nôm têm nada

Macanese

Macanese phrasebook

This entry is part of the phrasebook project, which presents criteria for inclusion based on utility, simplicity and commonness.

Alternative forms

• nom tem nada, nâm têm nada, (archaic) nã tẽ nada

Etymology

Literally, “there is nothing”. Possibly a clipping of Portuguese não tem nada que agradecer (“there is nothing to be thankful for”).

Phrase

nôm têm nada

1. nothing special
2. it doesn't matter, never mind
3. no problem, you're welcome

Usage notes

• nada is not used as a standalone word in Macanese.

References

• https://www.macaneselibrary.org/pub/english/uipatua.htm#n
• Batalha, Graciete Nogueira (1988) “non tem nada”, in Glossário do dialecto macaense: notas linguísticas, etnográficas e folclóricas [Glossary of the Macanese dialect: linguistic, ethnographic and folkloric notes], Macau: Instituto Cultural de Macau, page 495