Ni… ni in Spanish: how to say neither… nor

Ni... ni is the Spanish way to say neither… nor. It works like a stronger, paired version of the negative word ni (“nor”, “not even”). The one thing to get right is where no goes:

• When ni... ni comes after the verb, keep no in front of the verb: No tengo ni tiempo ni dinero (I have neither time nor money).
• When the ni... ni items are the subject and come before the verb, drop no: Ni Juan ni Ana lo sabe (Neither Juan nor Ana knows).

That double negative — no plus ni — is correct Spanish, not an error, in the same way no... nada is.

Ni… ni after the verb

This is the most common case: you name two things you reject, both introduced by ni, and you keep no before the verb. English uses a single negative (“I don’t have… or…”), but Spanish keeps everything negative.

No tengo ni tiempo ni dinero.
I have neither time nor money.

No me gusta ni el frío ni la lluvia.
I like neither the cold nor the rain.

You can attach ni... ni to almost any part of the sentence — objects, verbs or adjectives — as long as no stays in front of the verb.

No quiero ni comer ni dormir.
I want neither to eat nor to sleep.

Ni… ni before the verb

When the two ni items are the subject and sit at the front of the sentence, the no disappears. The sentence is already negative because it starts with ni.

Ni Juan ni María quieren ir.
Neither Juan nor María want to go.

Ni el uno ni el otro me convence.
Neither one nor the other convinces me.

About agreement: when two singular subjects are joined by ni... ni, Spanish allows either a singular or a plural verb, and the plural is very common: Ni Juan ni Ana lo sabe and Ni Juan ni Ana lo saben are both fine.

Ni on its own: “not even” and “nor”

A single ni (without a partner) means “nor” or, for emphasis, “not even”. It still needs no before the verb.

No vino ni me llamó.
He didn’t come, nor did he call.

No tengo ni un euro.
I don’t have even a euro.

For extra emphasis you can stretch this into ni siquiera (not even), which is the most natural way to say “not even” in front of a whole idea.

No me llamó, ni siquiera me mandó un mensaje.
He didn’t call me; he didn’t even send me a message.

This emphatic ni overlaps in feeling with tampoco (neither / not either), but they do different jobs: ni links items inside one clause, while tampoco echoes a whole previous negative statement — see también vs tampoco for that contrast. For the wider family of negative words like nunca and nada, see Spanish negation.

Common mistakes

Dropping no when ni… ni follows the verb

If the ni items come after the verb, no is required. Leaving it out is the most common error.

Tengo ni tiempo ni dinero. → No tengo ni tiempo ni dinero.
I have neither time nor money.

Using o instead of ni in a negative

A negative list uses ni, not o (“or”). English “not… or…” becomes no... ni... in Spanish.

No quiero café o té. → No quiero ni café ni té.
I want neither coffee nor tea.

Adding no when the subject comes first

When ni... ni starts the sentence as the subject, do not add a second no before the verb.

Ni Juan ni Ana no lo sabe. → Ni Juan ni Ana lo sabe.
Neither Juan nor Ana knows.

Negation patterns like ni... ni are easy to understand and easy to forget in the moment, which is why short spoken repetition helps. Fluera builds these into quick sentences where you place no and ni in the right spots and hear the result, a practical way to practice Spanish until the double negative feels natural.

Practice