Lojban Through Dialogues
Lesson 12. Prices and Money
Money! meryru'u is "US dollar" (from merko + rupnu, the Lojban currency word). Prices use li for the number. Very large numbers use gei — scientific notation.
Scientific notation for car prices?
Cars are expensive. li vo gei mu = 4 × 10⁵ = 50,000. Logical, if a little alarming when you're shopping.
| Lojban | English |
|---|---|
| .ai mi te vecnu su'o da | I'm going to buy something. |
| xu kargu | Is it expensive? |
| ti meryru'u li pa ci | This costs 13 US dollars. |
| le karce cu meryru'u li ji'i gei vo | The car costs approximately 10,000 dollars. |
| le karce cu meryru'u li vo gei mu | The car costs 50,000 dollars. |
| mi na ponse lo jdini | I don't have money. |
| mi na ponse lo jdini meryru'u | I don't have US dollar money. |
New words
| Lojban | Meaning |
|---|---|
| meryru'u | US dollar(s) |
| kargu | expensive |
| karce | car |
| ji'i | approximately |
| gei | scientific notation multiplier (×10^N) |
| ponse | to own / possess |
| jdini | money |
mi na ponse lo jdini — "I don't possess money." Story of my life in Lojban and in life.
Written prompts
Say in Lojban: Is it expensive? (xu kargu)
Say in Lojban: I don't have money. (mi na ponse lo jdini)
Say in Lojban: This costs 20 dollars. (ti meryru'u li re no)
Recycle — Lessons 9–11
| Lojban | English |
|---|---|
| xu le karce cu kargu | Is the car expensive? |
| mi pu te vecnu le karce ca le prulamdei | I bought the car yesterday. |
| mi na birti le du'u kargu | I'm not sure whether it's expensive. |
Say in Lojban: I don't know whether the car costs 50,000 dollars. (mi na djuno le du'u le karce cu meryru'u li vo gei mu)