jamais
See also: ja mais
French
Etymology
Inherited from Old French ja mais (“any more”, only in reference to the future), the two components deriving from Latin iam and magis. Compare Spanish jamás, Italian giammai, Occitan jamai and Portuguese jamais.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /ʒa.mɛ/
Audio: (file) - (Paris) IPA(key): /ʒa.me/
- (Louisiana) IPA(key): [ʒɑ̃me], [hɑ̃mɛ̃], [ʒɔ̃mɛ̃]
Adverb
jamais
- (ne ... jamais) never
- Je ne l’ai jamais vue. ― I’ve never seen her.
- ever
- Es-tu jamais allé en France ? ― Have you ever been to France?
Derived terms
Descendants
- Saint Dominican Creole French:
- Haitian Creole: janmen
- Louisiana Creole: zamein
Further reading
- “jamais”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.
Galician
Adverb
jamais
- reintegrationist spelling of xamais
Further reading
- “jamais” in Dicionário Estraviz de galego (2014).
Norman
Etymology
From Old French ja mais.
Adverb
jamais
Portuguese
Etymology
From Old Galician-Portuguese jamais, from Old Occitan ja mais, from Latin iam magis. Cognate with Galician xamais, Spanish jamás, Occitan jamai, French jamais and Italian giammai.
Pronunciation
- (Brazil) IPA(key): /ʒaˈmajs/ [ʒaˈmaɪ̯s]
- (Rio de Janeiro) IPA(key): /ʒaˈmajʃ/ [ʒaˈmaɪ̯ʃ]
- (Portugal) IPA(key): /ʒɐˈmajʃ/
- Hyphenation: ja‧mais
Adverb
jamais (not comparable)
Further reading
- “jàmais” in Dicionário Aberto based on Novo Diccionário da Língua Portuguesa de Cândido de Figueiredo, 1913
- “jamais”, in Michaelis Dicionário Brasileiro da Língua Portuguesa (in Portuguese), São Paulo: Editora Melhoramentos, 2015–2025
- “jamais”, in Dicionário Priberam da Língua Portuguesa (in Portuguese), Lisbon: Priberam, 2008–2025