Never mind (nevermind?) is a popular phrase in speech and writing, but there is some confusion on how the word ought to be written.
Is nevermind one word or should it be spelled never mind?
What is the Difference Between Nevermind and Never Mind?
Aside from the obvious space, is there any difference between these two words? And which one is correct to use?
In this post, I want to outline the current landscape of these spellings and advise the writer on how to proceed. After reading this post, you shouldn’t ever again wonder, “Is it nevermind or never mind?”
When to Use Nevermind
A humorous way to describe the difference between nevermind and never mind is that nevermind is a Nirvana album, and never mind is the phrase you are thinking of.
Yes, the popularity of the one-word nevermind could have been enhanced by the American rock band’s 1991 album, but this spelling is still rarely seen in print. You can find occasional examples of it in newspapers, but it is rarely, if ever, used in book publication (see below).
Unless you are referring to a specific album or song title that uses nevermind as a single word, avoid the one-word spelling in your writing.
When to Use Never Mind
What does never mind mean? Never mind (two words) is the correct spelling of the phrase. Never mind is used to tell someone not to be concerned or worried.
- Never mind that commodity prices are plummeting all over the world and we are on the edge of a deflationary spiral. Why let reality get in the way of politics? –The New York Times
- Never mind that Erickson’s neighbor is Osweiler’s de facto boss. And never mind that Erickson’s neighbor, former Denver legend John Elway, was the man that ostensibly drafted Osweiler to someday replace another legendary Denver quarterback in Peyton Manning. –The Washington Post
This two-word spelling is the traditional spelling of the phrase, and it is used much more frequently than the one-word.
The above graph charts nevermind vs. never mind over the past 200 years of printed English books. The contrast is pretty stark.
Even if the use of nevermind were underestimated in the ngram by 10 times, never mind would still be 10 times as popular in writing. The preference is clear, and the traditional one-word spelling never mind predominates.
Trick to Remember the Difference
Here’s a good trick to remember never mind vs. nevermind.
When you’re writing never mind in your sentences, just think about what the word means and you will be all set.
- Never mind means don’t bother or don’t worry.
If you can associate never mind with other two-word phrases like don’t bother and don’t worry, you will be all set.
Summary
Is it never mind or nevermind? The correct phrase is spelled out into two separate words, and it is important that the writer use it accordingly, especially in formal writing.
Never mind is the correct spelling of the phrase.
Nevermind is a misspelling.
Contents
- 1 What is the Difference Between Nevermind and Never Mind?
- 2 When to Use Nevermind
- 3 When to Use Never Mind
- 4 Trick to Remember the Difference
- 5 Summary
- not a word, mind!
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Общая лексика: помните, никому ни слова!
Универсальный англо-русский словарь.
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2011.
Смотреть что такое «not a word, mind!» в других словарях:
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Mind — • Explores the term in relation to consciousness, matter, and mechanism Catholic Encyclopedia. Kevin Knight. 2006. Mind Mind † … Catholic encyclopedia
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Word — Word, n. [AS. word; akin to OFries. & OS. word, D. woord, G. wort, Icel. or[eth], Sw. & Dan. ord, Goth. wa[ u]rd, OPruss. wirds, Lith. vardas a name, L. verbum a word; or perhaps to Gr. rh twr an orator. Cf. {Verb}.] [1913 Webster] 1. The spoken… … The Collaborative International Dictionary of English
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Word blindness — Word Word, n. [AS. word; akin to OFries. & OS. word, D. woord, G. wort, Icel. or[eth], Sw. & Dan. ord, Goth. wa[ u]rd, OPruss. wirds, Lith. vardas a name, L. verbum a word; or perhaps to Gr. rh twr an orator. Cf. {Verb}.] [1913 Webster] 1. The… … The Collaborative International Dictionary of English
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Word deafness — Word Word, n. [AS. word; akin to OFries. & OS. word, D. woord, G. wort, Icel. or[eth], Sw. & Dan. ord, Goth. wa[ u]rd, OPruss. wirds, Lith. vardas a name, L. verbum a word; or perhaps to Gr. rh twr an orator. Cf. {Verb}.] [1913 Webster] 1. The… … The Collaborative International Dictionary of English
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Word dumbness — Word Word, n. [AS. word; akin to OFries. & OS. word, D. woord, G. wort, Icel. or[eth], Sw. & Dan. ord, Goth. wa[ u]rd, OPruss. wirds, Lith. vardas a name, L. verbum a word; or perhaps to Gr. rh twr an orator. Cf. {Verb}.] [1913 Webster] 1. The… … The Collaborative International Dictionary of English
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Word for word — Word Word, n. [AS. word; akin to OFries. & OS. word, D. woord, G. wort, Icel. or[eth], Sw. & Dan. ord, Goth. wa[ u]rd, OPruss. wirds, Lith. vardas a name, L. verbum a word; or perhaps to Gr. rh twr an orator. Cf. {Verb}.] [1913 Webster] 1. The… … The Collaborative International Dictionary of English
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Word painting — Word Word, n. [AS. word; akin to OFries. & OS. word, D. woord, G. wort, Icel. or[eth], Sw. & Dan. ord, Goth. wa[ u]rd, OPruss. wirds, Lith. vardas a name, L. verbum a word; or perhaps to Gr. rh twr an orator. Cf. {Verb}.] [1913 Webster] 1. The… … The Collaborative International Dictionary of English
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Word picture — Word Word, n. [AS. word; akin to OFries. & OS. word, D. woord, G. wort, Icel. or[eth], Sw. & Dan. ord, Goth. wa[ u]rd, OPruss. wirds, Lith. vardas a name, L. verbum a word; or perhaps to Gr. rh twr an orator. Cf. {Verb}.] [1913 Webster] 1. The… … The Collaborative International Dictionary of English
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Word square — Word Word, n. [AS. word; akin to OFries. & OS. word, D. woord, G. wort, Icel. or[eth], Sw. & Dan. ord, Goth. wa[ u]rd, OPruss. wirds, Lith. vardas a name, L. verbum a word; or perhaps to Gr. rh twr an orator. Cf. {Verb}.] [1913 Webster] 1. The… … The Collaborative International Dictionary of English
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mind, philosophy of — Branch of philosophy that studies the nature of mind and its various manifestations, including intentionality, sensation and sense perception, feeling and emotion, traits of character and personality, the unconscious, volition, thought, memory,… … Universalium
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word — {{Roman}}I.{{/Roman}} noun 1 unit of language ADJECTIVE ▪ two letter, three letter, etc. ▪ monosyllabic, polysyllabic ▪ two syllable, three syllable … Collocations dictionary
I must admit, my feelings are a tiny bit hurt. The Guardian Guide‘s Internet page has published a list of recommended language blogs. It includes some of my favo(u)rites—Language Log and the blog of an American in Sweden—but, well, Americans in England weren’t on their wanted list, apparently. Or at least I wasn’t. The properly British thing to say in response to that is:
Never mind.
