Lojban and Chinese, A Word A Day

By Xah Lee. Date:

taske ⇔ thirst ⇔ 渴 ke3 .

taske ≔ x1 thirsts for x2; x1 needs/wants drink/fluid/lubrication x2
mi taske ⇔ I (am) thirsty ⇔ 我 wo3 (I) 口 kou3 (mouth) 渴 ke3 .

So now we know, that thirsty is taske 渴, water is djacu 水, drink is pinxe 喝, hungry is xagji 饿, food is cidja 食物, and eat is citka 吃. And we know pee is pinca 尿, next we'll have to learn piss and shit.

Note that in Chinese, both 食 and 吃 means eat. 吃 is common, as in “i want to eat” or “i'm eating”. 食 is more used in writings.

The word 物 means object. We have food ⇔ 食物(eat object) and animal ⇔ 动物(moving object).

djacu ⇔ water ⇔ 水 shui3 .

djacu ≔ x1 is made of/contains/is a quantity/expanse of water; (adjective) x1 is aqueous/[aquatic]
mi pinxe le djacu ⇔ I drink water ⇔ 我 wo3 喝 he1 水 shui3.

zvati ⇔ at/present ⇔ 在 zai4

zvati ≔ x1 (object/event) is at/attending/present at x2 (event/location)
le danlu cu zvati ma ⇔ animal at where? (where is the/that animal) ⇔ 动物 dong4wu4 (animal) 在 zai4 (at/present) 那 na3 (where)?

zvati means “'exist at'/present”, similar to the chinese 在. “ma” is the place holder for unknown sumti.

In Chinese, 那 means “where” or “that”, depending on the tone. In third tone , it means where. In 4th tone , it means there.

danlu ⇔ animal ⇔ 动 dong4 (moving) 物 wu4 (object) .

danlu ≔ x1 is an animal/creature of species x2; x1 is biologically animate

skari ⇔ color ⇔ 色 se4 .

skari ≔ x1 is/appears to be of color/hue x2 as perceived/seen by x3 under conditions x4
ta skari ma ⇔ that color umm (what is the color of that) ⇔ 那 na4 (that) 是 shi4 (is) 什么 she2me3 (what) 色 se4 (color)
ta blabi ⇔ that's white ⇔ 那是白bai2色

xamgu ⇔ good ⇔ 好 hao3 .

xamgu ≔ x1 (object/event) is good/beneficial/nice/[acceptable] for x2 by standard x3
mi xamgu ⇔ I (am a) good (man) ⇔ 我 wo3 (是shi4 ⇔ is) 好 hao3 (人 ren2 ⇔ people)

tatpi ⇔ tired ⇔ 累 lei4 .

tatpi ≔ x1 is tired/fatigued by effort/situation x2 (event); x1 needs/wants rest
husband: mi gletu ko 
wife: mi tatpi

cipni ⇔ bird ⇔ 鸟 niao3

cipni ≔ x1 is a bird/avian/fowl of species x2
le cipni cu vofli ⇔ bird flies ⇔ 鸟 niao3 飞 fei1 .

sipna ⇔ sleep ⇔ 睡 shui4

sipna ≔ x1 is asleep; x1 sleeps/is sleeping
2004-02