Translation
never, ever
Test yourself on nunca
Three quick questions. No account needed.
Know this word? Create a free account to track it.
Word origin
From Latin numquam ('never'), a compound of num ('now, at all') and quam ('ever').
- Origin
- Latin
- Root
- numquam
Examples
Australia.
I have never been to Australia.
.
I would never do that again.
, .
Better late than never, they say.
.
I never thought I would find her again.
.
This would never have happened with more care.
Nunca follows the same double-negation rule as nada: it can either precede the verb with no "no" ("Nunca llego tarde") or follow the verb with "no" before it ("No llego nunca tarde"). Both patterns are grammatically correct; placing nunca before the verb for emphasis is slightly more formal.
Nunca and jamás are near-synonyms but not perfectly interchangeable. Jamás is more emphatic and literary; "nunca jamás" (never ever) is the intensified collocation. In affirmative questions and conditional sentences, both can mean "ever": "¿Has estado alguna vez en Japón?" is more common than "¿Has estado nunca en Japón?" though both are used.
Where this fits
Used in
Stories
(49)En el médico: me duele la cabeza
2 min read · Core 5000
A Paula le duele todo
3 min read · Core 5000
Alguien que lo haya visto
3 min read · Core 5000
Cajas para el plástico
3 min read · Core 5000
Cuando llegué, ya había pasado
3 min read · Core 5000
Cuanto más espero, peor
3 min read · Core 5000
¿El coche o el carro?
3 min read · Core 5000
La conductora de la ambulancia
3 min read · Core 5000
El cumpleaños de la abuela
3 min read · Core 5000
El mejor café de la calle
3 min read · Core 5000
El nuevo doctor de Paula
3 min read · Core 1000
Es importante que descanses
3 min read · Core 5000
Espero que vengas
3 min read · Core 5000
La aventura de Sofía
3 min read · Core 5000
La habitación libre
3 min read · Core 5000
La promesa de Lucía
3 min read · Core 5000
La echo de menos
3 min read · Core 5000
Lo hizo esperar
3 min read · Core 5000
Lleva toda la mañana
3 min read · Core 5000
Lo que de verdad importa
3 min read · Core 5000
Lo que dijo el médico
3 min read · Core 5000
María lleva una hora esperando
3 min read · Core 5000
Más vale tarde que nunca
3 min read · Core 5000
Perdido en la ciudad
3 min read · Core 1000
Por lo tanto, decidimos
3 min read · Core 5000
Se vende la furgoneta
3 min read · Core 5000
Tú y tu hermano
3 min read · Core 5000
Un mes sano
3 min read · Core 5000
Un regalo para mamá
3 min read · Core 5000
Una mañana en el mercado
3 min read · Core 1000
Una tarde de lluvia
3 min read · Core 1000
Cocinar con el abuelo
4 min read · Core 5000
El primer día de Laura
4 min read · Core 1000
Mis mensajes son privados
4 min read · Core 5000
Una banda en problemas
4 min read · Core 5000
Una biblioteca de objetos
4 min read · Core 5000
El plato azul
5 min read · Core 5000
La carpeta azul
5 min read · Core 5000
La lengua de la abuela
5 min read · Core 5000
Mentiras en la red
5 min read · Core 5000
No me quiero ir de aquí
5 min read · Core 5000
Palabras de cocina
5 min read · Core 1000
Salvar el lago
5 min read · Core 5000
Sin entrada
5 min read · Core 5000
Todas mis fotos
5 min read · Core 5000
Un día tarde
5 min read · Core 5000
Un viaje sin suerte
5 min read · Core 5000
¿Y vos qué sos?
5 min read · Core 5000
Yo estuve allí
5 min read · Core 5000
Grammar articles
(15)Advanced Spanish Adverbs: muy vs mucho, aún, Word Order
Spanish Adverbs in -mente: Rules, Accents and Examples
Spanish Grammar Cheatsheet: The Essentials, One Page
Common Spanish Collocations: tomar, hacer, dar + Noun
Spanish Indefinite and Negative Words: alguien, nadie, algún
Spanish Intensifiers: muy, -ísimo, super, un poco, más bien
Intermediate Spanish Grammar (B1-B2): Beating the Plateau
Advanced Spanish Negation: ni, tampoco, sino vs pero
Spanish Negation: no, nunca, nadie and Double Negatives
Spanish Pluperfect (Past Perfect): The Past Before the Past
Spanish Present Perfect: he hablado, ha vivido, hemos visto
Spanish Proverbs (Refranes): 15 Sayings Everyone Knows
Spanish Regional Grammar: voseo (vos tenés) and ustedes
Spanish Subjunctive in Relative (Adjective) Clauses
How to Say 'Become' in Spanish: ponerse, volverse, hacerse
Add to review queue
Track this word in your spaced-repetition queue and be tested on it at the right interval.
Meet this word in a story
Every course has graded stories written only with words you have been taught, plus grammar drills, a games arcade and printable worksheets. Chapters 1 and 2 are free.
Chapters 1 and 2 free, forever. Plus: 7 days free, then $5 a month for all eleven languages.
Spanish · Free printables
nunca: worksheet, infographic and listicle
Free printable study downloads for the Spanish word "nunca" (never, ever): a worksheet with the answer key built in, an infographic, and a sentence listicle. Open any one to view, print or save.
This word is taught in chapter 2, lesson 11: nunca, llamar, volver and 6 more words.