Phrasebook

2016-06-21T12:11:31Z

F8l: /* Nationality */ Remove duplicate translations

=Greetings=

Hello, I'm ... ''coi mi'e ...''

I come from ... ''mi se krasi ...''

I live in ... ''mi xabju ...''

America ''la mergug / le mergu'e''

France ''la fasygug / le fasygu'e / la frans''

Germany ''la dotygug / le dotygu'e'''

Goodbye ''co'o''

What's your base? ''dofoxo kancu'' or (in [[La Xagvar|La Xagvar]]) ''zo'eco'eno'oju'uxo'' '''where does ''zo'eco'eno'oju'uxo'' come from?'''('One does the usual {count} to the typical number in what base?')'''And isn't the obvious answer that it is belong to us? ''(ro ledo zbepi cu tutra mi'a?)'''''

I count by tens ''mi foli pano kancu''/''zo'eco'eno'oju'ulipano''

...twelves ''li'o li gai''

...sixteens ''li'o li paxa'' (or, if you are a chauvinistic

[[lesi'o foli paxa kancu|hexadecimalist]], ''li'o li rau'')

(How about ''li'o li su'ovai''?)

...sixties ''li'o li xano''

...twos ''li'o li vei pasu'ipa''

No matter what the time of day, in Lojban the word for "hello" is ''coi'' and the word for "goodbye" is ''co'o''.

=Simple phrases=

;Yes.:''.i go'i''

;I agree.:''mi tugni''

;No.:''.i na go'i''

;I do not agree.:''mi na tugni''

;Please.:''pe'u''

;I request.:''mi cpedu''

;Thanks.:''ki'e''

;Thank you.:''ki'e do''

;Thank you very much.:''ki'e sai do''

;That's all right/You're welcome:''je'e do''

;I love you.:''mi prami do'' (or) ''.iu sai''

;What you just said about yourself is true for me too.:''go'ira'o""

In other words, if someone says "I love you" and you want to reply "I love you too", say "go'ira'o".

=== Languages ===

;Do you speak ...:''.i xu do se bangu ...''

;Lojban:''la lojban. ''

(In some places you may also hear "le jbobau")

;English:''le glibau''

;French:''le fasybau''

;German:''le dotybau''

;Spanish:''le sanbau''

;Italian:''le bangrtalia''

;Chinese:''le jugbau''

;Japanese:''le ponbau''

;Hindi:''le xinbau''

;Russian:''le rukybau''

;Arabic:''le rabybau''

;I don't speak Lojban:''.i mi na se bangu la lojban.''

;Where is the phrase in this book?:''.i ma jufra gi'e se vanbi le vi cukta''

;Just a minute. I'll see if I can find it in this book.:''i .e'o ko denpa .i mi troci co tolcri fi le vi cukta''

;I understand.:''je'e / .i mi jimpe''

;I don't understand:''je'enai / .i mi na jimpe''

;Could you talk more slowly please?:''.i .e'o ko skusno''

;Do you understand me?:''je'epei / xu do jimpe fi mi'' - xu do jimpe fi '''tu'a''' mi (??) ...fi le se cusku be mi

;I am hungry:''mi xagji''

;I am thirsty:''mi taske''

;Where is the bathroom?:''ma stuzi le djacu kumfa''

;Where is the toilet?:''ma stuzi le vimku'a''

=== Some common words ===

;big:''barda'' small ''cmalu''

;quick:''sutra'' slow ''masno''

;early:''clira'' late ''lerci''

;cheap:''tolkargu'' expensive ''kargu''

;near:''jibni'' far ''darno''

;hot:''glare'' cold ''lenku''

;full:''culno'' empty ''kunti''

;easy:''frili'' difficult ''nandu''

;heavy:''tilji'' light ''linto''

;open:''kalri'' shut ''ganlo''

;right (of a person):''tolsre'' wrong ''srera''

;right (of a fact, etc.):''drani'' wrong ''jitfa''

;old:''slabu'' new ''cnino''

;old:''tolci'o'' young ''citno''

;beautiful:''melbi'' ugly ''tolmle''

;good:''xamgu'' bad ''xlali''

;better:''xagmau'' worse ''xlamau''

;a lot:''mutce'' a little ''milxe''

;sufficient:''banzu'' insufficient ''tolbanzu''

=== Presenting yourself and some others... ===

Before reading what follows, please take note that talking about the age of someone in lojban is essentially discussing birth dates.

