Basic words and phrases

Introduction

Pandunia is a constructed language that is designed to be relatively easy for everyone. You can learn it fast with this practical course.

English speakers will find it easy to make basic sentences in Pandunia as the word order is generally the same as in English, there are no definite or indefinite articles, and no complicated rules about changing the form of words to express singular and plural or the tense of verbs.

The course consists of short lessons. Each lesson introduces one new word, which is used in several different phrases in the lesson. This is to teach you how the word works as part of sentences. Possibly you will encounter also other new words in the same lesson but don't worry about them! You don't have to learn all of them at once. Just memorize the phrases that are useful for you! Maybe the rest will go to your memory subconciously.

You can study this course together with one or several friends. Read the phrases together and try to make small conversations. You can also study alone. Even then it's useful to read out loud and create conversations. Repeat the same phrases several times today, tomorrow, the day after tomorrow and so on. As they say, repetition is the mother of learning.

Note! Many lessons include also tips and notes like this. They are there to clarify grammatical details for those who are interested. You can skip over them if they are not helpful. You don't have to know the theory of the language. You can just speak Pandunia!

Part 1: Greeting and basics

sal greet, greeting

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sal! – Hello!

sal suba! – Good morning!

sal dia! – Good day!

sal sham! – Good evening!

sal noce! – Good night!

sal yam! – Bon appetit!

sal vene! – Welcome!

sal cut! – Goodbye!

sal safar! – Have a safe journey!

sal sona! – Sleep well!

As you can see from the range of expressions, sal is a general word for well-wishing. Use it any time! You can also say halo 'hello, hi' or salam 'greetings' when you greet someone.

Similar words to sal in other languages:
French salut, Arabic سَلَام‏ (salām), Hebrew שָׁלוֹם‏ (šalom), Turkish selam, Hindi सलाम (salām), Swahili salaam, Indonesian selamat.

cukre thanks

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cukre! – Thanks!

multi cukre! – Thanks a lot!

ya, cukre. – Yes, thank you.

ne, cukre. – No, thank you.

cukre tu. – Thank you.

mi cukre tu. – I thank you.

mi cukre tu helpe mi. – I thank you for helping me.

cukre tu helpe mi. – Thanks for helping me.

ne yau cukre. – You're welcome. (Literally: No need to thank.)

es to be

The word es is used for stating something as a fact.

mi es Tomas. – I am Thomas.

tu es Sara. – You are Sarah.

aple es frute. – The apple is a fruit.

Similar words to es in other languages:
Spanish es, English is, German ist, French est.

mi I, me

mi es Sara. – I'm Sarah.

mi es Tomas. – I'm Thomas.

mi sal mama. – I greet mother.

mi sal papa. – I greet father.

The word sal is both a noun and a verb. The basic word order in Pandunia is subject–verb–object.

Sara ya sal Tomas. – Sarah greets Thomas.

sal mama! – Greetings, mother!

sal papa! – Greetings, father!

Similar words to me in other languages:
English me, Spanish mí, Portuguese me, French me, Hindi: मैं (meṇ), Fulfulde mi, Swahili mimi.

tu you

tu es Tomas. – You are Thomas.

mi sal tu. – I greet you.

tu sal mi. – You greet me.

Pronouns don't ever change their form in Pandunia. That's why mi is the same in subject and object positions while English has two different forms, 'I' and 'me'.

mi love tu. – I love you.

Similar words to tu in other languages:
Spanish tu, Italian tu, French tu, Russian ты (ty), Hindi तू (tū), Persian تو‏‎ (to), Tajik ту (tu).

ho he, she or it

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ho es man. – He is a man.

ho es fem. – She is a woman.

ho es aple. – It is an apple.

ho is the general third person pronoun. It is used for people (irrespective of gender) as well as for things.

mi sal ho. – I greet him/her.

