tampoco
/tamˈpoko/
The Spanish word tampoco means 'neither' or 'not either'.
tampoco is used to express agreement with a negative statement. It can be translated to English as 'neither' or 'nor'.
Which one should you use?
You should use tampoco when the preceding clause contains a negative word such as no, nunca or nadie. In contrast, use también when you are agreeing with an affirmative statement.
How does it change in a sentence?
tampoco is used to agree with a negative statement, whereas también is used to agree with an affirmative statement.
How do you pronounce it?
/tamˈpoko/
Did you know?
- The word 'tampoco' shares a common ancestor with the English word 'paucity', which also refers to a small or insufficient amount.
- In some Spanish-speaking regions, if you want to say 'neither do I' very emphatically, you might see people use ni yo tampoco where the 'ni' adds an extra layer of negation.
- In casual conversation, speakers in some regions may shorten tampoco to tampo when speaking quickly or in very informal slang.
Examples in context
- Yo tampoco.Me neither.
- No, tampoco tengo ganas.No, I don't feel like it either.
- A mí tampoco.Neither do I.
- Tampoco me gusta nada.I don't like it at all, either.
- Yo no quiero ir, y él tampoco.I don't want to go, and he doesn't either.
- Yo tampoco quiero ir.I don't want to go either.
- Él no sabe la respuesta y yo tampoco.He doesn't know the answer and neither do I.
- No me gusta el café, y a ella tampoco.I don't like coffee, and she doesn't either.
Example conversation
Alejandro and Sofía are talking about a movie they did not enjoy.
- AlejandroNo me gustó la película.I didn't like the movie.
- SofíaA mí tampoco.I didn't either.
- AlejandroNo fue muy interesante.It wasn't very interesting.
- SofíaNo, tampoco lo fue.No, it wasn't either.
Sources
- Pronunciation: Wiktionary entry tampoco, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries tampoco, CC BY-SA 4.0.
