"never" in seven languages
Meaningnever
Spanish
nunca
/ˈnunka/
inherited
French
jamais
/ʒamɛ/
other source · Latin IAM MAGIS 'already more, ever more'
Needs ne in writing: je ne fume jamais.
Italian
mai
/mai/
other source · Latin MAGIS 'more'
Needs non before the verb: non fumo mai. Alone in questions it means 'ever'.
Portuguese
nunca
/ˈnũkɐ/
inherited
Romanian
niciodată
/nitʃjoˈdatə/
other source · Romanian nici 'not even' + o dată 'one time'
Catalan
mai
/maj/
other source · Latin MAGIS 'more'
English
never
/ˈnɛvɚ/
native English · Old English nǣfre
English → ItaliannevermaiNot relatedDifferent sources — learn this one fresh.What English and Italian share
The Latin ancestor
NUMQUAM‘never (NE + UMQUAM 'not ever')’
All six sisters descend from it, unless marked otherwise below.
The story
Spanish kept Latin's 'not ever'. French and Italian built 'never' out of MAGIS 'more' — which is why jamais and mai mean 'ever' when the negation is missing.
Learn it
In a sentence
- esNo fumo nunca.
- frJe ne fume jamais.
- itNon fumo mai.
- ptEu nunca fumo.
- roNu fumez niciodată.
- caNo fumo mai.
- enI never smoke.