Hugh:

Ignoring the taboo against saying such a thing in the first place, I would think only the first one. I would likely write the second as {jIluj 'e' vIHaj}.

I'd probably use a sao too, to express the "I'm afraid (that) I'll fail". But I can't stop wondering, whether the {jIlajvIp} would/could mean, both of the options of the original message. ~ gha'cher qIj

(TKD 37): This suffix [{--vIp}] is rarely used with a prefix meaning "I" or "we". Though it is grammatically correct, it is culturally taboo. [TKD 4.2.2 (p.49)]: ... suffixes of this type [i.e. Type 2] express how much choice the subject has about the action described or how predisposed the subject is to doing it. choHoHvIp you are afraid to kill me TKD choHoHvIpbe' you are not afraid to kill me TKD choHoHbe'vIp you are afraid to not kill me. TKD nuqIpvIp they are afraid to hit us. TKD HIHoHvIpQo' Don't be afraid to kill me! TKD pIHoHvIpbe'qu' We are NOT afraid to kill you. TKD pIHoHvIpqu'be' We are not AFRAID to kill you. TKD pIHoHqu'vIpbe' We are not afraid to KILL you. TKD bIHeghvIpchugh bIHeghpu' If you are afraid to die, you have already died. TKW nItebHa' molor HI''a' SuvvIpghach puj je HarghmeH yeq chaH United to do battle together! Against the tyrant Molor! Against fear and against weakness! (PB, paq'raD, Canto 8) Short answer: No. As others have suggested, {SAO 'e' Haj} "dread" would probably work, though we have no examples of {Haj} in canon AFAIK. -- Voragh Ca'Non Master of the Klingons -----Original Message----------Original Message----------Original Message----- From: mayqel qunen'oS Original question:

If I write {jIlujvIp}, then what does it mean ? I'm afraid to fail I'm afraid (that) I'll fail Or can it mean both ?

Desperate to find the answer, I did the inconceivable.. I touched our sacred manuscript.. The actual physical holy relic.. And with trembling hands, there, on p. 37, I found the ancient words of wisdom.. {choHoHvIp} you are afraid to kill me {nuqIpvIp} they are afraid to hit us As it seems, the presence of {-vIp}, gives only the meaning of "the subject is afraid to do whatever", and not "the subject is afraid (that) he will do whatever". But I *still* can't stop wondering.. In the subsequent holy Ca'Non, has there ever been an instance, of the {-vIp} being translated as "the subject is afraid (that) he will do whatever" ?

De'vID:

I'm afraid that you may have been misled by the English expression "be afraid that", for example as in "I'm afraid that you may have been misled by the English expression...". In English, "afraid" can mean regret, anxiety, or worry. In Klingon, the suffix {-vIp} only denotes fear.

Interesting.. I hadn't thought this. Now that you're mentioning it, I think that indeed, this has been the source of my confusion. Anyways, after studying the Ca'Non examples, luckily things became clearer. ~ mayqel qunen'oS yo' qIj wIqotlhjaj, DorDI' yInmaj poH