The conjunction "ni" in Spanish is used in different ways but they all convey a negative meaning.
Ni/Ni siquiera meaning not even
As the equivalent of not even in English, we can place either ni or ni siquiera in front of a clause, for example:
El pobre chico no tenía ni una manta para taparse.The poor guy didn't even have a blanket to cover himself.
El pobre chico no tenía ni siquiera una manta para taparse.The poor guy didn't even have a blanket to cover himself.
As you can see in all examples above there is a "no" in the first clause which will trigger the use of the second clause using "ni" or "ni siquiera". However, we can turn the sentence round and start with the ni/ni siquiera clause. If we do this, then we cannot negate the other clause.
For example:
Ni meaning No
We can also use "ni" at the beginning of a sentence to emphasise the negative meaning, basically a strong "no". It is usually used in exclamatory sentences.
For example:
We could use the sentences above using ¡No...! instead of ¡Ni...!, but using ¡Ni...! emphasises the negation even more and also the exclamatory element of the action.
It's also very common to find this emphasising "ni" in front of a gerund, for example:
Ni soñando vuelvo a salir con Marcos. Ayer se comportó como un idiota.There's no way (lit: not even dreaming) I'm going out with Marcos again. Yesterday he behaved like an idiot.
Sometimes used with "aun" + gerund with the same meaning:
With the same effect as when used with a gerund, "ni" is often used followed by "aunque":
Some set expressions also use "ni" in front of an infinitive. This emphasises the negation:
See also Using ni... ni... for neither... nor... in Spanish
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