nun

not

adverb noon Rare

Origin: Dialectal (Roman/Central Italian) phonological reduction of non.

Usage Note

Nun is the dialectal Roman (and more broadly Central-Southern Italian) form of standard Italian non (not). It appears in informal speech, song lyrics, poetry, and written dialogue to convey a Roman or regional flavor. It is not standard Italian and should not be used in formal writing. An example from Roman dialect: nun lo so = non lo so (I don't know).

Examples

"Nun me lo dire adesso!"

Natural Translation

Don't tell me now!

Literal Translation

Not to-me it-tell now!

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