tampouco

Tampouco is a word used in Portuguese and, less commonly, in Spanish, functioning as a negation marker. It is an adverb or conjunction that expresses addition to a negative statement, similar to “neither,” “not even,” or “nor” in English. In everyday usage, tampouco is most often encountered in formal or literary contexts.

In Portuguese, tampouco is the standard spelling and remains a current part of the language. It is frequently found in combination with a preceding negation, as in nem tampouco, to intensify negation. It can also appear by itself to indicate a negative continuation: “Não tenho tempo tampouco paciência.” Its use is more common in written Brazilian Portuguese and in formal registers, while in conversational speech speakers may opt for alternatives such as “nem” or “nem mesmo.”

In Spanish, the standard negation is tampoco. The form tampouco exists but is considered archaic, regional, or literary and is rarely used in contemporary Spanish outside of historical texts or certain dialectal varieties. When it appears, it typically carries the same meaning as tampoco, linking two negative elements or clauses.

Etymology and variants are not uniformly agreed upon. The Spanish form is often described as a contraction of tan poco in historical usage, while the Portuguese form is treated as a fixed adverb within the broader family of negation expressions in that language.

See also: tampoco, nem, nem tampouco, negation in Portuguese and Spanish.