nada

See also: Appendix:Variations of "nada"

Languages (22)

English

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Asturian • Catalan • Cebuano • Chavacano • Danish • Dutch • Galician • Guinea-Bissau Creole • Indonesian • Japanese • Kabuverdianu • Ladino • Maia • Malay • Old Galician-Portuguese • Old High German • Polish • Portuguese • Serbo-Croatian • Spanish • Swedish

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Page categories

English

Etymology

Borrowed from Spanish nada (“nothing”). Doublet of natal, Natal, née, and Noel.

Pronunciation

• Audio (US):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɑːdə

Pronoun

nada

1. (informal, colloquial, chiefly US) Nothing.

   Antonym: something

   • 2019, “Balenciaga”, performed by Princess Nokia:

     Sketchers lookin' like Balenciaga / Thrift clothes lookin' like the Prada / Whole fit lit, it cost me nada

Translations

nothing — see nothing

Anagrams

• A-DNA, ANDA, Anda, Dana, NDAA, aDNA, dana, dāna

Asturian

Alternative forms

• ñada
• na
• ná

Etymology

Inherited from Latin (nūlla rēs) nāta (literally “no born thing, not a thing born”), an extension of nēmō nātus (“not a soul”, literally “nobody born”). For descendants of the other part of the expression see Galician ren (“nothing”), French rien (“nothing”), Catalan res (“nothing; anything”). For the grammaticalization of an original nominal as a negative see Jespersen's Cycle and French pas.

Adverb

nada

1. nothing

   Synonym: un res

Derived terms

• un nada
• quedar en nada
• en nada
• namás
• na non

Catalan

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): (Northern, Balearic, Central) [ˈna.ðə]
• IPA^(key): (Valencia, Northwestern) [ˈna.ða]

Adjective

nada

1. feminine singular of nat

Verb

nada

1. inflection of nadar:
   1. third-person singular present indicative
   2. second-person singular imperative

Cebuano

Etymology

Borrowed from Spanish nada (“nothing”).

Pronoun

nada

1. anything

   (only in the phrase)

   Wala'y nada. / Wa'y nada.

   Without anything.

   (idiomatic) useless

Chavacano

Etymology 1

Inherited from Spanish nadar (“to swim”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /naˈda/ [na.ˈda]
• Hyphenation: na‧da

Verb

nadá

1. to swim

Conjugation

Verb conjugation for nada

	tense	past	present	future	gerund	past participle	infinitive	manner	reciprocal	reciprocal past	reciprocal present	reciprocal future	reciprocal infinitive
Zamboanga City conjugation	nada	ya nada	ta nada	ay nada; nada; el nada; (rural/archaic) ey nada	nadando	nadao; nadado	nada	nadada	nadahan	ya man nadahan; ya'n nadahan	ta man nadahan; ta'n nadahan	ay man nadahan; man nadahan; el man nadahan; (rural/archaic) ey man nadahan	man nadahan
Cavite conjugation				di nada

Etymology 2

Inherited from Spanish nada (“nothing”).

Pronunciation

• Hyphenation: na‧da

Pronoun

nada

1. nothing

Danish

Etymology

Borrowed from Spanish nada (“nothing”).

Noun

nada

1. (informal) nothing

Dutch

Etymology

Borrowed from Spanish nada (“nothing”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /naː.daː/

• Audio:

  (file)

Pronoun

nada

1. nothing

   Synonyms: niets, niks, helemaal niks, helemaal niets, nihil, (informal) nakkes, nop, noppes, noppie, niente

   Niks, nada, noppes. ― (please add an English translation of this usage example)

Anagrams

• Daan, naad

Galician

Etymology 1

From Old Galician-Portuguese nada, from Latin (res) nata.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [ˈnaðɐ]

Pronoun

nada

1. nothing

   Synonym: ren

   Antonym: todo

Etymology 2

See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

Verb

nada

1. inflection of nadar:
   1. third-person singular present indicative
   2. second-person singular imperative

References

• Seoane, Ernesto Xosé González; Granja, María Álvarez de la; Agrelo, Ana Isabel Boullón (2006–2022), “nada”, 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), “nada”, 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), “nada”, 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), “nada”, in Tesouro informatizado da lingua galega (in Galician), Santiago de Compostela: Instituto da Lingua Galega
• Rosario Álvarez Blanco, editor (2014–2024), “nada”, in Tesouro do léxico patrimonial galego e portugués (in Galician), Santiago de Compostela: Instituto da Lingua Galega, →ISSN

Guinea-Bissau Creole

Etymology 1

From Portuguese nadar. Cognate with Kabuverdianu nada.