==== Yourself ====

;I am ...-years-old (bad translation):''.i tu'a mi nanca li ...''

;(duration of life):''.i mi renvi fi li ...''

;I was born in ... (date):''mi jbena fi li ...''

;I was born in ... (place):''mi jbena fo ...''

;I am ... tall (speaking about your height, unit unspecified):''li ... cu ni mi clani''

;I am ... meters tall:''mi mitre li ... le ni clani''

;I speak english.:''mi se bangu le glibau''

;I can speak french.:''mi ka'e se bangu le fasybau''

;I would like to visit ...:''mi djica le nu mi vitke fi ...''

;I work as ...:''mi se jibri ...''

;My mother is called ...:''zo ... cu cmene le mamta be mi''

;Alice is my mother.:''la alis mi mamta''

;My favorite color is ...:''mi zmanei le ka ...'' (insert color verb)

;I prefer the blue one over the red one.:''mi zmanei le blanu le xunre''

;What's happening?:''.i mo''

;I'm lost:''mi djuno noda le se zvati be mi''

;I practice sport:''mi xadgu'a''

==== Nationality ====

;I'm ...:''mi ...''

;Spanish:''spano''

;Hispanic:''xispo''

;French:''fraso''

;Chilean:''tci'ile''

;Czech:''tce'exo''

;Breton:''bre'one''

;Hungarian:''magjaro''

;Basque:''skalduna''

;Russian:''rusko''

If you want to say "I'm French by birth but German by nationality", you can say "''mi fraso le ka jbena gi'e dotco le ka se natmi''".

;I'm French by ...:''mi fraso le ka ...''

;birth:''jbena''

;nationality:''se natmi''

;citizenship:''selgugycmi''

;ancestry:''se dzena''

;language:''se bangu''

=== Colors ===

Beware, the following words are verbs. For example, "this is orange" is "ti narju" - no "is" required. The word "cu" (which does not mean "is" but is a predicate marker, like "i" in tok Pisin) may be used before the verb.

;xekri:''black''

;blanu:''blue''

;bunre:''brown''

;cicna:''cyan''

;manku:''dark''

;kandi:''dim''

;grusi:''grey''

;crino:''green''

;nukni:''magenta''

;narju:''orange''

;zirpu:''purple''

;xunre:''red''

;labyxu'e:''rose''

;xunblabi:''pink''

;blabi:''white''

;pelxu:''yellow''

=== Asking others about themselves and you ===

;When are you born ?:''.i do jbena fi ma''

;What is your size ?:''.i ma ni do clani''

;Where do you live ?:''.i do xabju ma''

;What are you doing ?:''.i do mo''

;Where do you work ?:''.i do se briju fi ma''

;Can you speak language ... ?:''.i xu do ka'e tavla bau ...''

;What is your father's name ?:''.i ma cmene le patfu be do''

;Have you already been to place ... ?:''.i xu do pu zvati ...''

;How much do you earn ?:''.i do jerna li xo''

;Where are you going to ?:''.i do klama ma''

;Where do you come from ?:''.i do klama fi ma''

;Did you know that ... ?:''.i xu do pu djuno fi le du'u ...''

