nuncassá

Macanese

Alternative forms
  • nancassá, nuncaçá, (archaic) nuncamçá

Etymology

Believed to be nunca +‎ sã with denasalization, literally, “it is not”, although the older form nuncamçá may be linked to *nôm cansâ (“don't get tired; it is not necessary”).[1]

Predicative

nuncassá

  1. it is not necessary, it is not needed
    Synonym: nomestê
    nuncassá corê ― no need to run
    nuncassá cerimónia ― no need to do ceremonies
    nuncassá inventâ ― no need to lie
    nancassá vegónha, da mostrâ
    no need to be shy, show it to us
    Bôbo-bôbo de agora, nuncassá cubrí su rosto
    Fools of today, don't have to paint their faces

Usage notes
  • nancassá is a rather common alternative form,[2] possibly due to re-interpreting the first syllable as nâm.

References
  1. Batalha, Graciete Nogueira (1988) “nuncassá”, in Glossário do dialecto macaense: notas linguísticas, etnográficas e folclóricas [Glossary of the Macanese dialect: linguistic, ethnographic and folkloric notes], Macau: Instituto Cultural de Macau, page 496
  2. https://www.macaneselibrary.org/pub/english/uipatua.htm
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