Lojban Through Dialogues
Lesson 10. I Want to Eat
Mentu is hungry after the walk in the park. Two key attitudinals: .au (desire — "I want") and .ai (intent — "I'm going to"). Learning both together now saves you a lesson later.
| Lojban | English |
|---|---|
 .au mi citka | I want to eat. |
 .ai mi pinxe lo djacu | I'm going to drink water. |
 .au mi citka lo nanba | I want to eat some bread. |
 xu do .au citka | Do you want to eat? |
 go'i .i .ai mi citka lo nanba | Yes — I'm going to eat bread. |
New words
| Lojban | Meaning |
|---|---|
| .au | I want … / I wish … (attitudinal: desire) |
| .ai | I intend to … / I'm going to … (attitudinal: intent) |
| citka | x₁ eats x₂ |
| pinxe | x₁ drinks x₂ |
| lo | some / a(n) — refers to something in general, not a specific one |
| djacu | water |
| nanba | bread |
Grammar note:
.au expresses desire — something you want or wish for. .ai expresses intent — something you've decided to do. They feel similar in English but carry different certainty: "I want to eat" vs "I'm going to eat." lo is a general article: lo djacu = "some water / water in general." Compare with le which points at something specific: le djacu = "the water (that particular one)."
Practice dialogue
Mentu and Lifri discuss what they want.
| Lojban | English |
|---|---|
.au mi citka | I want to eat. |
xu do .ai pinxe lo djacu | Are you going to drink water? |
go'i .i .ai mi pinxe lo djacu | Yes. I'm going to drink water. |
.au mi citka lo nanba | I want to eat bread. |
.ui | Great! |
Anticipation prompts
| Prompt | Lojban |
|---|---|
| I want to eat. | .au mi citka |
| I'm going to drink water. | .ai mi pinxe lo djacu |
| Do you want to eat? | xu do .au citka |
| I want to eat bread. | .au mi citka lo nanba |
| I'm going to eat bread. | .ai mi citka lo nanba |
Spaced recall — Lessons 7–9
| Lojban | English |
|---|---|
| cerni coi .i mi gleki | Good morning! I'm happy. |
| mi pu klama le panka | I went to the park. |
| ca le bavlamdei mi ba klama le panka | Tomorrow I'll go to the park. |
| ko masno tavla | Speak slowly! |
| mi na djuno | I don't know. |
| ca le cabdei mi gleki | Today I'm happy. |
| xu do jimpe | Do you understand? |
| do sutra tavla | You speak fast. |
| ti'u li cacra bu xa mi gleki | At 6 o'clock I'm happy. |
| ti'u li cacra bu bi mi tatpi | At 8 o'clock I'm tired. |
| ma ca tcika | What time is it? |
Challenge
| Prompt | Lojban |
|---|---|
| I want to eat. Let's go to the park! | .au mi citka .i .e'u mi'o klama le panka |