LESSON NOTES · レッスンノート

N5Grammar, one piece at a time · Sep 14, 2026

Nothing in Japanese (Casual Too): 何なにも, 何なにもない, 何なんでもない

In a sentence, "nothing" is 何なにも (なにも) + a negative form: 今日きょうは何なにも食たべません, "I won't eat anything today." Casually you will hear 何なにもない ("there's nothing") and 何なにもしてない ("I'm not doing anything"), which are different sentences, and as a one-word reply 「何なにも。」 is natural.

A warning before the details: a bare 「何なにも。」 or 「別べつに。」 can sound curt or closed-off depending on your tone, so use them with friends and soften them with someone you want to be warm to.

English has "nothing" as one word. Japanese builds it from a question word, も, and a negative predicate. This article teaches that basic pattern (何なにも〜ない, 誰だれも〜ない, どこにも〜ない), then shows which short phrase to pick when someone asks "What's up?" and you want to say "nothing."

The basics

What is the formula?

Take a question word, add も, and end the sentence with a negative form (ない, ません, なかった, ませんでした).

question word + も + negative form

今朝けさ(けさ)は何なにも食たべていません。 — I haven't eaten anything this morning. (polite) 誰だれも来きませんでした。 — Nobody came. (polite past)

If you already know the question words themselves, most of this is done: you add one particle and end the sentence negatively. The negative form can be a verb or an adjective: 何なにも面白おもしろくないです ("Nothing is interesting") is correct. A positive ending is the usual mistake, so 何なにも食たべます is not a sentence in this meaning.

Which question words does it work with?

Question word + も + negative Meaning
何なに (なに) 何なにも〜ない nothing, not anything
誰だれ (だれ) 誰だれも〜ない nobody
どこ どこにも〜ない nowhere, not anywhere
どちら / どっち どちらも〜ない neither
どれ どれも〜ない none of them

一度いちども〜ない ("not even once") works the same way, though 一度いちど is the numeral 一いち plus the counter 度ど, not a question word. Don't confuse it with 何度なんども, which means "many times."

どこにも行いきませんでした。 — I didn't go anywhere. (polite past) 一度いちども見みたことがありません。 — I've never seen it, not even once. (polite, emphatic)

What happens to を and が?

They vanish. You never say 何なにをも or 誰だれがも, because も takes their place:

何なにも買かいませんでした。 — I didn't buy anything. (not 何なにをも) その答こたえ(こたえ)は誰だれも知しりません。 — Nobody knows the answer. (the 答こたえ fixes the meaning; 誰だれも知しりません alone can also mean "I don't know anyone")

A particle that the sentence needs can stay in front of も. The examples here are 誰だれにも, 誰だれとも and どこにも:

どこにも行いきたくないです。 — I don't want to go anywhere. (どこ + に + も) 誰だれとも話はなしませんでした。 — I didn't talk to anyone. (と stays)

The shape to memorise: the subject and object markers (が, を) disappear; a particle that carries direction or relationship can stay. Which one stays depends on the verb, so learn these three as set shapes first. The same particle-pushing happens with the も that means "also".

How do you say "nothing" as a casual reply?

This is where learners get stuck, because "nothing" in English covers several different answers in Japanese. Pick by what the other person actually asked.

You say Means Answers the question
何なにもない there is nothing / I have nothing 何なにがある? (What's there?)
何なにもしてない I'm not doing anything 何なにしてる? (What are you doing?)
何なんでもない it's nothing, never mind どうしたの? (What's wrong?)
別べつに (べつに) not really (curt, not the standard reply) どうだった? (How was it?)
何なにも。 nothing (one-word reply) 何なに買かったの? (What did you buy?)