Similar words to ho in other languages:
Hebrew הוּא /hu/, Arabic هو /howa/, Turkish o, Fulani o, Yoruba ó, Persian او /u/, Hindi वह /voh/.

sual to ask a question

sual tu es Tomas? – Are you Thomas?

sual tu es dokter? – Are you a doctor?

Tip: Yes/no questions frequently begin with sual. It is just a regular verb, not a special question tag. In fact, the previous question is simply abbreviated from mi sual tu es dokter (I ask, you are doctor?) by dropping out the first word.

sual tu hao? – How are you? (Literally: Are you good?)
mi hao. – I'm good.
tu ne? – And you?
mi ne hao. – I'm not good.

Etymology. sual is from Arabic سؤال (su'āl), Hindi सवाल (savāl), Malay soal, Swahili swali.

ya yes

sual tu es Tomas? – Are you Thomas?

ya, mi es Tomas. – Yes, I am Thomas.

sual ho es dokter? – Is he/she a doctor?

ya, ho es dokter. – Yes, he is a doctor.

Similar words to ya in other languages:
German ja, English yeah, Malay ya, Korean 예 (ya).

ne no, not

mi ne es Sara. – I'm not Sarah.

mi ne es dokter. – I'm not a doctor.

sual tu hao? – Are you well?
ya. mi hao. – Yes, I'm well.

sual tu es hao? – Are you well?
ne, mi ne es hao. – No, I'm not well.

You can use ne to deny anything. It is placed before the word that is denied.

ho ne sal mi. – He/she doesn't greet me.

Similar words to ne in other languages:
Spanish no, English no, French non, Persian نه⁩ (na), Bengali না (na).

Plural personal pronouns

Singular	Plural
mi	mimen
I, me	we
tu	tumen
you	you all
ho	homen
he or she	they

mimen sal tumen. – We greet you all.

tumen sal homen. – You greet them.

homen sal mimen. – They greet us.

mimen es fem. – We are women.

tumen es man. – You are men.

homen es aple. – They are apples.

ke jen? who?

ke yen? – Who? ~ Which person?

ke es tu? – Who are you?
mi es Tomas. – I'm Thomas.

ke es ho? – Who is he/she?
ho es Sara. – She is Sarah.

ke es tumen? – Who are you people?

ke es homen? – Who are they?

ke? what?

ke? – What?

ke es ho? – What is that?

ho es buk. – That is a book.

Similar words to ke in other languages:
Spanish qué, Portuguese que, Italian che, Bengali কী (ke).

ye this

ke es ye? – What's this?

ye es aple. – This is an apple.

ho es rubi aple. – It is a red apple.

homen sta ke? – Where are they?

homen sta ye. – They are here.

vo that

ke es vo? – What is that?

vo es aple. – That is an apple.

ho aple es rubi. – The apple is red.

ho es rubi. – It is red.

homen sta ke? – Where are they?

homen sta vo. – They are there.

su 's (possessive particle)

ye es ke? – What's this?

ho es mi su telefon. – It's my telephone.

ye es ke su? – Whose is this?

ho es mi su. – It's mine.

Note: The possessive particle su is joined to the owner. So mi su means 'my', tu su means 'your' and so on.

ho es ke? – Who's he/she?

ho es mi su doste. – He/she is my friend.

mi es Sara su doste. – I am Sarah's friend.

It's also possible to end a sentence with su.

mau es mi su. The cat is mine.
mone es mimen su. The money is our.
doste es Sara su. The friend is Sara's.

Similar words to su in other languages: Spanish su, Portuguese seu, French son ~ sa, Afrikaans se.

nim name

tu su nim es ke? – What's your name?

mi su nim es Tomas. – My name is Thomas.

ho su nim es ke? – What is his/her name?

ho su nim es Sara. – Her name is Sarah.

