nunca

See also: ñunca

Asturian

Alternative forms

• ñunca

Etymology

From Latin numquam (“never”).

Adverb

nunca

1. never

   Synonym: enxamás

Galician

Etymology

Inherited from Old Galician-Portuguese nunca, from Latin numquam (“never”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈnuŋka/ [ˈnũŋ.kɐ]
• Rhymes: -uŋka
• Hyphenation: nun‧ca

Adverb

nunca

1. never

   Synonym: xamais

Derived terms

• nunca máis
• nunca na vida
• nunca xamais

References

• Seoane, Ernesto Xosé González; Granja, María Álvarez de la; Agrelo, Ana Isabel Boullón (2006–2022), “nunca”, in Dicionario de Dicionarios do galego medieval [Dictionary of dictionaries of Medieval Galician] (in Galician), Santiago de Compostela: Instituto da Lingua Galega
• Barreiro, Xavier Varela; Guinovart, Xavier Gómez (2006–2018), “nunca”, in Corpus Xelmírez: corpus lingüístico da Galicia medieval [Corpus Xelmírez: linguistic corpus of Medieval Galicia] (in Galician), Santiago de Compostela: Instituto da Lingua Galega
• Antón Luís Santamarina Fernández, editor (2006–2013), “nunca”, in Dicionario de Dicionarios da lingua galega [Dictionary of Dictionaries of the Galician language] (in Galician), Santiago de Compostela: Instituto da Lingua Galega
• Antón Luís Santamarina Fernández, Ernesto Xosé González Seoane, María Álvarez de la Granja, editors (2003–2018), “nunca”, in Tesouro informatizado da lingua galega (in Galician), Santiago de Compostela: Instituto da Lingua Galega
• Rosario Álvarez Blanco, editor (2014–2024), “nunca”, in Tesouro do léxico patrimonial galego e portugués (in Galician), Santiago de Compostela: Instituto da Lingua Galega, →ISSN

Further reading

• “nunca”, in Dicionario da Real Academia Galega (in Galician), A Coruña: Royal Galician Academy, 2012–2025
• “nunca”, in Dicionário Estraviz de galego (in Galician), 2014–2025

Macanese

Etymology

From Portuguese nunca (“never”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈnuŋkɐ/, /ˈnuŋka/

Adverb

nunca

1. negation particle usually (but not always) used in the past tense; did not, had not, would not

   Antonym: já

   Êle nunca vêm ― He did not come

   Êle já vai maz nunca volta ― He left but did not return

   Iou nunca capaz ― I wouldn't dare

   sâm nunca? ― isn't it?

   nunca nâ ― not yet

Usage notes

• Unlike the Portuguese word, nunca in Macanese usually does not mean "never"; nunca-si is used instead.
• sâm nunca is a common casual phrase used by Macanese as a question looking for confirmation at the end of an affirmative statement, similar to English innit. They may also use é-né for the same purpose, with both phrases being a calque of Cantonese 係咪 / 系咪 at different stages of the creole.

See also

• nádi
• nôm

Particle

nunca

1. imperative article expressing negative future tense; don't

   Synonym: nê-bôm

   Nunca assí pensam ― Don't worry

Derived terms

• nunca-bôm (“don't (imperative)”)
• nunca-si

Interjection

nunca

1. no

   Antonyms: sim, (dated) sâm

   Sâm diabo? Nunca, sâm tacho-sa!

   Is it diabo? No, it's a pan!

Usage notes

• nôm is not used in Macanese as a negative response to a question. For questions pertaining to the past and present, nunca is used; for questions pertaining to the future, nádi is used.

References

• https://www.macaneselibrary.org/pub/english/uipatua.htm

Portuguese

Etymology

From Old Galician-Portuguese nunca, from Latin numquam (“never”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈnũ.kɐ/

• Audio (Portugal (Porto)):

  (file)

• Hyphenation: nun‧ca

Adverb

nunca (not comparable)

2. never (at no time; not ever)

   Synonyms: see Thesaurus:nunca

   Nunca vi esse filme.

   I have never seen this film.

   Nunca tenha certeza do sucesso.

   Never be sure of success.

   • 2005, J. K. Rowling, translated by Lia Wyler, Harry Potter e o Enigma do Príncipe [Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince] (Harry Potter; 6), Rio de Janeiro: Rocco, →ISBN, page 139:

     Você nunca me deu a impressão de gostar tanto assim da matéria.

     You never gave me the impression of liking that subject so much.

   • 2010, Raito, Nihonjin: O Sonho, biblioteca24horas, →ISBN, page 34:

     — Não, eu não fiz tudo o que eu podia. Eu ainda posso fazer mais, eu ainda posso tentar mais do que isso. Finalmente sei o que devo fazer. Muito obrigado por tudo, Kumamoto-san. Eu nunca me esquecerei de suas palavras. — Kaue curvou o corpo em agradecimento.

     (please add an English translation of this quotation)

Derived terms

• antes tarde do que nunca
• mais do que nunca
• nunca mais

Descendants

• Kabuverdianu: nunca
• Macanese: nunca

Noun

nunca m (plural nuncas)

1. (poetic) neverness (the quality of not ever being extant or present)

Further reading

• “nunca”, in Dicionário infopédia da Lingua Portuguesa (in Portuguese), Porto: Porto Editora, 2003–2025
• “nunca”, in Dicionário Priberam da Língua Portuguesa (in Portuguese), Lisbon: Priberam, 2008–2025

Spanish

Etymology

Inherited from Old Spanish nunqua, from Latin numquam, from ne + umquam.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈnunka/ [ˈnũŋ.ka]

• Audio (Colombia):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -unka
• Syllabification: nun‧ca

Adverb

nunca

1. never

   Synonyms: jamás, en su vida

   Nunca he probado la langosta.

   I've never tasted lobster.

   • 2008, Fausto Ponce, Fuera de lugar, Lulu.com, page 7:

     Nunca te va a hacer una chingadera.

     He will never screw you over.

2. ever

   Estamos mejor que nunca.

   We're better than ever.

Derived terms

• ciudad que nunca duerme
• de nunca acabar
• más nunca
• más vale tarde que nunca
• nunca digas de este agua no beberé
• nunca digas nunca
• nunca es tarde si la dicha es buena
• nunca jamás
• nunca más
• nunca mucho cuesta poco
• nunca se sabe
• nunca segundas partes fueron buenas

Further reading

• “nunca”, in Diccionario de la lengua española [Dictionary of the Spanish Language] (in Spanish), online version 23.8, Royal Spanish Academy [Spanish: Real Academia Española], 10 December 2024