A: 冷蔵庫れいぞうこ(れいぞうこ)に何なにかある? B: 何なにもない。 — A: Is there anything in the fridge? B: Nothing. (plain form, with friends) A: 今いま、何なにしてる? B: 何なにもしてない。 — A: What are you doing now? B: Nothing. (casual; the い of している is dropped) A: どうしたの? B: ううん、何なんでもない。 — A: What's wrong? B: No, it's nothing. (dismissing the question) A: 週末しゅうまつどうだった? B: 特とくに何なにもなかったよ。 — A: How was your weekend? B: Nothing in particular happened. (neutral, friendly) A: 週末しゅうまつどうだった? B: 別べつに。 — A: How was your weekend? B: Nothing much. (curt or dismissive; it can sound uninterested, so it is not the standard reply) A: 何なに買かったの? B: 何なにも。 — A: What did you buy? B: Nothing. (the predicate is left out; the negative comes from the omitted predicate plus the question, as in 何なにも買かってない)

A few notes on these replies:

  • "What's up?" here means you noticed something is wrong, so it is どうしたの?, not a greeting like "What's up, how are you?" 何なんでもない is best learned as a set reply that means "never mind," not as 何なに + でも + ない.
  • 何なにもしてない depends on the question. To 今いま、何なにしてる? it means "I'm not doing anything right now." To もう準備じゅんびした? ("Have you prepared yet?") it means "I haven't done anything yet," and the usual wording is まだ何なにもしていない.
  • Politeness and tense. 何なにもしてない becomes 何なにもしていません. 何なにもない becomes 何なにもありません, and the past forms are 何なにもなかった and 何なにもありませんでした. 何なにもありません also answers どうしたの? when nothing went wrong: いえ、何なにもありません.

何なにも。 works because the omitted verb and the question supply the negative.

Beyond the basics

か, も, and でも: one question word, three meanings

Change the particle after a question word and the meaning changes with it.

何なに 誰だれ どこ
+ か = some- 何なにか (something) 誰だれか (someone) どこか (somewhere)
+ も = no- (negative form) 何なにも (nothing) 誰だれも (nobody) どこにも (nowhere)
+ でも = any- 何なんでも (anything) 誰だれでも (anyone) どこでも (anywhere)

何なにか食たべましたか。 — Did you eat something? (か: existence unknown) 何なんでも食たべます。 — I'll eat anything. (でも: positive, no restriction)

Question word + も does not always take a negative

The negative rule belongs to the "nothing / nobody / nowhere" pattern above. Some question words with も take a positive predicate and mean "all" or "both":

どれもおいしいです。 — They're all delicious. (positive) どちらも好すきです。 — I like both. (positive) 誰だれもが知しっています。 — Everybody knows. (positive; みんな知しっています is the casual version)

いつも also works with a positive: いつも早はやく起おきます is "I always get up early." For a habit of not doing something, say 朝あさご飯はんはいつも食たべません ("I always skip breakfast"). 普段ふだんは朝あさご飯はんを食たべません ("I don't usually eat breakfast") allows exceptions, so the two are not the same.

何なにも and 何なににも

In casual speech 何なににも (read なんにも) is a colloquial form of 何なにも, sometimes used for emphasis, "not a single thing." Compare:

何なにもしてないよ。 — I'm not doing anything. (casual) 何なににもしてないよ。 — I'm not doing a single thing! (casual, can be emphatic)

Both are natural. Sometimes the に is a real particle: in 何なににも興味きょうみ(きょうみ)がない ("I'm interested in nothing") it marks the thing of interest, so the sentence is about interest, not emphasis. The reading is なんにも or なににも depending on the speaker; for 何なににも in general, see "How do I read these?" below.

全然ぜんぜん with a negative

全然ぜんぜん ("not at all") adds emphasis to a negative:

何なにも分わかりません。 — I don't understand anything. (polite) 全然ぜんぜん分わかりません。 — I don't understand at all. (polite, emphatic)

Casual speech also uses 全然ぜんぜん with positives (全然ぜんぜんいいよ, "that's totally fine"). Treat that as a casual habit, not a mistake. Note that 全然ぜんぜん〜ない does not mean "have never": 最近さいきん全然ぜんぜん行いかない is "I haven't been going at all lately."

Common mistakes

  • Asking with 何なにも. × 何なにも食たべましたか is not the question "Did you eat anything?" That is 何なにか食たべましたか. 何なにも食たべませんでしたか is a negative question: "Did you not eat anything?"
  • Translating "I can't do anything" word by word. 何なにもできません is the whole sentence. See できる and the potential form for what できません is doing.

Practice

Answers are hidden. Write yours first, then open.

1. Say "I didn't read anything today" politely.

Show answer

今日きょうは何なにも読よみませんでした — 何なに + も + negative form; the を is gone.

2. Something is wrong here: 誰だれがも電話でんわしませんでした。

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誰だれも電話でんわしませんでした — も replaces が.

