeno, neanche, and neppure
Italian has three interchangeable words for "not even": nemmeno, neanche, and neppure. When placed after the verb, keep non in front of the verb.
| The salty cheese doesn't even have a good flavor. | Il formaggio salato non ha nemmeno un buon sapore. |
| The pasta is not even cooked! | La pasta non è neanche cotta! |
Emphasis at the beginning of the sentence
If you place nemmeno, neanche, or neppure before the verb to emphasize the subject (e.g., "Not even the cook..."), drop the non.
| Not even the cook eats this food. | Neppure il cuoco mangia questo cibo. |
These emphatic negatives can easily share a sentence with other negative structures, like non... ancora (not yet) and non... più (not anymore).
| I haven't even tasted the raw fish yet. | Non ho ancora assaggiato nemmeno il pesce crudo. |
| I am not hungry anymore; I don't even want the meat. | Non ho più fame; non voglio neanche la carne. |
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