Lojban Through Dialogues
Lesson 11. Ordering at the Café
Lifri takes Mentu and Linto to a café. Time to order — food words fit right into the structures you already know.
| Lojban | English |
|---|---|
 .ai mi klama lo gusta | I'm going to go to a restaurant. |
 .au mi citka lo cidja | I want to eat some food. |
 .ai mi citka lo stasu | I'm going to eat soup. |
 .au mi pinxe lo jisra | I want to drink some juice. |
pei | How about you? |
 .ai mi citka lo titnanba | I'm going to eat cookies. |
xu do .au citka lo stasu | Do you want soup? |
 go'i | Yes. |
New words
| Lojban | Meaning |
|---|---|
| gusta | restaurant, café |
| cidja | food |
| stasu | soup |
| jisra | juice |
| titnanba | cookies / sweet baked goods |
Grammar note:
No new grammar this lesson — practise the structures you know (.au for desire, .ai for intent, lo for general things, pei to ask back) with fresh vocabulary. lo gusta = "a restaurant," lo cidja = "some food," lo jisra = "some juice." pei after your order asks: "and you?"
Practice dialogue
Linto and Mentu haggle over what to order.
| Lojban | English |
|---|---|
.ai mi klama lo gusta | I'm going to the restaurant! |
.au mi citka lo titnanba | I want cookies. |
 xu do .au citka lo stasu | Do you want soup? |
 na go'i .i .au mi citka lo titnanba | No — I want cookies. |
 pei .i .au mi pinxe lo jisra | How about you? I want juice. |
 .ui .i .ai mi pinxe lo jisra | Yay! I'm going to drink juice too. |
 .ai mi'o klama lo gusta | Let's go to the restaurant! |
Anticipation prompts
| Prompt | Lojban |
|---|---|
| I'm going to a restaurant. | .ai mi klama lo gusta |
| I want to eat food. | .au mi citka lo cidja |
| I want juice. | .au mi pinxe lo jisra |
| I want cookies. | .au mi citka lo titnanba |
| How about you? | pei |
Spaced recall — Lessons 8–10
| Lojban | English |
|---|---|
| ko masno tavla | Speak slowly! |
| mi na djuno | I don't know. |
| mi pu klama le panka | I went to the park. |
| .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 bread. |
| ca le cabdei mi citka lo nanba | Today I'm eating bread. |
| xu do jimpe | Do you understand? |
| ti'u li cacra bu so mi tatpi | At 9 o'clock I'm tired. |
Challenge
| Prompt | Lojban |
|---|---|
| Yesterday I went to a restaurant. I ate soup and drank juice. | ca le prulamdei mi pu klama lo gusta .i mi pu citka lo stasu .i mi pu pinxe lo jisra |