Lojban and Chinese, A Word A Day
By Xah Lee. Date:
cnino ⇔ unfamiliar, new ⇔ 不bu4 熟shou2, 新xin1.
cnino ≔ x1 is new/unfamiliar/novel to observer x2 in feature x3 (ka) by standard x4; x1 is a novelty
ta cnino mi ⇔ that's new to me.
xu ta cnino do ⇔ is that new to you?
熟 ⇔ cooked; ripe, as in ripe peach; mature, as in 成chen熟.
vecnu ⇔ buy, sell ⇔ 买mai3 , 卖mai4 .
vecnu ≔ x1 [seller] sells/vends x2 [goods/service/commodity] to buyer x3 for amount/cost/expense x4
买 ⇔ 買,卖 ⇔ 賣
Examples:
mi vecnu do ta
do vecnu mi ti
xu do vecnu ta
ma vecnu zo'e ti
Review: mi ⇔ I, do ⇔ you, ta ⇔ that, ti ⇔ this, xu ⇔ ((is it true…)), ma ⇔ who, where, what, blank, zo'e ⇔ blank.
ladru ⇔ milk ⇔ 奶nai3.
ladru ≔ x1 is made of/contains/is a quantity of milk from source x2; (adjective) x1 is lactic/dairy
xu do ponse le ladru ⇔ got milk? ⇔ 你有you3 奶nai3 嗎?
奶 ⇔ milk; breast.
mi taske le ladru ⇔ i'm thirsty for milk ⇔ 我wo3 要yao4 喝he1 奶nai3. (i want drink milk)
mi pinxe le ladru ⇔ i drink milk ⇔ 我喝奶
mi djica le ladru .e le nanba
⇔ i want milk and bread ⇔ 我要牛niu2奶和he2麵mian4包bao1.
le ladru cu cidja le remna ⇔ milk is human food ⇔ 牛奶是shi4人ren2的de3食si2物wu4
remna ⇔ human ⇔ 人
catlu ⇔ look ⇔ 看 kan4
catlu ≔ x1 looks at/examines/views/inspects/regards/watches/gazes at x2
ma catlu ⇔ who is looking? ⇔ 谁在看 shei2zai4kan4 ?
do catlu ma
⇔ what are you looking at/for? ⇔ 你在看什么 ni3 zai4 kan4 shen2 me3 ?
mi catlu do .i do catlu mi ⇔ i look at you, you look at me ⇔ 我看你,你看我 wo kan ni, ni kan wo
在 ⇔ “at”, but it also means “currently, at the moment”.
.e ⇔ and ⇔ 和he2 .
“.e” in lojban means “and”, as in together. The dot in front is a little pause. It is part of lojban's alphabet.
“mi .e do” ⇔ me and you.
“mi citka ti .e ta”
⇔ i eat this and that. (meaning both) ⇔ 我吃这个和那个.
cusku ⇔ expresses, says ⇔ 说 shuo1
cusku ≔ x1 (agent) expresses/says x2 (sedu'u/text/lu'e concept) for audience x3 via expressive medium x4
do cusku ma ⇔ what did you say? ⇔ 你说什么?
tavla ⇔ talk, speak ⇔ 说 shuo1
tavla ≔ x1 talks/speaks to x2 about subject x3 in language x4
mi tavla do le lojban ⇔ I speak to you about lojban ⇔ 我wo3 和he2 你ni3 谈tan2 邏輯luo2ji2 语yu3.
谈 ⇔ “chat”. 和 ⇔ “and”. “我和你谈” ⇔ literally means “I and you chat”. “邏輯语” ⇔ lojban. 邏輯 ⇔ logic. 语 ⇔ (spoken)language.
mi tavla do le lojban le lojban ⇔ I speak to you about lojban in lojban ⇔ 我和你用yong4 lojban 谈 tan2 lojban
用 ⇔ use.
mi tavla do zo'e le lojban ⇔ I speak to you in lojban ⇔ 我用 lojban 和你说.
In Chinese, it literally means “I use lojban with you speak”
zo'e tavla do zo'e le lojban ⇔ someone speaks to you in lojban
zo'e tavla zo'e ⇔ someone speaks to someone
The “zo'e” is a empty placeholder.
zo'e
ma tavla mi ⇔ who is talking to me?
mi tavla ko ⇔ let me talk to you!
ko tavla mi ⇔ tell me!
Remember that “ko” is a command form of “you”.
ponse ⇔ have, possess ⇔ 有 you3 .
ponse ≔ x1 possesses/owns/has x2 under law/custom x3; x1 is owner/proprietor of x2 under x3
mi ponse le djini ⇔ I have money ⇔ 我 wo3 有 钱 qian2
ma ponse le djini ⇔ who has money? ⇔ 谁 shei2 有 钱?
do ponse ma
⇔ what do you have? ⇔ 你 ni3 有 什 shen2 么 me3?
什么 ⇔ what.
2004-02