Verb

nada

1. to swim

Etymology 2

From Portuguese nada. Cognate with Kabuverdianu nada.

Pronoun

nada

1. nothing

Indonesian

Etymology

From Malay nada, from Sanskrit नाद (nāda, “a loud sound, roaring, bellowing, crying; any sound or tone”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈna.da/
• Rhymes: -da
• Hyphenation: na‧da

Noun

nada (plural nada-nada)

1. tone

   nada tinggi ― high tone

   nada rendah ― low tone

   nada turun ― falling tone

   nada naik ― rising tone

Derived terms

• bernada
• nada-nadanya
• senada

• nada dasar
• nada minor
• tinggi nada
• titinada
• warna nada

Further reading

• “nada”, in Kamus Besar Bahasa Indonesia [Great Dictionary of the Indonesian Language] (in Indonesian), Jakarta: Agency for Language Development and Cultivation – Ministry of Education, Culture, Research, and Technology of the Republic of Indonesia, 2016

Japanese

Romanization

nada

1. Rōmaji transcription of なだ

Kabuverdianu

Etymology 1

From Portuguese nadar.

Verb

nada

1. to swim

Etymology 2

From Portuguese nada.

Pronoun

nada

1. nothing

Ladino

Etymology 1

Inherited from Old Spanish nada (“nothing”), inherited from Latin (nūlla rēs) nāta (literally “no born thing, not a thing born”), an extension of nēmō nātus (“not a soul”, literally “nobody born”). For descendants of the other part of the expression see Galician ren (“nothing”), French rien (“nothing”), Catalan res (“nothing; anything”). For the grammaticalization of an original nominal as a negative see Jespersen's Cycle and French personne, pas.

Pronoun

nada (Hebrew spelling נאדה)

1. nothing, bupkis, zero, zilch (not…anything)

   Synonym: ich

   Antonyms: algo, todo

   • 2004, Moshe David Gaon, פואזיאס‎^[1], מכון מעלה אדומים בשיתוף עם מרכז משה דוד גאון לתרבות הלאדינו, אוניברסיטת בן גוריון, →ISBN, page 42:

     Todas tus repuestas nada no rezolven

     All your responses resolve bupkis.

   • 2006, Matilda Koén-Sarano, Por el plazer de kontar‎^[2], Nur Afakot, page 335:

     "Ima, no ay nada! En l'armada oímos kozas peores!"

     "Ima, that's nothing! We heard worse in the army!"

Alternative forms

• naa

Derived terms

• de nada
• por nada

Noun

nada f (Hebrew spelling נאדה)

1. nothingness; nothing (at all)
   • 1989, Aki Yerushalayim‎^[3], volume 10, number 40, page 30:

     Se yamo este livro Tsits Refua porke al modo de el tsits es una nada legabe de el arvol, kon todo tiene en su fuersa i es kolel un arvol entero kon sus flores i frutos, ansi este livro aunke es una nada legabe de la hohma de la dotoria, kon todo, meldandolo i entendiendolo bien se topa ke es kolel toda la hohma.

     This book is called Calico Treatment because calico's way is nothing compared to the tree's, with everything in its power, and an entire tree is a collection with flowers and fruits, thus while this book is nothing compared to doctorhood's wisdom, despite everything, reading it and understanding it well it is found to be a collection of all wisdom.