;What do you want me to do ?:''.i do djica le nu mi mo''

;Can you help me ?:''pei sidju mi''

;Do you find me pretty ?:''xu mi do melbi''

;Do you live with someone ?:''xu do da kansa le ka xabju''

;Are you married ?:''xu do speni''

;Do you have (a) lover(s) ?:''xu do prami selpe'o''

;Have you caught that Unicorn yet?:''pavyseljirna kavbu ba'oxuku''

=Food=

Where is a ... restaurant? ''lo gusta be le ... cu zvati ma''

Chinese ''jungo''

Japanese ''ponjo''

kosher ''broselcru/cidjrkacera''

halal ''musyselcru/cidjrxalalu''

American ''merko''

vegetarian ''stagi/recycau''

I'd like ... ''mi djica tu'a ...'' (probably ''ko fimi dunda'' is better.) ''Or, best of all: ".au"''

beef ''lo bakyrectu''

pork ''lo xajrectu''

lamb ''lo lanrectu''

rabbit ''lo ractyrectu''

mouse ''lo smacyrectu''

dog ''lo geryrectu''

peas ''lo boldembi''

beans ''lo dembi''

peanuts ''lo derdembi''

eggs ''lo sovda''

cabbage ''lo kobli''

broccoli ''lo kobli rulstani''

cauliflower ''lo kobli xrula''

lettuce ''lo laktuka''

tomato ''lo tamca''

salad ''lo salta''

pepper (black/white) ''lo tsaprpiperi''

pepper (green/red/bell/hot) ''lo kapsiku''

bread ''lo nanba''

eggplant ''lo mlongena''

orange ''najnimre''

lemon ''pelnimre''

grapefruit/pomelo/shaddock ''branimre''

lime ''ri'ornimre''

cantaloupe ''lo najyzme''

kimchee ''gugrtcosanykobli''

=Getting Around=
;Where is...
:''ma stuzi ...''

;How do I get to...
:''mi klama ... fo ma/ma pluta ...''

;the train station
:''le renytcana''

;the bus station
:''le sorprekarcytcana''

;the airport
:''le vijytcana''

;the post office
:''le mritcana''

;the library
:''le ckudi'u''

;the used bookstore
:''le tatpi cukta barja''

;a restaurant
:''lo gusta''

;I'd like a ticket to ...
:''.i .au pikta co klama ...''

;One way or round trip?
:''klama je'i xruti''

;One way
:''jenai/klama po'o''

;Round trip
:''je/klama je xruti''

;Do I have to change trains?
:''.i eipei le trene cu se basti''

;What platform does the train leave from?
:''.i le trene cu klama fi ma poi tsina''

;When is the first bus to ...?
:''.i ca ma cliva fa le pamoi sormemkarce poi klama ...''

;the next bus
:''le bavla'i sormemkarce''

;the last bus
:''le romoi sormemkarce''

;Please let me off at the next stop.
:''.i .e'o ko livycru mi bu'u le bavla'i ke nunde'a tcana''

=Dates and Times=
The Gregorian calendar is used in Lojbangug. There are two systems of naming months of the year, one based on numbers and one on signs of the zodiac, and two systems of naming days of the week, one based on numbers and one translated from Japanese or Korean. Some of the names have variants.

January ''pavma'i'' ''kanbyma'i''

February ''relma'i'' ''jaurbeima'i''

March ''cibma'i'' ''fipma'i''

April ''vonma'i'' ''lanma'i''

May ''mumyma'i'' ''bakma'i''

June ''xavma'i'' ''matsi'uma'i''

July ''zelma'i'' ''jukma'i, mlajukma'i''

August ''bivma'i'' ''cinfyma'i''

September ''sozma'i'' ''xlima'i''

October ''pavnonma'i'' ''ci'urma'i, laxma'i''

November ''pavypavma'i'' ''jukrskorpio masti, rebjukma'i''

December ''pavrelma'i'' ''celma'i''

The days of the week are most often numbered. There are at least two systems in use for the days of the week. One starts from Sunday and one from Monday. Since this situation causes great confusion, the Lojbanistanis are working hard to rectify it.

