Lojban Through Dialogues
Lesson 6. What Time? Let's Say Seven
They need to agree on a time. Mentu asks; Lifri answers; they settle on 7 o'clock.
| Lojban | English |
|---|---|
 ma ca tcika | What time is it now? |
 ti'u li cacra bu mu | Five o'clock. |
 .e'u mi'o klama le panka ti'u li cacra bu ze | Let's go to the park at 7! |
 xu do zvati le panka ti'u li cacra bu ze | Will you be at the park at 7? |
 go'i .i mi klama le panka ti'u li cacra bu ze | Yes — I'll go to the park at 7. |
 je'e .i mi zvati le panka ti'u li cacra bu ze | Sure. I'll be at the park at 7. |
New words
| Lojban | Meaning |
|---|---|
| pa | one (1) |
| re | two (2) |
| ci | three (3) |
| vo | four (4) |
| mu | five (5) |
| xa | six (6) |
| ze | seven (7) |
| bi | eight (8) |
| so | nine (9) |
| no | zero (0) |
| tcika | x₁ is the time of day of event x₂ — ma ca tcika = "what time is it now?" |
| ti'u | at (a clock time) — time-point marker; ti'u li cacra bu N = "at N o'clock" |
| li | introduces a number or numeric expression |
| cacra bu | o'clock (lit. "hour-mark") — always paired with li and a digit chain |
Grammar note:
Digits chain left to right: pano = 10, pare = 12, reno = 20, reci = 23. All ten digits are single syllables: pa re ci vo mu xa ze bi so no. The clock formula is ti'u li cacra bu [digits] — read it as "at the hour marked [N] o'clock." li tells Lojban that what follows is a number. ma ca tcika = "what is the now-time?" = "what time is it?" (Tense markers pu and ba come in Lesson 9.)
Practice dialogue
Mentu and Linto negotiate a meeting time.
| Lojban | English |
|---|---|
 .e'u mi'o klama le panka | Let's go to the park! |
go'i .i ma ca tcika | Yes! What time is it? |
 li cacra bu mu | Five o'clock. |
.e'u mi'o klama ti'u li cacra bu ze | Let's go at seven o'clock. |
 je'e .i mi ba zvati le panka ti'u li cacra bu ze | Sure — I'll be at the park at seven. |
 .ui .i mi ba klama le panka ti'u li cacra bu ze | Great! I'll go to the park at seven. |
Anticipation prompts
| Prompt | Lojban |
|---|---|
| What time is it? | ma ca tcika |
| At 7 o'clock. | ti'u li cacra bu ze |
| I go to the park at 4. | mi klama le panka ti'u li cacra bu vo |
| At 10 o'clock. | ti'u li cacra bu pano |
| Three parks. | ci panka |
| Two homes. | re zdani |
Spaced recall — Lessons 4–5
| Lojban | English |
|---|---|
| ki'e do .i je'e | Thank you. You're welcome. |
| mi zvati le panka | I'm at the park. |
| do klama le zdani | You go home. |
| .e'u mi'o klama le panka | Let's go to the park. |
| ma nuzba | What's the news? |
Challenge
| Prompt | Lojban |
|---|---|
| Hello! Let's go to the park at 7. | coi .i .e'u mi'o klama le panka ti'u li cacra bu ze |