guaʼu
Pretend: Guaʼu
Guaʼu says that someone only pretends to do something.
How It Works
Guaʼu is a stressed particle for acts that are not real. It can show a joke, a pretend act, or the opinion of the speaker that the act was not serious.
In Perurima katu ikerambu guaʼu the princess and the man were asleep, and Perurima only faked snoring.
It has a free place in the sentence. It can stand apart after the verb, as in ikerambu guaʼu, or join it, as in oñekytĩguaʼu “he pretended to be hurt”.
The Academy grammar calls this the mood of appearance: the action happens only on the surface, but not in fact. It writes the particle joined to the verb, as in amoñeʼẽguaʼu.
Examples (3)
- Perurima katu ikerambu guaʼu.
Perurima just pretended to snore.
Ikerambu “he snores” plus guaʼu says that the snoring was fake.
- Mokõi tahachi oñekytĩguaʼu ombotavypotávo huvichápe.
Two soldiers pretended to be hurt and were about to fool their boss.
Oñekytĩ “was cut” plus guaʼu says that the injury was fake.
- Pe mitã omoñeʼẽguaʼu aranduka.
The child pretends to read a book.
Omoñeʼẽ “reads” plus guaʼu says that the reading is only for show.
How It Connects
Learn This First
Guaʼu shows an action that is not quite real, so it follows -moʼã for almost.
Related Patterns
Practice guaʼu in Bubblegum
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