2. nowhere; the void
   • 1979, Isaac ben Michael Badhav, Ana María Riaño López, Un tratado sefardí de moral‎^[4], Ameller, →ISBN, page 94:

     El Dyo mos dyo este día i lo apartó por desbarazar muestro meoyo de todo modo de intereso de presonas, i aplikar sus eĉas i konoser sus grandes maraƀías kuryozas, i akodrarmos ke en sex días kreó el Dyo este mundo i lo renoƀó de la nada.

     God gave us this day and put it aside by clearing our mind of every person's way of interest, and doing His work and learning His great and wonderful miracles, and we shall remember that He created this world in six days and restored it ex nihilo.

Etymology 2

See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

Verb

nada (Hebrew spelling נאדה)

1. third-person singular present indicative of nadar

Maia

Noun

nada

1. child

Malay

Etymology

From Sanskrit नाद (nāda, “sound; tone”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈnada/ [ˈna.da]
• Rhymes: -da, -a
• Hyphenation: na‧da

Noun

nada (Jawi spelling نادا, plural nada-nada or nada²)

1. tone; note; pitch (a musical or vocal sound with reference to its pitch, quality, and strength).

   Synonyms: bunyi, irama

   Penyanyi itu gagal mencapai nada yang tinggi.

   The singer failed to reach the high note.

2. tone; intonation (vocal expression indicating a particular emotion, attitude, or mood).

   Synonyms: suara, lenggok

   Lelaki itu bercakap dengan nada marah.

   The man spoke in an angry tone.

   Tolong rendahkan nada suara awak.

   Please lower the tone of your voice.

Derived terms

Affixations

• bernada (“having a tone; toned”)
• senada (“of the same tone; harmonious”)

Compounds

• nada dasar (“keynote”)
• nada dering (“ringtone”)
• nada suara (“tone of voice”)

Descendants

• > Indonesian: nada (inherited)

Further reading

• "nada" in Pusat Rujukan Persuratan Melayu (PRPM) [Malay Literary Reference Centre (PRPM)] (in Malay), Kuala Lumpur: Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka, 2017

Old Galician-Portuguese

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈnada/

Etymology 1

Inherited from Latin (nūlla rēs) nāta (literally “no born thing, not a thing born”), an extension of nēmō nātus (“not a soul”, literally “nobody born”). For descendants of the other part of the expression see Galician ren (“nothing”), French rien (“nothing”), Catalan res (“nothing; anything”). For the grammaticalization of an original nominal as a negative see Jespersen's Cycle and French pas. Doublet of nado.

Pronoun

nada

1. (indefinite) nothing (not any thing; no thing)
   • a. 1284, Alfonso X of Castile, Cantigas de Santa Maria, Códice de los músicos, cantiga 365 (facsimile):

     ſempre a noit e o dia en ſeu coraçon dultaua que alma nada non era. ſenon uento que paſſaua

     always at night and day, he had a doubt in his heart that the soul was nothing more than wind which passed

Related terms

• irmão (through PIE)
• nacença
• nacer
• nado
• Natal
• natura
• natural
• natureza

Descendants

• Fala: nada
• Galician: nada
• Portuguese: nada (see there for further descendants)

Further reading

• Universo Cantigas - "nada₂"

Etymology 2

See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

Participle

nada f sg

1. feminine singular of nado

Old High German

Alternative forms

• ginada

Noun

nāda f

1. favour

Declension

Declension of nāda (ō-stem)

case	singular	plural
nominative	nāda	nādā
accusative	nāda	nādā
genitive	nāda	nādōno
dative	nādu	nādōm

References

• Wright, Joseph (1906), An Old High German Primer‎^[5], 2nd edition, Oxford: Clarendon Press

Polish

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈna.da/
• Rhymes: -ada
• Syllabification: na‧da

Verb

nada

1. third-person singular future of nadać

Portuguese

Pronunciation

 

• (Brazil) IPA^(key): /ˈna.dɐ/

• (Brazil) IPA^(key): /ˈna.dɐ/
  • (Southern Brazil) IPA^(key): /ˈna.da/

• (Portugal) IPA^(key): /ˈna.dɐ/ [ˈna.ðɐ]

• Audio (Brazil (São Paulo)):

  (file)

• Audio (Portugal (Porto)):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -adɐ
• Hyphenation: na‧da

Etymology 1

From Old Galician-Portuguese nada, from Latin (nūlla rēs) nāta (literally “no born thing, not a thing born”).

