In Spanish, both ningún and ninguno are negative words that are used to deny the existence of something. Since they both look and have very similar purposes, a lot of people assume that these words are synonymous when they’re not. For this reason, some Spanish learners want to know what’s the difference between ‘ningún’ and ‘ninguno’ in Spanish.
Ningún and ninguno are negative words that are used to talk about the existence of something. As an adjective, ningún always precedes a singular masculine noun and it means ‘no’, ‘not a single’ or ‘any’. As a pronoun, ninguno replaces a noun. It means ‘no’, ‘none’, ‘any’, ‘no one’.
When learning Spanish, it’s easy to confuse ‘ningún’ and ‘ninguno’ as well as understand the difference between these words. However, they both are important for your daily communication. For this reason, in the following sections, we’ll explain the difference between these words and the situations where you use them.
In order to make things easier for you, we’ll include structures that you can follow when using these words as well as some examples of how to use them in real-life sentences. By the end of this, ‘ninguno’ and ‘ningún’ won’t be a problem for you in Spanish.
What’s the Difference Between ‘Ningún’ and ‘Ninguno’
Both ‘ningún’ and ‘ninguno’ are quantitative words that are used to negate the existence of something. Although they may seem very similar, these words have different purposes and, as a result, work with different grammatical elements.
Here is a comparative table where you can see the difference between them:
| Ningún | Ninguno | |
| Classification | Adjective | Pronoun |
| Variations | Ninguna* Plural form on special occasions | Ninguno de Ninguna de |
| Rules | Always goes before a noun. | Only used to replace nouns. |
| Meanings | No Any Not a single | No None / None of No one Nobody Any |
Yo no quiero ninguno
I don’t want any
Larry no tiene ningún pantalón
Larry doesn’t have any pants
Notice that even though in both examples ‘ningún’ and ‘ninguno’ are translated as ‘any’, in the second example, we use ningún because our sentence has a singular masculine noun (pantalón).
However, in the first example, we don’t have a noun: this is because ‘ninguno’ took its place. Now that you have a general idea about the uses of these words, let’s discuss in more depth when to use them and what elements you’ll need.
When & How to Use ‘Ningún’ in Spanish?
Ningún is a Spanish adjective that has the purpose of expressing the inexistence or lack of something in a group of objects or people. As an adjective, ‘ningún’ needs to precede a noun and, depending on the noun’s gender, you may need to use its feminine form ‘ninguna’.
Based on the contexts where they are applied, ‘ningún’ and ‘ninguna’ can be translated as:
- No
- Not a single
- Any
Here is a phrase structure that you can follow in order to use ‘ningún’ correctly.
[No] + [verb conjugated] + ningún + [noun]
Lo siento no me queda ningún lugar libre
I’m sorry I have no free space
Eve no tiene ningún amigo en su nueva escuela
Eve doesn’t have a single friend at her new school
Clara no tiene ningún problema con el español
Clara doesn’t have any issues with Spanish
Remember that if the noun that you’re using is feminine, you will need to use ninguna instead of ‘ningún’.
No nos queda ninguna mesa libre
We don’t have any free tables
¿No tienen ninguna pregunta, niños?
Don’t you have any questions, kids?
Tuvieron mucho tiempo para hacer el proyecto, no tienes ninguna excusa, Joe
You guys had plenty of time to do the project, you have no excuse, Joe
When & How to Use ‘Ninguno’ in Spanish?
Ninguno and its feminine form ninguna are Spanish pronouns that are used to express the inexistence of an object or person. Additionally, we also use this word to talk about amounts. Since they’re pronouns, ‘ninguno’ and ‘ninguna’ are replacing a masculine or feminine noun.
As a result, when using these words the context is key: people should understand what the thing is that you’re referring to. Depending on contexts and type of sentence, ‘ninguno’ and ‘ninguna’ can be translated as:
- No
- None
- Any
- Not one / No one
- Nobody
Here is a very basic phrase structure that you can use:
[No] + [verb conjugated] + ninguno/ninguna
¿Compraste tacos? Yo no quiero ninguno
Did you buy tacos? I don’t want any
Estoy buscando una pluma, pero no tengo ninguna
I’m looking for a pen, but I don’t have any
Sobraron estos chocolates, Patty no quiso ninguno
These chocolates are left, Patty wanted none
Necesito una falda para el trabajo, pero no tengo ninguna
I need a skirt for the office, but I have none
Laura necesita un pantalón amarillo, pero no tiene ninguno
Laura needs yellow pants, but she doesn’t have any
Notice that depending on the context, ‘ninguno’ and ‘ninguna’ could be expressing an amount: I want zero tacos (none). But they can also be used to talk about the lack or inexistence of an object: in my wardrobe, there are no skirts.
Take Note: Unlike other Spanish words, both ‘ninguno’ and ‘ningún’ don’t work as much with plural forms. In fact, we only use the plural form with objects with invariable plural nouns such as tijeras (scissors), lentes (glasses), etc.
No tengo ningunas tijeras
I don’t have any scissors
¿Tienes otros lentes de sol? No traje ningunos
Do you have another pair of sunglasses? I didn’t bring any
Ninguno de – Any of / None of
Additionally, ‘ninguno’ and ‘ninguna’ are commonly used to talk about a small part of a larger group. In this situation, these Spanish pronouns would be translated as ‘none of…’ or ‘any of…’.
Ninguno + de + [determiner] + [noun/pronoun]
Ninguno de mis amigos pudo venir
None of my friends could come
No me gusta ninguno de estos diseños
I don’t like any of these designs
A ninguna de mis hermanas les gustan los tacos
None of my sisters like tacos
Ninguna de ustedes sabe hablar italiano
None of you know how to speak Italian
Wrapping Up
When learning Spanish, ningún and ninguno can be easily confused because both words have the same meanings. But despite this similarity, ‘ningún’ and ‘ninguno’ work with different elements, as a result, they’re not interchangeable.
For that reason, in this article, we discussed that ‘ningún’ is a Spanish adjective and as such it always needs to work with a noun. In fact, ‘ningún’ precedes a singular masculine noun and its feminine form, ninguna, will precede a singular feminine noun.
We also mentioned that ninguno is a pronoun. This means that, as long as the context is clear and everybody understands what we’re talking about, we’re going to use ‘ninguno’ to replace that masculine noun. Additionally, ninguno de is a structure that we use any time that we want to refer to a small part of a larger group.
Incorrect
No tengo ninguno lápiz I have none pencil
Correct
No tengo ningún lápiz I have no pencil
Hopefully, now you have a better understanding of the difference between ‘ningún’ and ‘ninguno’ and you’re ready to start applying them in your conversations.
Related Resource: What’s the difference between algún and alguno