"nothing" in seven languages
Meaningnothing
Spanish
/ˈnada/
other source · Latin (RĒS) NĀTA '(a thing) born, anything at all'
French
/ʁjɛ̃/
other source · Latin RĒM 'thing'
Needs ne: je ne vois rien.
Italian
/ˈnjɛnte/
other source · probably Latin NEC ENTEM 'not a being'
Also nulla (Latin NULLA 'no things').
Portuguese
/ˈnadɐ/
other source · Latin (RĒS) NĀTA '(a thing) born, anything at all'
Romanian
/niˈmik/
other source · probably Latin NE MICA 'not a crumb'
Catalan
/res/
other source · Latin RĒM 'thing'
Like French rien, it means 'nothing' only with a negation: no veig res.
English
/ˈnʌθɪŋ/
native English · Old English nān þing
The story
Ironically, French 'nothing' is Latin 'thing', and Spanish 'nothing' is 'anything born': both became negative by keeping company with a negation (ne … rien, no … nada).
Learn it
In a sentence
- esNo veo nada.
- frJe ne vois rien.
- itNon vedo niente.
- ptNão vejo nada.
- roNu văd nimic.
- caNo veig res.
- enI don't see anything.