Pronoun

nada

1. (indefinite) nothing (not any thing; no thing)

   Synonyms: (Portugal, colloquial) puto, (colloquial) nicles

   Não consigo ver nada. ― I can’t see anything.

   • 1890, Aluizio Azevedo, chapter I, in O Cortiço, Rio de Janeiro: B. L. Garnier, page 17:

     No dia seguinte, os dois viram-se e evitaram-se em silencio, como se nada de extraordinario houvera entre elles acontecido na vespera.

     (please add an English translation of this quotation)

   • 2013, Carlos Sérgio Rodrigues, Anamnesis, Leya, →ISBN, pages 30–31:

     Um vulto encontrava-se dentro do carro. Daquela distância, Diana tentou perceber quem seria a companhia — nos dedos da catraia não brilhava nenhum anel de ouro, por isso seria namorado, acompanhante, amigo colorido, ou outras novidades que os miúdos inventam. Nas casas dos quarenta já nada nos espanta, nem apoquenta. A surpresa vem com a juventude e com a velhice chega a reflexão. No entretanto, sobeja a apatia.

     (please add an English translation of this quotation)

Derived terms

• dar em nada
• de nada
• nada de
• nada de nada
• nada disso
• nada feito
• nadica
• nadificar
• nadinha
• por nada
• quando nada

Related terms

• nado
• nascer

Adverb

nada (not comparable)

1. to no extent; in no way; not at all

   Antonyms: totalmente, completamente

   Não estou nada feliz com as tuas acções. ― I am not happy at all with your actions.

   • 2011, Sérgio Estrella, Rafael Neves, Rodrigo Estevam, Sérgio Oliveira, Alex Sandro de Mattos, Coleção Nintendo Blast - Ano 2, GameBlast, page 35:

     Apesar de as fases serem enormes e terem uma duração máxima de 60 minutos, existe o recurso de quick save. Afinal, não faria sentido e não seria nada cômodo comprar um jogo portátil que não se pode jogar a qualquer hora e em qualquer lugar, sem precisar se preocupar em achar um save point ou terminar a fase para poder salvar.

     (please add an English translation of this quotation)

2. (familiar) emphasises that a statement is false

   Synonyms: uma ova, o caralho

   Ele pagou pelo jantar nada. ― He paid for dinner my ass.

Quotations

• For quotations using this term, see Citations:nada.

Noun

nada m (uncountable)

1. nothingness (the state of not existing)

   Synonym: inexistência

   • 2018 April 24, Bruno Vaiano, “Tudo sobre o nada: 4 grandes fatos a respeito do vazio”, in Superinteressante‎^[6], São Paulo: Abril:

     […] Ou seja: se não fosse essa propriedade curiosa do nada – do vácuo – você simplesmente não seria. É por isso que o Bóson de Higgs – a partícula associada ao campo de Higgs – foi apelidada de “partícula de Deus”.

     (please add an English translation of this quotation)

2. the void (the vacuum of space)

   Synonym: vácuo

3. a very small amount

   Ele pôs um nada de sal na comida. ― He added a very small amount of salt in the food.

Descendants

• Guinea-Bissau Creole: nada
• Kabuverdianu: nada

Etymology 2

See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

Verb

nada

1. inflection of nadar:
   1. third-person singular present indicative
   2. second-person singular imperative

Etymology 3

See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

Adjective

nada

1. feminine singular of nado

Further reading

• “nada”, in Dicionário Aulete Digital (in Portuguese), Rio de Janeiro: Lexikon Editora Digital, 2008–2026
• “nada”, in Michaelis Dicionário Brasileiro da Língua Portuguesa (in Portuguese), São Paulo: Editora Melhoramentos, 2015–2026, →ISBN
• “nada”, in Dicionário Priberam da Língua Portuguesa (in Portuguese), Lisbon: Priberam, 2008–2026

Serbo-Croatian

Etymology

Inherited from Proto-Slavic *nada.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /nǎːda/
• Hyphenation: na‧da

Noun

náda f (Cyrillic spelling на́да)

1. hope

Declension

Declension of nada

	singular	plural
nominative	náda	nade
genitive	nade	nada
dative	nadi	nadama
accusative	nadu	nade
vocative	nȃdo	nade
locative	nadi	nadama
instrumental	nadom	nadama

Quotations

• For quotations using this term, see Citations:nada.

