何(なに)も

Usage: 何(なに)も is always used with negative verb forms to mean "nothing" or "not anything." It cannot be used in affirmative sentences.

Common patterns

• 何(なに)も食(た)べない (to not eat anything)
• 何(なに)も言(い)わない (to not say anything)
• 何(なに)も知(し)らない (to not know anything)
• 何(なに)もない (there's nothing)
• 何(なに)も〜なくてもいい (there's no need to...)

Similar words

• 何(なに)か (something - affirmative)
• 何(なに)も (nothing - negative)
• 全然(ぜんぜん): not at all — negates the degree of an action, while 何(なに)も negates the object
• 全(まった)く: entirely (not) — stronger and more formal
• 誰(だれ)も: nobody — the same 〜も + negative pattern applied to people
• 何(なに)にも is an emphatic variant of 何(なに)も heard in speech

Position in sentence

• 何(なに)も stands where the object would go, before the verb, and the negative must come later in the same clause.
• Sense 2 puts it at the head of the clause, often with そこまで or そんなに-type phrases, and carries a reproachful "you didn't have to" tone.