No tener arte ni parte
To have neither art nor part.
to have nothing to do with something; **to have nothing to do with something**; **to have no part in something**; **to have nothing to do with it**; **to have no involvement in something**; **to have no say in something**
No tener arte ni parte means to have nothing to do with something, to have no involvement in a matter, or to bear no responsibility for what has happened.
Yo no tengo arte ni parte en ese asunto.
I have nothing to do with that matter.
No tengo arte ni parte en lo que hayan decidido.
I had no part in what they decided.
Él no tuvo arte ni parte en la estafa.
He had nothing to do with the scam.
No me metas en esto: yo no tengo arte ni parte.
Don't involve me in this; I have nothing to do with it.
Nosotros no tuvimos arte ni parte en la organización del evento.
We had nothing to do with organising the event.
It is usually used to insist that someone is completely uninvolved in a situation.
A very common construction is:
No tener arte ni parte en algo.
→ To have nothing to do with something.
- denies having been involved in something
- wants to make clear that they had no responsibility
- was not consulted or included in a decision
- had nothing to do with a particular event
- wants to distance themselves from a problem or conflict
The expression comes from an old formula in which arte and parte were associated with action, intervention or participation.
Here, arte is not understood in its modern sense of "art". It is connected with the older meaning of skill, method or means of doing something.
Parte, meanwhile, refers directly to participation or involvement.
The combination arte ni parte therefore reinforces the idea that someone has neither means of intervention nor participation in a matter.
Its meaning has long been associated with complete lack of involvement.
The expression is frequently used when someone wants to distance themselves from responsibility:
Yo no tengo arte ni parte en eso.
This can be translated naturally as:
I had nothing to do with that.
It can also refer simply to lack of participation, without implying wrongdoing:
No tuve arte ni parte en la decisión.
→ I had no say in the decision.
No tener arte ni parte is closely related in meaning to no tener vela en este entierro:
- No tener arte ni parte → have nothing to do with something.
- No tener vela en este entierro → have no business being involved in a matter.
Both can be used to distance oneself from a situation, but arte ni parte focuses more directly on lack of involvement or responsibility.
Do not translate:
No tengo arte ni parte en esto.
as:
I have neither art nor part in this.
The natural equivalents are:
I have nothing to do with this.
I had no part in this.
I had nothing to do with it.
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