Lojban Through Dialogues
Lesson 21. Evening Routines
Winding down for the night. sipna = to sleep; lerci = late; nitcu = to need; jibri = job/occupation; finti = to author/program.
Finally, the lesson where people admit they need to sleep. Relatable.
| Lojban | English |
|---|---|
| ca vanci fi mi | It's evening in my timezone. |
| .ai mi sipna | I'm going to sleep. |
| ca vanci fi mi .i .ai mi sipna | It's evening at my place. I'm going to sleep. |
| ca lerci | It's late now. |
| mi ca te vanci | I'm in the evening zone now. |
| co'o te vanci | Goodbye, evening-person! |
| xu ca na lerci | Is it not late now? |
| mi nitcu lo nu mi gunka ca le bavlamdei | I need to work tomorrow. |
| ma jibri do | What is your job? |
| lo ka finti lo proga cu jibri mi | Writing programs is my job. |
New words
| Lojban | Meaning |
|---|---|
| sipna | to sleep |
| lerci | late |
| te vanci | person in the evening / evening zone |
| fi mi | at my place (location: for me) |
| nitcu | to need |
| gunka | to work |
| jibri | job, occupation |
| finti | to author, create, write (a work) |
| proga | program, software |
lo ka finti lo proga — "the property of creating programs" — used as a noun-phrase for "programming." That's a flexible construction.
lo ka [verb] turns any verb into a property-noun. "The-being-of programming" = programming. You can use it wherever a noun fits.
Written prompts
Say in Lojban: It's late now. (ca lerci)
Say in Lojban: I'm going to sleep. (.ai mi sipna)
Say in Lojban: What is your job? (ma jibri do)
Recycle — Lessons 18–20
| Lojban | English |
|---|---|
| ca lerci .i no da zvati le zarci | It's late. Nobody is in the shop. |
| mi nitcu lo nu mi pleji le kagni ca ro detma'i | I need to pay the company every month. |
| vanci coi .i .ai mi sipna .i ca lerci | Good evening! I'm going to sleep — it's late. |
Say in Lojban: I need to work tomorrow because my family needs money. (mi nitcu lo nu mi gunka ca le bavlamdei ki'u le nu le lanzu be mi nitcu lo jdini)