Related terms

• nádati se

Spanish

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈnada/ [ˈna.ð̞a]

• Audio (Colombia):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ada
• Syllabification: na‧da

Etymology 1

Etymology tree

Proto-Indo-European *ǵenh₁-

Proto-Indo-European *-tós

Proto-Indo-European *ǵn̥h₁tós

Proto-Italic *gnātos

Latin gnātus

Latin nātus

Proto-Indo-European *-eh₂

Proto-Italic *-ā

Latin -a

Latin (nūlla rēs) nāta

Old Spanish nada

Spanish nada

Inherited from Old Spanish nada, inherited from Latin (nūlla rēs) nāta (literally “no born thing, not a thing born”), an extension of nēmō nātus (“not a soul”, literally “nobody born”). For descendants of the other part of the expression see Galician ren (“nothing”), French rien (“nothing”), Catalan res (“nothing; anything”). For the grammaticalization of an original nominal as a negative see Jespersen's Cycle and French personne, pas; see also nadie, from the same root.

Pronoun

nada

1. nothing, zero, zilch, not...anything

   Synonym: ninguna cosa

   Antonyms: algo, todo

   No hay nada en la mesa.

   There is nothing on the table.

   Nada ocurrió ayer.

   Nothing happened yesterday.

   No veo nada.

   I don’t see anything.

   Me niego a creer nada de lo que dice.

   I refuse to believe anything he says.

   Nada es eterno.

   Nothing is eternal.

Usage notes

• The pronoun requires the verb to be negated if used after the verb; conversely, the verb can't be negated if nada precedes it: nada veo ~ no veo nada (“I don't see anything”), but *nada no veo ~ veo nada are ungrammatical in standard Spanish.

Alternative forms

• ná, na', na, naa (eye dialect)

Derived terms

• a nada de
• ahí es nada
• antes de nada
• antes que nada
• así que nada
• casi nada
• centro de la nada
• como si nada
• de la nada
• de nada
• doble o nada
• en nada
• gracias por nada
• medio de la nada
• nada de eso
• nada de nada
• nada del otro mundo
• nada entre dos platos
• nada más
• nada menos
• nada nuevo bajo el sol
• nada que ver
• nadilla
• nadita
• nadota
• no digo nada
• no es nada
• no pasa nada
• no ser nada
• para nada
• poco o nada
• por menos de nada
• por nada
• por nada del mundo
• quedar en nada

Related terms

• nacer
• nadie

Noun

nada f (uncountable)

1. nothingness, nothing

   Sin ti, soy una nada.

   Without you, I am nothing at all.

   Ya no me siento una nada.

   I don't feel like I am nothing at all anymore.

2. nowhere, the void

   Salió de la nada.

   It came out of nowhere.

Adverb

nada

1. not at all

   No es nada fácil. ― It isn't easy at all.

Interjection

nada

1. (colloquial) ellipsis of de nada

Etymology 2

See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

Verb

nada

1. inflection of nadar:
   1. third-person singular present indicative
   2. second-person singular imperative

Further reading

• “nada”, in Diccionario de la lengua española [Dictionary of the Spanish Language] (in Spanish), online version 23.8.1, Royal Spanish Academy [Spanish: Real Academia Española], 15 December 2025

Swedish

Etymology

Borrowed from Spanish nada or Portuguese nada. Attested since 1976.

Pronoun

nada

1. (colloquial) nada, zilch

   Jag fattade nada

   I didn't understand a thing

References

• “nada”, in Svensk ordbok [Dictionary of Swedish] (in Swedish)
• “nada”, in Svenska Akademiens ordlista [Wordlist of the Swedish Academy] (in Swedish)