Editing Manchu language (section)

===== Negation with ''akū'' =====
The word ''akū'' "is not" is the most universal negator in Manchu. It is a negative copula: ''mangga'' ''akū "''it is not difficult". It can negate existence: ''etuku akū'' "there is no clothing." It may also negate attributes, as in ''dutu akū'' "not deaf", and it may express the meaning "without": ''gūnin akū niyalma<u>,</u>'' lit. "a person without brains", i.e. "a stupid person".<ref>Gorelova (2002: 373)</ref>

The participle suffixes ''-ra/-re/-ro'' merge with ''akū'' into ''-rakū'', ''-ha/-ho'' into ''-hakū'' and ''-he'' into ''-hekū'': ''arahaku'' "not have written", ''genehekū'', ''genehakū'' "not have gone"; ''ararakū'' "not (be going to) write", ''generakū'' "not (be going to) go“.<ref name="Möllendorff 1892, 10"/>

Accordingly, the negated forms of perfect indicative ''-habi/-hebi/-hobi'', which contain the perfect participle in ''-ha/he/ho,'' end in ''-hakūbi/-hekūbi''. There are certain irregular forms: ''sambi'' "know" – ''sarkū'' "don't know", ''dabahakū'' "has not exceeded“, ''jihekū'' "has not come".

The negated participles are often followed by converb forms of the auxiliary verbs ''bimbi'' "be", ''ombi'' "become" or ''sembi'' "say":<ref>Gorelova 2002, 284</ref>
{{interlinear|te gaija-r-akū o-ci gūwa gai-ka de sini dolo ume ehe gūni-he|now take-PTCP.IMPERF-NEG become-CVB.COND other take-PTCP.PERF DAT you.GEN inside PTCL.PROH bad think-PTCP.PERF|"If you don't take it now and somebody else does, don't hold it against him!“
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The negated form of the conditional converb here is the construction ''gaijirakū oci'' ("if ... doesn't take").

The suffixes ''-ci'', ''-fi'' and ''-ngge'' are placed after ''-akū'' : ''ararakū'''ci'''''  "if he doesn't write", ''ararakū'''fi'''''  "doesn't write and", "not having written", ''ararakū'''ngge'''''  "the one who does not write", ''bisirakū'''ngge'''''  "those who aren't here" (Chinese ''bù zài de'' {{lang|zh-Hant|不在的}}).<ref name="Möllendorff 1892, 10"/>

The word ''akū'' alone can take other suffixes, too: ''bi akū'''mbi'''''  "I am not". A double negation in ''-akūngge akū'' (Chinese ''wú bù'' {{lang|zh-Hant|無不}}) is also possible: ''serakūngge akū'' "nothing unsaid", "he says everything".<ref name="Möllendorff 1892, 10"/>

The word ''umai'', which seems to consist of the prohibitative particle ''ume'' and the pronoun ''ai'' "what", may be used before ''akū'' and seems to enhance its negative sense, as seen in the example ''umai niyalma'' ''akū'' "no persons (at all) are there".<ref name="Möllendorff 1892, 10"/>