Lojban and Chinese, A Word A Day
- 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