Sunday ''nondei,zeldei'' ''soldei pamoi djedi''

Monday ''pavdei'' ''lurdei remoi djedi''

Tuesday ''reldei'' ''fagdei cimoi djedi''

Wednesday ''cibdei'' ''jaurdei vomoi djedi''

Thursday ''vondei'' ''mudydei mumoi djedi''

Friday ''mumdei'' ''jimdei xamoi djedi''

Saturday ''xavdei'' ''tedydei zemoi djedi''

The place structure is:

* x1 is January autc. of year x2
* x1 is Sunday autc. of week x2

The format of a fully spelled-out date is:

* ''le djedi xamoi be le mlajukma'i be le panonomoi nanca be'o be'o noi jimdei''

=Health=
;Where is a doctor?:''le mikce cu zvati ma'' (seems kind of formal. Maybe for quick questions, just ''mikce vi ma?'' and so on for others here)

;Where is a hospital?:''le spita cu zvati ma''

;Where is a nearby pharmacy?:''le vi zarci be le velmicyxu'i cu zvati ma''

;It hurts here:''cortu ti''

;My head is too hot.:''le stedu be mi cu kelvo du'eda''

;I am sick:''mi bilma''

;I have a stomach ache:''mi cortu le betfu''

;Do I need doctor's permission to use this medicine?:''xu mi nitcu le nu le mikce ku curmi kei le nu mi pilno le velmicyxu'i''

;I have a cold.:''mi vaxybi'a''

;Take this three times a day for the next two weeks.:''ko cimoi citka/pinxa/je'erse'a ti di'i lo djedi ca'o lo ze'aba jeftu be li re''

==== Medicines and Nutrients ====

;aspirin:''slamrsalike''

;antibiotic:''(ledyselkra) jumcatra''

;herb:''velmicyspa''

;pau d'arco / lapacho / taheebo (the inner barks of various trees):''ricrtabebu'i''

;protein:''lanbi''

;carbohydrate:''satleixu'i''

;starch:''jalna''

;fat:''grasu''

;unsaturated fatty acid:''dronalclu rasyslami''

;saturated fatty acid:''droclu rasyslami''

;vitamin A:''abumoi mivytcuxu'i''

;vitamin B3:''by.cimoi mivytcuxu'i / xumrniacine''

;vitamin C:''cy.moi mivytcuxu'i / slamrskorbuti''

=Money=

The unit of money in Lojbangug is the '''rupnu''', which is divided into 100 '''fepni'''. The exchange rate is currently about 15 Lojbo rupnu to the American dollar. ''How come ? Who decided this ?''

Lojbo have the odd habit of referring to everyone else's monetary units as ''rupnu'' too. To distinguish them, one can say ''merko rupnu'' or ''meryru'u'' for the American dollar, ''ponjo rupnu'' or ''ponru'u'' for the Japanese yen, etc. (''ropno rupnu'' sounds especially fine!). To be absolutely clear, the Lojbanic rupnu can be known as a ''jboru'u'' or ''lojru'u''.

The coins are:

fepni 1 fepni

mumfei / zinsi'i 5 fepni

dekfei / decru'u 10 fepni

niksi'i 20 fepni

xabru'u 50 fepni

rupnu 1 rupnu

cibru'u 3 rupnu

dekru'u 10 rupnu

''(Boring. How about coins in powers of 2 fepni? Then you can always make change, never needing more than one coin of any denomination. '''What a great idea!''' Or for real laughs, have the denominations in Fibonacci sequence, which would also require at most one per denomination for any number, just a lot harder to work out.'') The sequence 1 2 3 5 10 20 30 50... also works this way, and would be much easier to work out.

(let me know if anyone misses the confused, pointless discussion that was here, most of which was my fault -- [[rab.spir|rab.spir]])

''Incidentally, if the exchange rate really is 15 ''rupnu'' to 1 ''meryru'u'', anything less than a ''rupnu'' would be an amount of money most people wouldn't even bother picking up off the street - less than a nickel. Not exactly worth making coins for it. Given that the phrasebook describes fepni coins, was it perhaps supposed to be the other way around?''

;What's the price of this?:''ma jdima ti / ti rupnu li xo''

;That costs 13:''rupnu ta rupnu li paci''

;Where should I pay?:''.ei mi pleji vi ma''

;I'm looking for something less expensive:''mi sisku lo'e kargu mleca''

;I would like to buy ...:''mi djica le nu te vecnu ...''

