Lojban Through Dialogues
Lesson 8. Telling the Time
Clocks! ti'u li cacra bu N is the formula: ti'u = at the time; li = number; cacra bu = o'clock; N = the digit. So ti'u li cacra bu pa = "at 1 o'clock."
That's a lot of machinery for a single clock time. Can't we just say "pa tcika"?
The full form is precise — you're saying "at the hour marked by the number one." In conversation people do shorten it, but knowing the full form means you always understand others.
| Lojban | English |
|---|---|
| .ai mi citka da .i do mo | I'm going to eat something. What about you? |
| ra'a mi zo'u .ai mi te vecnu lo titnanba | As for me, I'm going to buy some cookies. |
| .i'e | I approve of that! |
| ti'u li cacra bu pa | At 1 o'clock. |
| ti'u li cacra bu re | At 2 o'clock. |
| mi citka ti'u li cacra bu so | I eat at 9 o'clock. |
| mi pu pinxe le jisra ti'u li cacra bu bi | I drank the juice at 8 o'clock. |
| xu do ba citka ti'u li cacra bu mu | Will you eat at 5 o'clock? |
| .ai mi klama le panka ti'u li cacra bu vo | I'm going to go to the park at 4 o'clock. |
| ti'u li cacra bu ze mi tavla le pendo | At 7 o'clock I talk to a friend. |
| mi pu te vecnu le ci botpi | I bought the 3 bottles. |
| lei xa botpi cu kargu | The 6 bottles are expensive. |
| no da zvati ti | Nobody is here. |
| mi ba klama ti'u li cacra bu pa no | I'll come at 10 o'clock. |
| do ba klama ti'u li cacra bu pa no je'i li cacra bu pa re | Will you come at 10 or at 12? |
New words
| Lojban | Meaning |
|---|---|
| ti'u | at (a clock time) |
| li | introduces a number |
| cacra bu | o'clock (lit. "hour mark") |
| pu | past tense marker (did) |
| ra'a … zo'u | as for … (topic marker) |
| .i'e | I approve / that's good |
| botpi | bottle |
| kargu | expensive |
| pendo | friend |
| no da | nobody / nothing |
| zvati | to be present at |
| lei | the mass of (collective) |
Numbers: pa re ci vo mu xa ze bi so pa no — one through ten. And they just slot into li?
Yes. li pa no = the number 10. li pa re = 12. pa, re, ci… are standalone number words.
Written prompts
Say in Lojban: At 3 o'clock. (ti'u li cacra bu ci)
Say in Lojban: I drank water at 7 o'clock. (mi pu pinxe lo djacu ti'u li cacra bu ze)
Say in Lojban: Nobody is here. (no da zvati ti)
Recycle — Lessons 5–7
| Lojban | English |
|---|---|
| .ai mi ba za te vecnu lo titnanba .e lo jisra | I'm going to buy cookies and juice later. |
| mi ba klama le panka ti'u li cacra bu xa | I'll go to the park at 6 o'clock. |
| xu do nelci lo'e jisra je'i lo'e djacu | Do you like juice or water (in general)? |
Say in Lojban: I'll buy 3 bottles of juice at 5 o'clock. (mi ba te vecnu le ci botpi lo jisra ti'u li cacra bu mu)