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1

Lojban Through Dialogues

Lesson 1. Hello, Goodbye, and Leaving

Lifri has just spotted Mentu at a Lojban meetup — his first time here. A real conversation rarely stops at the first hello: people introduce themselves, then someone has to run.

LojbanEnglish
la mentu
la mentu
coi .i mi'e la mentu
Hello — I'm Mentu.
la lifri
la lifri
coi la mentu .i mi'e la lifri .i coi do
Hello, Mentu — I'm Lifri. Hello to you.
la mentu
la mentu
mi cliva co'o
I'm off — bye! / I'm leaving — bye.
la lifri
la lifri
co'o
Goodbye.
la mentu
la mentu
co'o la lifri
Goodbye, Lifri.

New words

LojbanMeaning
coihello (greeting)
co'ogoodbye (parting)
mi'eI am … / my name is …
laname-tag — turns the next word into a name
doyou
clivax₁ leaves x₂ — with mi and co'o: mi cliva co'o = "I'm leaving — bye"

Grammar note:

A single Lojban word can be a complete sentence. coi on its own means "I greet you." co'o means "I bid you farewell." mi cliva co'o chains two common moves: you say who is leaving (mi cliva), then the parting (co'o) — very natural in online and offline conversations when someone has to go.

Practice dialogue

A little later, Linto walks up to Mentu.

LojbanEnglish
la mentu
la mentu
coi do
Hello (to you).
la linto
la linto
coi do .i mi'e la linto
Hello. I'm Linto.
la mentu
la mentu
coi .i mi'e la mentu
Hello. I'm Mentu.
la linto
la linto
mi cliva co'o .i co'o la mentu
I'm heading out — bye, Mentu!
la mentu
la mentu
co'o la linto
Goodbye, Linto.

New word

LojbanMeaning
.isentence boundary — separates two sentences (like a spoken full stop)

Grammar note:

.i is written with a dot before it. You can chain as many sentences as you like: coi .i mi'e la mentu .i mi cliva co'o.

Anticipation prompts

PromptLojban
Hello.coi
I'm Mentu.mi'e la mentu
Goodbye, Lifri.co'o la lifri
I'm leaving — bye.mi cliva co'o
Hello. I'm Linto.coi .i mi'e la linto
Hello, Mentu. I'm heading out — bye!coi la mentu .i mi cliva co'o

Challenge

PromptLojban
Hello. I'm Mentu. I'm leaving — bye.coi .i mi'e la mentu .i mi cliva co'o