nessuno

Italian

Alternative forms

• nissuno (Tuscan)
• nisuno (Rome)
• niuno (archaic, literary)

Etymology

From Latin nē (“not”) +‎ ipse (emphatic, literally “himself”) +‎ ūnus (“one”), meaning “not even one”. Cognate with Neapolitan nisciuno, Sardinian nisciunu, Friulian nissun, Ligurian nisciǜn, and Old French neisune. Compare Spanish ninguno and Romanian niciun.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /nesˈsu.no/

• Audio:

  (file)

• Rhymes: -uno
• Hyphenation: nes‧sù‧no

Determiner

nessuno (feminine nessuna, no plural, superlative nessunissimo)

1. (in negative sentences) no, any

   Synonyms: (informal) niente, (archaic, literary) nullo, (archaic, literary) veruno, (archaic, literary) niuno

Pronoun

nessuno m sg (singular only, feminine nessuna)

1. none
2. (masculine only) no one, nobody

Usage notes

• The determiner has no plural form and is therefore only used with singular nouns. The pronoun is also a singulare tantum.

• Before any grammatically connected word not beginning with s + consonant, cn, gn, pn, ps, x, or z, the masculine form nessuno changes into the apocopic form nessun, while the feminine form nessuna becomes nessun' before vowels:

nessun dolore ― no pain

nessun amico ― no friends

nessun'amica ― no (female) friends

nessun altro ― nobody else

Synonyms

• (archaic, literary) nullo
• (archaic, literary) veruno
• (archaic, literary) chicchessia