才…呢 / 才是 / 才不【cái…ne / cái shì / cái bù】

In speech, 才 before the predicate can insist on something, usually against what someone else said or assumed. There is no sense of lateness, and 呢 usually closes the sentence.

才不…呢, 才没…呢 – flat denial

With a negative, 才 rejects an idea outright. It's defiant or teasing, and it belongs to talk between people who know each other. 才没 denies something happened; 才不 refuses or denies a state.

This 才 doesn't take 了.

• × 我才不去了 → 我才不去呢

你才…呢 – the retort

Said back with 你 as subject, it turns an accusation round: "you're the one who's…".

才是 – the real one

才是 corrects: not that, this. It often follows a negative clause or a mistaken guess.

才 + adjective + 呢

Before an adjective, 才…呢 means "now that really is…", usually trumping something just said.

才对, 才行

At the end of a clause, 才对 says "that's the right way" and 才行 says "that's what it takes".

The fixed frame 不…才怪 "it'd be a wonder if not" uses the same 才.