(As pop culture informs us, this is spelt with a space in BrE—as in the Sex Pistols’ Never Mind the Bollocks, but sometimes without one in AmE, as in Nirvana’s Nevermind. [PS: see comments for further discussion of this point!])
Ideally, I should say never mind with a sing-song quality. It’s not that it’s an exclusively British saying, it’s just that it’s used a lot more here—wherever I would say:
Oh well.
…which I say altogether too much.
I had a hard time getting used to this kind of ‘Well what can you do? We might as well change the topic of conversation’ never mind . Early in my days here I was telling an Englishman about something that I found upsetting (involving a close family member and emergency surgery), and his response was NEver MIND. Now this may have been a defen{c/s}e mechanism against a foreigner who was breaking British privacy mores, but I still found it a very glib response (how could I not mind?!). But a few years later, I reali{s/z}e it’s more a statement of resignation (stiff upper lip and all that) than of lack of sympathy.
I had a similar bristly kind of reaction to the use of It’s a pleasure as a response to Thank you—a response that is far more common in BrE (and South African E) than in AmE. After shame-facedly asking to borrow money until payday from my boss in South Africa, he handed over some number of rand and said It’s a pleasure at which point I (AmE) wigged out and exclaimed It is NOT a pleasure! It’s an inconvenience to you! Ah, I know how to show gratitude, don’t I? That’s probably why I’m not allowed to have nice things like a mention in the Guardian. It’s karma.
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#1
Leí los hilos sobre la expresión «nevermind», pero me gustaría que me ayudaran con otro contexto muy coloquial.
«She will text me later saying
nevermind
I found someone else that will do it.»
Mi intento: Me va a mandar otro mensaje diciéndome que lo olvidara y que encontró a otra persona que lo hará.
¿Hay una manera más natural de decir esto?
Last edited: Apr 20, 2012
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#5
Siento mucho resucitar este hilo, pero como ninguno de los existentes que han tratado la palabra «nevermind» (que propiamente deben ser «never mind») lo han mencionado, quería agregar que «nevermind» todo seguido existe como sustantivo, como en: «Don’t pay her nevermind!«; y eso aunque no aparezca ni en nuestro mataburros bilingüe ni en el monolingüe.
Un saludo
as.
(Fuente)
Meaning of Idiom ‘Never Mind’
The idiom never mind is used to tell someone to disregard something; to take no notice of something; to not worry about something; to not be troubled by something, or to not be upset by something.
The most common way of using this idiom is to tell someone to disregard something you said or to take no notice of something.
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Examples Of Use
“Can you chop some onions while I start on dinner, please? Wait, never mind, I forgot you had to help Billy with his homework.”
“My ear hurts and according to the internet I have an ear infection!” said Peter.
“Never mind that, you don’t have an infection. You probably just need to clean your ear!” replied Paula.
“I’m sorry I forgot to put gas in your car,” said Sophia. “Never mind, I still had plenty to get to work. I filled up after,” replied Luke.
“Never mind that he overstepped his authority. He actually broke the law!”
Never mind can also mean the same as ‘to say nothing of’ or ‘let alone.’ In this way, it emphasizes that a preceding statement is more notable and important than
the one to follow.
“He has one of the most successful vineyards in the United States, never mind Virginia.”
A very similar idiom is never you mind.
Never you mind has quite a different meaning so you do not want to mistakenly use it when you mean to say never mind.
Never you mind means it’s of no concern to you; it’s none of your business; I’m not going to tell you.
“Where have you been all day?” asked Nigel. “Never you mind,” said Mindy.
Never mind the idiom should always be spelled as two separate words. When it is spelled as one word, nevermind, it is a colloquial way of saying concern, business, affair, attention, etc. and is used in idioms such as “It’s none of your nevermind” or “pay it no nevermind” the last being similar to the usage of never mind but a bit ruder sounding.
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