Me Either or Me Neither: Which Is Correct?

Agreeing with someone who has just said something negative sounds simple, until you have to pick between me neither and me either. The standard, safe choice is me neither. It answers a negative statement, "I don't like coffee," "I can't make it Friday," by echoing that negative, and it does so because neither literally means "not either." The casual me either is heard constantly in American conversation, but it is widely treated as nonstandard, because either on its own has no negative force; it needs an explicit not nearby to make sense. That is why "I don't either" is perfectly fine while bare "me either" leaves careful listeners uneasy. This makes the pair one of those commonly confused words where the issue is not spelling but grammar, matching a negative reply to a negative statement. This guide explains how either and neither carry negation differently, why me neither is the reliable pick, and when to reach for me too instead.

Which One Is Correct?

Me neither is the standard, universally accepted reply to a negative statement. Me either is not wrong in the way a misspelling is wrong, but it is widely judged nonstandard, and in writing or formal speech it draws criticism. If you want a form no one will mark, use me neither.

The reason comes down to negation. When someone says "I don't like coffee," they have made a negative statement, and to agree you need to express your own negative: "I don't like it either." Compress that agreement and you have two routes. The clean one keeps the negative built in: neither means "not either," so me neither carries the negation on its own. The shaky one, me either, drops the not entirely and leaves either stranded without the negative it depends on.

So the practical answer is easy: to agree with a negative, say me neither. It is always correct, always understood, and never flagged, which is exactly what you want a stock reply to be.

The Rule Behind the Words

The difference between either and neither is the presence or absence of a built-in negative.

Neither is inherently negative; it is a contraction of "not either." Because the not is baked in, neither can stand alone and still carry negation: "Neither do I," "me neither," "neither option works." When you agree with a negative statement, neither supplies the matching negative all by itself.

Either, by contrast, is not negative on its own. It needs an explicit negative word, usually not, somewhere in the sentence to lean on: "I don't like it either," "she can't come either." Here either works because don't and can't provide the negation; either just reinforces it. Remove that not and either has nothing to attach to, which is exactly the problem with bare me either, there is no not in sight.

So the full-sentence versions make the logic clear. "I don't like coffee either" is standard because don't carries the negative. "Me neither" is standard because neither carries it. "Me either" tries to agree with a negative while using a word that needs a negative it does not have. This dependence-on-context echoes other pairs where the surrounding words decide correctness, much as meaning decides between ladder vs latter.

Why People Mix Them Up

If me neither is the safe form, why is me either everywhere? A few forces keep it alive.

The first is spoken habit. In casual American English, me either is extremely common and passes without comment in conversation. People hear it constantly, so it sounds normal, and the ear, not the grammar, guides what they say. Frequency in speech is not the same as acceptance in writing, a gap that also shows up in casual forms like saw vs seen.

The second is the pull of full sentences. Because "I don't either" is perfectly correct, speakers reasonably assume the short form "me either" must be correct too. But the shortcut strips out the don't that made either legal, and without it the word loses its footing. The long form works; the clipped form does not carry over cleanly.

A third factor is the double negative worry. Some writers avoid neither because they vaguely fear it creates a "double negative" with the negative statement it answers. It does not: matching a negative with neither is exactly how English agreement works, not a doubling error. The cure is to trust the pairing, negative statement, neither reply, and to save either for sentences that already contain an explicit not. Getting this right is a matter of grammar rather than sound, the same lesson taught by verb-form pairs like saw vs seen.

Examples in Sentences

Seeing the replies in context makes the pattern clear.

Agreeing with a negative (me neither):

• "I don't watch much TV." "Me neither, I'd rather read."
• "I can't stand long meetings." "Me neither."
• "I've never been to Japan." "Me neither, but I'd love to go."

The full-sentence form (either, with an explicit not):

• "I don't watch much TV." "I don't either, honestly."
• "I can't make it Friday." "I can't either."

Casual but nonstandard (me either):

• "I don't like crowds." "Me either." → Me neither (or "I don't either")

Notice the split: me neither stands alone, while either appears only where a don't or can't is right there to support it. When there is no such not, reach for neither.

Me Either vs Me Neither: Side by Side

The table sets the two replies against each other.

Aspect	Me either	Me neither
Standard?	no, widely nonstandard	yes
Carries a negative?	no, either is not negative	yes, neither means "not either"
Needs an explicit not?	yes, but the phrase lacks one	no, it is self-contained
Agrees with a negative statement?	only awkwardly	cleanly
Best used	avoid in writing	any register
Positive-statement version	not applicable	use "me too" instead

The decisive row is "carries a negative": neither supplies its own, so me neither completes the agreement, while me either leaves either without the negative it requires.

How to Remember

The cleanest rule is match negatives with negatives. When the other person's sentence contains a not, "I don't," "I can't," "I've never", your reply needs a negative too, and neither already has one built in because it means "not either." So a negative statement calls for me neither. A short cue: negative deserves neither.

A second cue handles either: only use it when you can see an explicit not right beside it. "I don't either" is fine because don't is present; "me either" is shaky because nothing negative is there to support it. If there is no not in your reply, either has nothing to hold onto, so switch to neither. And remember the mirror rule for positives: when someone says something affirmative, "I love coffee", you agree with me too, not me neither. Match the sign of the statement, negative to neither, positive to too, and your agreements will always land right.

Related Spelling Mixups

Me either vs me neither belongs to a group of confusions decided by grammar and context rather than spelling. Two related cases are worth a look. The first is ladder vs latter, where the correct word depends entirely on meaning, not on how the two sound. The second is saw vs seen, an irregular-verb pair where the right form hinges on the sentence structure around it, just as either depends on a nearby not. Each, like me either vs me neither, rewards reading the whole sentence rather than trusting a familiar-sounding phrase. For a related "small word changes everything" case, compare take effect vs take affect.

Conclusion

Me neither is the standard reply for agreeing with a negative statement, and me either, though common in casual American speech, is widely judged nonstandard. The whole issue is negation. Neither means "not either," so it carries its own negative and can stand alone: me neither completes the agreement with a negative sentence cleanly. Either has no built-in negative and needs an explicit not to lean on, which is why "I don't either" works but bare "me either" does not. The casual form survives because people hear it constantly and because the correct full sentence "I don't either" makes it seem legitimate, but the shortcut drops the very not that licensed either. To stay safe, match negatives with negatives, remember that negative deserves neither, and reserve me too for agreeing with positive statements. Do that and your quick agreements will always be correct. For more pairs where grammar, not spelling, decides the answer, browse the full collection of commonly confused words.