Lesson 4. Thank You#

The meetup is ending. Lifri checks how Mentu is doing with the language; they talk about what they like; then thanks and reactions land naturally — not out of nowhere.

New words

Grammar note:

Words like ki'e, .ui, and .u'u are called attitudinals — they express the speaker's feeling and are complete sentences on their own. You can add do to direct one at someone: ki'e do = "thank you (to you)." pei after an attitudinal turns it into a question for the listener: .ui pei = "are you happy too?" On its own, pei asks: "how do you feel?" or echoes the previous question: je'e .i pei = "you're welcome — and you (what do you like)?"

je'e is the usual short reply for "understood," "OK," or "you're welcome." je'e do adds do — same pattern as ki'e do: the acknowledgment is aimed at the listener. In fast talk it can gloss as "got you", "I hear you", or "message received" (not "I got you" as in a trick). Later lessons use plain je'e for "got it" after a command.

You already saw mi milxe se bangu (Lesson 2): a word can sit right before se bangu to say how you speak — milxe = "a little." do zabna se bangu la .lojban. is the same kind of thing: zabna = "well" / nicely here (praise). Later you will also use zabna with days and situations (Lesson 20).

Preview: The next lesson introduces .e'u ("let's…"), mi'o ("we — you and I together"), and tavla ("to talk"). Already you can guess what .e'u mi'o tavla means.

Practice dialogue#

Linto and Mentu run the same kind of scene: substance first, then thanks.

Anticipation prompts#

Spaced recall — Lessons 1–3#

Challenge#