cha

negative particle, Not. [Cha aspirates the fut. neg of a verb, also the initial of words beginning with labials and gutturals, and, in Argyllshire, with dentals also, as — cha dhùin an doras, the door will not shut; cha dhaor a phrìs, its price is not high. Cha simply negatives the signification of the verb, as, (do) bhuail mi, I struck; cha do bhuail mi, I did not strike. It becomes chan before initial vowels or f pure, as chan òl mi, I shall not drink; chan fhosgail mi, I shall not open. Dr. Gillies remarks that the n of chan in chan eil, "shows the abiding influence of a lost dental n, — the n doubtless which re-asserts itself before initial vowels — it shows that it is wrong to separate the n of chan as is usually done in writing, as cha'n, cha-n and cha n-." [N is not a dental and the n has as much right to separation as in gun lean. Chan is simply aspirated gun or con, only the aspirating influence is lost. It was no chan and appears again in nach]. Chan eil eadar an t-amadan agus an duine glic ach tairgse mhath a ghabhail nuair a gheibh e i, there is no difference between the wise man and the fool, but to accept a good offer when in his power; cha mhac mar an t-athair thu, you are not a son worthy of your father; cha déid e dhachaigh, he will not go home; cha dig fuachd gu h-earrach, cruaidh-chàs no droch cheannach, cold, hardships and bad bargains do not come till spring; chan fhidir an sàthach an seang, is mairg a bhitheadh 'na thràill don bhroinn, the satiated will not sympathise with the starveling, woe to him who is a slave to his belly; chan fhiach duine gun sibht gun seòltachd, a man without shift and ingenuity is good for nothing; chan eil ann ach bó odhar mhaol agus bó mhaol odhar, it is only a dun hornless cow and a hornless dun cow — Gaelic equivalent of "six of one and half-a-dozen of the other"; cha mhór nach do mharbh e mi, he almost killed me; cha chuir mi, I will not put; cha dèan mi, I shall not do; cha do dh'fhalbh mi, I did not go; cha do dh'éist mi, I did not hearken; cha do dh'òl mi, I did not drink; cha leig mi, I shall not allow; cha do rinn mi ach sgur, I have only just stopped; cha robh sgìreachd anns a' Ghàidhealtachd cha mhór anns nach robh e, (col. cha mhór gun robh sgìreachd &c, or 's gann a bha sgìreachd &c.), there was hardly a parish in Gaeldom he had not been in; cha dèan mi, I shall not do; chan fhaod thu, you must not; nam bithinn ag iarraidh cuideachaidh, cha lughaid gun rachainn do d' ionnsaigh air son a fhaotainn, if I were wanting assistance, not the less would I go to you for it.

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