Phrasebook

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) 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

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)

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

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 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

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 the bases don't mix, with La Xagvar ne exeption.

• A ki'o does not mean 3 digits in 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
  • 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

• • • 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.

-) (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.

'-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? --Skorgu

Common Phrases

English	Esperanto	Lojban
hello	saluton	coi
good-bye	ĝis revido	co'o
Please	bonvolu	pe'u
thank you	dankon	ki'e
English	angla	le glibau
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?	vimku'a bu'u ma
Do you speak English?	Ĉu vi parolas la anglan?	xu do se glibau
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

My hovercraft is full of eels.

lo mi fulta bloti cu culno lo angila

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