3. Say "It wasn't anywhere" politely. (Use ある for "it's there.")

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どこにもありませんでした — the に marks the place where something exists, so it stays.

4. Say "I didn't ask anyone."

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誰だれにも聞ききませんでした — に marks the person asked, so it stays. Questions 3 and 4 both check that に is kept.

5. Say "I don't want anything" in plain form, with an adjective.

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何なにも欲ほしくない — the negative form of an adjective works as the ending.

6. Fill the gap: I'll drink anything → 何なに_飲のみます。

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何なんでも飲のみます — でも gives "anything" with a positive verb.

7. Say "I've never eaten natto" using 一度いちども.

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納豆なっとうを一度いちども食たべたことがありません — 一度いちども + 〜たことがない is the pattern for "have never (up to now)." Add a time frame to narrow it: 今年ことしは一度いちども食たべていません.

8. A friend texts 何なにしてるの? You are doing nothing. Reply casually.

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何なにもしてないよ — it answers "what are you doing?" with the i-dropped casual form.

9. A friend notices you sigh and asks どうしたの? You want to brush it off.

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何なんでもない — the set reply for "it's nothing, never mind."

10. Something is wrong here: この店みせは何なにも高たかいです。(intended: "Nothing in this shop is expensive")

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この店みせの商品しょうひんはどれも高たかくないです — the adjective must be negative (何なにも高たかくないです), and for goods in a shop どれも (every one of them) reads most naturally.

Once 何なにもしてない comes out without peeking, bring your own sentences to a trial lesson and test them in a real back-and-forth.

FAQ

Why do I sometimes see どこも without に? The に depends on the role of the place in the sentence, not on whether the sentence is negative. どこも開ひらいていません ("nowhere is open") has no に, and どこにでもあります ("it's everywhere") is a positive sentence. For a positive どこも, use どこも混こんでいます ("everywhere is crowded"). When you are just learning, どこにも行いかない is the safe model.

Can I turn down a drink with 何なにも飲のみません? It is grammatical, but as a reply to an offer it sounds curt. ありがとうございます、今いまは大丈夫だいじょうぶです is warmer. 何なにも飲のみません works better as a statement about yourself, like "I don't drink anything before bed."

Does 何なにも ever mean something other than "nothing"? Yes, in set phrases. 何なにもそこまで言いわなくても means "there's no need to go that far," where the meaning comes from the whole 何なにも〜なくても pattern; 何なにも works like 別段べつだん ("particularly"). Learn the nothing pattern first.

How do I read these? 何なにも is なにも and 誰だれも is だれも. For 何なににも, see the 何なにも and 何なににも section above.

Does 誰だれもが mean nobody? Not usually. 誰だれもが is 誰だれ + も + が and means "everybody": 誰だれもが知しっている is "everybody knows," while 誰だれも知しらない is "nobody knows." 誰だれもが知しっているわけではない is "not everyone knows."

Vocabulary from this article

Tap the block to select all of it, then copy. In Anki: File → Import, note type Basic, separator Tab — the first column becomes the front, the second the back.

何	なに — what
誰	だれ — who
別に	べつに — not really, nothing much
何度	なんど — how many times
欲しい	ほしい — to want
普段	ふだん — usually
一度	いちど — once, one time
食べる	たべる — to eat
買う	かう — to buy
来る	くる — to come
行く	いく — to go
話す	はなす — to talk, to speak
読む	よむ — to read
聞く	きく — to ask, to listen
飲む	のむ — to drink
分かる	わかる — to understand
全然	ぜんぜん — (not) at all
面白い	おもしろい — interesting
納豆	なっとう — natto

I'm Yuuki, a Japanese teacher based in Tokyo. I've taught on italki as a Top 1% teacher and watched over 1,500 anime. Learners often reach for "anything" and end the sentence positively, so I teach the negative ending first.

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Sources: the author's own lessons; デジタル大だい辞じ泉いずみ「何なにも」; デジタル大だい辞じ泉いずみ「何なににも」; 国立こくりつ国語こくご研究所けんきゅうしょ ことば研究けんきゅう館かん.

More drills like the ones above, plus a timed JLPT-style mock test: Practice · N5 · Read something at this level: JLPT N5 stories with audio

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