;Where is the nearest bank?:''le jbirai banxa cu zvati ma''

;I would like to exchange American dollars for rupnu.:''mi djica lenu canja lo meryru'u lo jborupnu''

;What is the exchange rate of the euro against the rupnu?:''ma canja parbi lo ronru'u lo jborupnu''

-> [[Phrases that differ only in stress|Phrases that differ only in stress]]

==== Asking for things / marketing ====

Unlike many other languages, it is not necessary in lojban to turn orders into polite questions ; politeness words are completely optional, and it is not rude to omit them.

Can you give me that ? ''ko ti mi dunda''

(same as I'd like you to give me that.)

I want to buy that. ''ko ti mi vecnu''

(same as Please sell me that.)

How much does this cost ? ''ti se jdima ma / ti se vecnu fo ma''

How much do you want to sell this ? ''ma ti fo do jdima''

Who sells this ? ''ma vecnu ti''

It is too expensive. ''li du'e cu jdima''

I offer ... (amount of money) for this. ''mi te vecnu ti fo ...''

Please, I'd like you to lend this to me. ''pe'udo'u mi jbera ti do''

How long can I borrow it ? ''ma ve jbera''

I don't have enough money. ''mi ponse le rupnu be li mo'a''

Give me some more. ''ko ti mi zmadu'a''

I would like to buy some cigarettes. ''mi na te vecnu ti poi snacukyvei .i se sraku''

=Numbers=

In general, numbers in Lojban are expressed by reading off the digits from left to right, with a few exceptions. Three zeros can be said ''ki'o'' instead of ''nonono'', and there are special words for some powers of ten, which aren't always used.

In some parts, an entirely different system based on [[lesi'o foli paxa kancu exadecimal|lesi'o foli paxa kancu exadecimal]] is used, though as a foreigner your numbers will probably be understood if you say them in decimal. ''These parts are easy to recognize--everything is much more advanced. Those using decimal are vaporized quickly and painlessly. [[tinkit|tinkit]]''

==== Small integers ====

zero ''no''

one ''pa''

two ''re''

three ''ci''

four ''vo''

five ''mu''

six ''xa''

seven ''ze''

eight ''bi''

nine ''so''

ten ''pano''

eleven ''papa''

twelve ''pare''

twenty ''reno''

thirty ''cino''

forty ''vono''

hundred ''panono''

thousand ''panonono / paki'o''

million ''paki'oki'o''

When counting, you don't say pa, re, ci, as that would be taken as the number 123 said slowly. To separate the numbers, you can say .i pa, .i re, .i ci, or li pa, li re, li ci. ''Or paboi reboi ciboi...''

==== Fractions ====

one half ''pimu / fi'ure xadba''

one third ''pira'eci / fi'uci''

two thirds ''pira'exa / refi'uci''

one fourth ''piremu / fi'uvo''

three fourths ''pizemu / cifi'uvo''

one seventh ''pira'epavorebimuze / fi'uze''

3+1/7 / 22/7 ''vei cisu'ifi'uze / cipira'epavorebimuze / rerefi'uze''

==== Some powers of 10 ====

10^-12 ''piki'oki'oki'oki'opa vei gei ni'upare picti''

10^-9 ''piki'oki'oki'opa vei gei ni'uso nanvi''

10^-6 ''piki'oki'opa vei gei ni'uxa mikri''

10^-3 ''piki'opa vei gei ni'uci milti''

.01 ''pinopa centi''

.1 ''pipa decti''

10^0 ''pa vei gei no pamei''

10 ''pano dekto''

100 ''panono xecto''

10^3 ''paki'o vei gei ci kilto''

10^6 ''paki'oki'o vei gei xa megdo''

10^9 ''paki'oki'oki'o vei gei so gigdo''

10^12 ''paki'oki'oki'oki'o vei gei pare terto''

Note that the words ''kilto'' etc. are verbs. ''kilto'' means "is a group of a thousand", as in ''mi viska lo kilto be loi manti'', I see a thousand ants.''Note also that it is not ten but the radix being used in whatever your base is, with ten the most common by far (though hex and occasionally duodecimal are used), so kilto is not one thousand but'' paki'o'', which to a hexist is over four times as many. This is why we are lucky in that some areas use hex and some decimal, but the borders are clearly defined. Only one region is in dispute, and that is the jboste, where base is a source of conflict. Elsewhere in [[jbotut|jbotut]] the bases don't mix, with [[La Xagvar ne exeption|La Xagvar ne exeption]].''

