Lojban and Chinese, A Word A Day

• re
• two
• 二 er4 .

• re moi
• second
• 第 di4 二 er4.

In lojban, to say things like first, second, third, 4th, 5th, 6th …, add a “moi” after the number. So, second ⇔ “re moi”. In Chinese, put a 第 in front of the number, for example: 第二.

• gleki
• happy
• 快 kuai4 乐 le4.

• mi gleki
• I am happy
• 我 wo3 快 kuai4 乐 le4.

• do gleki
• You are happy
• 你 ni3 快 kuai4 乐 le4.

Traditional form for 乐 is 樂. 快 ⇔ fast. 樂 ⇔ happy.

• dacti
• thing/object
• 东dong1 西 xi1 .

dacti means object. In Chinese, 东 means east and 西 means west. Together, they just mean object or thing.

Some review about lojban words and their definitions:

• cortu ≔ x1 hurts/feels pain/hurt at locus x2
• barda ≔ x1 is big/large in property/dimension(s) x2 (ka) as compared with standard/norm x3
• stedu ≔ x1 is a/the head [body-part] of x2;
• vikmi ≔ x1 [body] piss/shit/excretes waste x2 from source x3 via means/route x4
• taske ≔ x1 thirsts for x2; x1 needs/wants drink/fluid/lubrication x2
• djacu ≔ x1 is made of/contains/is a quantity/expanse of water; (adjective) x1 is aqueous/[aquatic]
• zvati ≔ x1 (object/event) is at/attending/present at x2 (event/location)
• danlu ≔ x1 is an animal/creature of species x2; x1 is biologically animate
• skari ≔ x1 is/appears to be of color/hue x2 as perceived/seen by x3 under conditions x4
• xamgu ≔ x1 (object/event) is good/beneficial/nice/[acceptable] for x2 by standard x3
• tatpi ≔ x1 is tired/fatigued by effort/situation x2 (event); x1 needs/wants rest
• cipni ≔ x1 is a bird/avian/fowl of species x2
• sipna ≔ x1 is asleep; x1 sleeps/is sleeping
• pinca ≔ x1 is a urine/piss/pee of x2
• djica ≔ x1 desires/wants/wishes x2 (event/state) for purpose x3
• nanba ≔ x1 is a quantity of/contains bread [leavened or unleavened] made from grains x2
• gletu ≔ x1 fucks x2
• citka ≔ x1 eat/consume x2
• cidja ≔ x1 is food/feed/nutriment for x2; x1 is edible/gives nutrition to x2
• pinxe ≔ x1 (agent) drinks liquid x2 from source x3
• xagji ≔ x1 hungers for x2; x1 needs/wants food/fuel x2
• tcika ≔ x1 [hours, {minutes}, {seconds}] is the time/hour of state/event x2 on day x3 at location x4
• cadzu ≔ x1 walks/strides/paces on surface x2 using limbs x3
• prami ≔ x1 loves/feels strong affectionate devotion towards x2 (object/state)
• cerni ≔ x1 is a morning [dawn until after typical start-of-work for locale] of day x2 at location x3
• klama ≔ x1 come/go destination x2 from origin x3 via route x4 using means/vehicle x5

We see each word has the form: “something WORD something something …”. This is the structure of all lojban sentences. The primary word in each lojban sentence is WORD, and the “something” are like variables to be filled in with other words. For example, “I go there” would be “mi KLAMA tu”, where mi is I and tu is there, and klama means go. Each lojban word is defined with such a structure. If we want to say a more complex sentence: “I go to store to buy sugar”, it would be like “(i), WILLED-AN-ACTION, ([of] go to store), ([for] buying sugar)”. Basically, all sentences follows this logical structure. There are many ways to say things in lojban, depending on one's emphasis, but the structure is always “something WORD something something …”.

• cortu
• pain
• 痛 tong4 .

• .oi mi cortu le stedu
• oh my head hurts! (oh, i have a headache)
• 我 wo3 头 tou2 痛 tong4.

The “.oi” is a word that indicates emotion, corresponding to the English words like oh, ahh, yea, ouch… etc. “.oi” expresses a complaint. See lojban ref on about attitudinals.

Here are four Chinese words with the same pinyin but different tone: 通 (pass) , 同 (same) , 统 (unite, govern) , 痛 (pain) .

• barda
• big
• 大 da4.

Here are four Chinese words with the same pinyin but different tone: 搭 (join together, attach to), 答 (answer, reply), 打 (hit, beat), 大 (big).

• stedu
• head
• 头 tou2.

• zo'e stedu mi
• my head
• 我 wo3 的 de3 头 tou2 .

The “zo'e” is a placeholder for certain omitted words. So, “ti stedu mi” would mean “This is my head”, while “zo'e stedu me” is just “my head”.

• “ta stedu do”
• that is your head
• 那 na4 是 shi4 你 ni3 的 de3 头 tou2.

Traditional character for 头 is 頭.

• vikmi
• excrete (piss or shit)
• 大小便 da4 xiao3 bian4 .

• mi pinca vikmi djica
• i want to pee
• 我 wo3 要 yao4 尿 niao4 尿 niao4 .

In Chinese, 大便 means shit or “to shit”. Literally it is “big convenience”. 小便 means piss or “to piss”, literally “small convenience”. “大小便” all together means both. 小便 is colloquially 尿尿 niao4 niao4, literally “pee pee”.

Words review: djacu taske pinxe pinca; citka xagji cidja. We are missing the word for the noun excrement/feces/shit.