Similar words to nim in other languages: Hindi नाम (nām), Farsi نام‏‎ (nām), Thai นาม (naam), Malay nama, Japanese 名前 (namae), German Name, English name.

have have

mi have un hao haus. – I have a good house.

ho ne have mone. – He doesn't have money.

mi voli have un nova telefon. – I want to have a new telephone.

sual tu have pikin? – Do you have children?
mi have du pikin. – I have two children.

sual have dokter? – Is there a doctor?
ya. ho es dokter. – Yes. He or she is a doctor.

sual have vin? – Do you have wine?
ya. baki e rubi. – Yes, white and red.

nos know

mi nos ho. – I know him/her/it.

sual tu nos vo jen? – Do you know that person?

mi ne nos. – I don't know.

sual tumen nos alale? – Do you know each other?

mimen nos alale zi long. – We know each other for a long time.

helpe help

mi yau helpe. – I need help.

sual tu pote helpe mi? – Can you help me?

sual mi pote helpe tu? – Can I help you?

mi voli helpe tu. – I want to help you.

Part 2: Eating

yam consume, eat, drink

sual tu voli yam som made? – Would you like to eat something?

ho yam un aple. – He/she eats an apple.

homen yam aple. – They eat apples.

Note: Unlike English, Pandunia doesn't have separate singular and plural forms. Therefore a word like aple can refer to one or more apples.

sual tu yam kafe? – Do you drink coffee?

ya. mi yam kafe. – Yes, I drink coffee.

Tip: Meaning of yam covers both eating and drinking. It can feel odd at first but soon you will see that it is quite handy! Usually the object of the verb tells is it about eating, drinking or both.

mi yam kafe e ban. – I'm having coffee and bread.

voli want

sual tu voli yam? – Would you like to eat?

tu voli yam ke? – What would you like to eat?

Tip: While English puts the "what" at the beginning of a question, in Pandunia the word order is not affected by the ke.

mi voli yam kafe. – I want to drink coffee.

sual tu voli yam ca? – Would you like to drink tea?
ne. mi ne voli ca. mi voli kafe. – No, I don't want tea. I want coffee.

tu voli ke aple? – Which apple do you want?
ho rubi. – This red one.

ples ask, beg; please

mi ples tu yam ca. – I beg you to drink tea.

mi ples tu vene haus. – I beg you to come home.

mi ples tu helpe mi. – I beg you to help me.

Tip: To make direct requests, drop all the pronouns.

ples yam ca. – Please, have some tea!

ples yam kafe. – Please, have some coffee!

ples vene haus. – Please, come home!

ples helpe mi. – Please, help me.

shal let's, shall

mimen shal yam! – Let's eat!

tumen shal yam! – You all shall eat!

tu shal yam! – You shall eat!

yam! – Eat!

mimen shal go yam! – Let's go eat!

mimen shal go haus. – Let's go home.

yau need

mi yau helpe. – I need help.

mi yau yam. – I'm hungry.

sual tu yau yam? – Are you hungry?

sual tu yau sui? – Are you thirsty?

Part 3. Communication

perdon sorry, pardon

perdon! mi ne aha. – Sorry, I don't understand.

perdon! ye es ke? – Excuse me, what's this?

perdon. tu su nim es ke? – Excuse me, what's your name?

aha understand

sual tu aha mi? – Do you understand me?

mi aha. – I understand.

perdon. mi ne aha tu. – Sorry. I don't understand you.

mi ne bas aha tu. – I didn't quite understand you.

mi aha no made. – I don't understand at all.

pote can

mi pote cofe kar. – I can drive a car.

ho ne pote cofe kar. – He/she doesn't know how to drive a car.

sual tu pote shuli ho? – Do you know how to fix it?

sual tu pote pandunia? – Can you speak Pandunia?

mi pote pandunia. – I can speak Pandunia.

mi pote kam pandunia. – I can speak a little Pandunia.

mi ne pote angle. – I can't speak English.

perdon. mi ne pote tu su basa. – Sorry, I can't speak your language.

log to say, speak, talk

tu log ke? – What did you say?

mi log do tu. – I talk to you.

mimen log do alale. – We talk to each other.

bi loge cat na ke mode na pandunia? – How do you say "cat" in Pandunia?

cat es ke na pandunia? – What is "cat" in Pandunia?

mau loge "miau". – Cat says "meow".

audi to listen, hear

audi mi! – Listen to me!

mi ne pote audi tu. – I can't hear you.

ples log mor bala. – Please speak louder.

mi audi muzike. – I listen to music.

tu audi ke tip da muzike? – What kind of music do you listen to?

vize to see

suka vize tu. – Pleased to see you!

do rivize! – See you again!

vize tu a posden! – See you tomorrow!

mi vize ho a preden. – I saw him/her yesterday.

sema to mean

ye lexe ya sema ke? – What does this word mean?