*A ki'o does not mean 3 digits in ''[[hexadecimal, which tinkit calls|hexadecimal, which tinkit calls]]'' the default base. Either 2 or 4--probably 4 (this is often defined as a "word"). Dekto, xecto, centi, and denti either need to be removed or add 2 more to fill up the extra digit. mi'e [[tinkit|tinkit]]
** It's okay when you make your misinformative statements on the list, where we are free to ignore them, but it's possible that someone new to Lojban might come across the Wiki and believe you, or worse, believe that features such as ''ki'o'' are not yet decided. Hexadecimal is supported in Lojban (as it should be, being the largest base that has some real-world usage), but it is false (contradicted by the Book itself) that it is the default. --[[rab.spir|rab.spir]]

*** The book says ki'o just means a comma. That can be interpreted as anything--including 4 digits which is what is most commonly used in the (9+7) base.
**** The book also says the default base is 10, so I hardly think you can refer to it authoritatively here. (Incidentally, I don't disagree that a comma could represent 4 places in hex - what I take issue with is your outright, false assertion that hex is the default and that as a result (since falsehood implies everything) the metric words are all of indeterminate meaning.)

=Smileys=

:-) (contempt) ''ui''

*Ahem, contempt is ga'i, you meant content, I believe ? mi'e [[.greg.|greg.]]

:-) (amusement) ''u'i''

:-D ''u'isai''

;-) ''zo'o''

:-( ''uinai''

:-o ''ue''

:-O ''uesai''

8-) (voyeurism) ''a'usairo'o / a'usairo'u''

:-* (kiss) ''iu''

:-% (puzzlement) ''oiro'e''

:-/ (embarassment) ''oiro'a''

*I use this one for disappointment or annoyance. -- mi'e [[bancus|bancus]].

:'-P (physical fatigue) ''o'u.a'ero'o''

:'-( (sadness) ''uinai.oiro'i''

:'-D (amusement to tears) ''u'icai''

>:-( (disapproval w/ complaint) ''i'enai.oi''

:-| (neutral) ''... cu'i''

What do you feel? ''pei''

What do you feel about the fact that ... ? ''pei du'u ...''

While many lojban chatters know about smileys and use them instead of the lojban words, it is good practice to write the words instead in e.g. more formal texts.

Is it smileys or ''smilies?'' --[[User:skorgu|Skorgu]]

=Common Phrases=

{| class="wikitable"
|| English
|| Esperanto
|| Lojban

|-
|| hello
|| saluton
|| coi

|-
|| good-bye
|| ĝis revido
|| coinai

|-
|| Please
|| bonvolu
|| pe'u

|-
|| thank you
|| dankon
|| ki'e

|-
|| you're welcome
|| nedankinde
||

|-
|| that/they/them
| colspan="2" |

|-
|| How much?
|| kiom
||

|-
|| English
|| angla
|| la .inglic.

|-
|| yes
|| jes
|| go'i

|-
|| no
|| ne
|| na go'i

|-
|| I am sorry
|| mi bedaŭras
|| .u'u

|-
|| I don't understand
|| mi ne komprenas
|| mi na jimpe

|-
|| Where is the toilet?
|| kie estas la necesejo?
||

|-
|| (generic toast)
|| Je via sano
||

|-
|| Do you speak English?
|| Ĉu vi parolas la anglan?
|| do se bangu la .inglic.

|-
|| Excuse me, I do not speak Lojban well
|| Pardonu min, mi ne bone parolas Loĵbanon
||

|-
|| I don't know
|| Mi ne scias
|| mi na djuno

|}

=On a bus stop=
==Very useful phrases==
{{gl|lo mi fulta bloti cu culno lo angila|My hovercraft is full of eels.}}

=Links=
The original of this page and those behind the links can be found at https://github.com/lojban/lojban-cvs/tree/master/lojban/phrasebook

Lojban - User contributions [en]

Phrasebook