Lojban Through Dialogues
Lesson 14. Planning the Week
The trio is wrapping up at the café. Lifri wants to lock in a regular meetup — but not everyone can make tomorrow.
| Lojban | English |
|---|---|
 ca le bavlamdei xu do ba klama le panka | Tomorrow — will you go to the park? |
 go'i .i mi ba klama ti'u li cacra bu ze | Yes — at seven o'clock. |
 .i ku'i mi na ba klama ca le bavlamdei | But I won't go tomorrow. |
 xu do ba klama ca ro jeftu | Will you come every week? |
 go'i .i mi birti | Yes! I'm certain. |
 .ui .i ca ro jeftu mi'o ba klama le panka | Yay! Let's go to the park every week. |
 ca ro jeftu mi ba zvati le panka | Every week I'll be at the park. |
New words
| Lojban | Meaning |
|---|---|
| birti | x₁ is certain / sure about x₂ — mi birti = "I'm sure" |
| jeftu | week |
| djedi | day — le djedi be li re = "a two-day span" (same pattern as le jeftu be li pa = "a one-week span") |
| ro | every / all — ca ro jeftu = "every week" |
| detma'i | calendar month — ca ro detma'i = "every calendar month" |
Grammar note:
ro means "every" and can quantify any noun: ca ro jeftu = "every week," ca ro detma'i = "every month," ca ro djedi = "every day." birti = "certain": mi birti leaves x₂ implicit (the thing just discussed). To be explicit: mi birti lo nu mi ba klama = "I'm certain I'll go."
For day and week spans, attach the number with be li: le djedi be li re = "a two-day period," le jeftu be li pa = "a one-week period." You'll see this pattern in many later lessons.
Practice dialogue
Mentu and Linto confirm the plan between themselves.
| Lojban | English |
|---|---|
 ca ro jeftu xu mi'o ba klama le panka | Do we go to the park every week? |
go'i .i mi birti | Yes. I'm certain. |
 xu do ba klama ca ro djedi | Will you go every day? |
 na go'i .i ca ro jeftu mi ba klama | No — every week I'll go. |
 .ui .i ca ro detma'i mi ba klama | Yay! Every month I'll come. |
ca ro jeftu mi ba klama .i mi birti | I'll go every week — I'm certain! |
Anticipation prompts
| Prompt | Lojban |
|---|---|
| I'm certain. | mi birti |
| Every week I'll go to the park. | ca ro jeftu mi ba klama le panka |
| Will you come every week? | xu do ba klama ca ro jeftu |
| Every day I'll go to the park. | ca ro djedi mi ba klama le panka |
| Every month I'll come. | ca ro detma'i mi ba klama |
Spaced recall — Lessons 11–13
| Lojban | English |
|---|---|
| .ai mi klama lo gusta | I'm going to a restaurant. |
| .au mi citka lo cidja | I want to eat food. |
| xu kargu | Is it expensive? |
| lo stasu cu meryru'u li re no | The soup costs 20 dollars. |
| .ai mi te vecnu lo titnanba .e lo jisra | I'm going to buy cookies and juice. |
| le cidja cu mutce kargu | The food is very expensive. |
| .au mi te vecnu su'o cidja | I want to buy some food. |
| mi nelci lo jdini | I like money. |
Challenge
| Prompt | Lojban |
|---|---|
| Every week I'll go to the shop. I'm certain. | ca ro jeftu mi ba klama lo zarci .i mi birti |