Quantities

I've said that words like most and many are numbers in Lojban, which is pretty logical if you think about it. The following 'numbers' are particularly useful:

no 

none (we've already seen this as 'zero')

ro 

each / all

du'e 

too many

so'a 

almost all

so'e 

most

so'i 

many / a lot of

so'o 

several

so'u 

few

su'e 

at most

su'o 

at least

Some examples:

This last sentence is logically the same as lo prenu cu prami do, which means "there exists at least one person such that that person loves you," but it makes the meaning clearer and more emphatic. In fact, all articles in Lojban have such default numbers associated with them; lo by default means su'o pa lo ro "at least one out of all...".

Vocabulary

batci 

x1 bites/pinches x2 on/at specific locus x3 with x4

cifnu 

x1 is an infant/baby [helpless through youth/incomplete development] of species x2

cinba 

x1 (agent) kisses/busses x2 at locus x3

citka 

x1 eats/ingests/consumes (transitive verb) x2

gerku 

x1 is a dog/canine/[bitch] of species/breed x2

melbi 

x1 is beautiful/pleasant to x2 in aspect x3 (ka) by aesthetic standard x4

mlatu 

x1 is a cat/[puss/pussy/kitten] [feline animal] of species/breed x2; (adjective:) x1 is feline

nanmu 

x1 is a man/men; x1 is a male humanoid person [not necessarily adult]

rectu 

x1 is a quantity of/contains meat/flesh from source/animal x2

Exercise 3

Translate the following sentences.

  1. All babies are beautiful.

  2. The pack of three cats bite the dog.

  3. What a surprise! Mei Li loves two men. (use an attitudinal indicator)

  4. Most men love at least one woman.

  5. It is not true that all men love at least one woman.

  6. The group of four women kiss Ricky Martin.

  7. It's a shame that no-one likes Bill. (use an attitudinal indicator)

  8. Rosemary's baby bites two people (separately).

  9. One in three women like David Bowie.

  10. No more than 15% of Buddhists eat meat. ('Buddhist' is budjo, as you may remember from Lesson 3).

  11. Nine out of ten cats like 'Whiskas.' (use a cmene)