"mau" ya sema ke? – What does "mau" mean?

ho sema un tipe zi hevan. – It means a kind of animal.

mi ne aha ho sema ke. – I don't understand what it means.

kitab write

ples kitab tu su adres. – Please, write your address.

ples kitab ho a ye. – Please, write it here!

basa speak a language, communicate

sual tumen basa pandunia. – Do you speak Pandunia?

mimen basa pandunia. – We speak Pandunia.

sual tu pote basa angle? – Can you speak English?

franse, espanya, portugal, rus – French, Spanish, Portuguese, Russian

putong han, nipon, malayu – Chinese, Japanese, Malay

arabe, turke, parse, urdu, hindi – Arabic, Turkish, Farsi, Urdu, Hindi

suahili, hausa, yoruba, amara – Swahili, Hausa, Yoruba, Amharic

Part 4. Going around

go to go

go do vo! – Go there!

tu go ke plas? – Where are you going?

mi go haus. – I'm going home.

mi mus go ke plas? – Where should I go?

mi mus go do ke jen? – To whom should I go?

mimen shal go! – Let's go!

mimen shal go a fut – Let's go by foot!

vene to come

vene ye! – Come here!

ples vene! – Please come!

tu vene zi ke plas? – Where do you come from?

mi vene zi Dubai. – I come from Dubai.

mi vene haus a pos den. – I will come home tomorrow.

safar to travel

sual tu safar a tren? – Do you travel by train?

mimen safar zi London do Paris. – We travel from London to Paris.

safar es muce long. – The voyage is very long.

a in, on, at

hotel a ke plas? – Where is the hotel?

hotel a vo dao. – The hotel is on that road.

tu a ke plas? – Where are you?

mi a haus. – I'm at home.

ho a ke plas? – Where is he/she?

ho sid a kamar. – He/she sits in the room.

Tip! You can use a as a preposition or alone as the verb.

mi verke a... – I work at ...

loju to live, reside

tu loju in ke plas? – Where do you live in?

mi loju Singapur. – I live in Singapore.

sual tu loju ye hotel? – Do you live in this hotel?

dele to wait

ples dele! – Please wait!

dele mi! – Wait for me!

homen dele mimen. – They wait for us.

mi dele tu a hotel. – I wait for you in the hotel.

Part 5. Time expressions

bi currently

mi bi sal tu su doste. – I am greeting your friend.

ho man bi vize un filme. – The man is watching a film.

ho bi es cef. – He or she is being the chief.

ho bi es a haus. – He or she is currently at home.

hav already, completed

mi hav sal tu su doste. – I have greeted your friend.

ho man hav vize ho filme. – The man has watched the film.

ho hav es cef. – He has been the chief.

ho hav es a haus. – He has been at home.

le in the past

mi le sal tu su doste. – I greeted your friend.

man le vize un filme. – The man watched a film.

ho le es cef. – He/she was the chief.

ho le es a haus. – He/she was at home.

fu in the future

mi fu sal tu su doste. – I will greet your friend.

ho man fu vize ho filme. – The man will watch the film.

ho fu es cef. – He/she will be the chief.

ho fu es a haus. – He/she will be at home.

Part 6. Doing business

don give

ples don mone. – Please give some money.

ples don ho do mi. – Please give it to me.

mi don ye do tu. – I give this to you.

mi don buk do homen. – I give a book to them.

ho ne voli don ho do mi. – He/she doesn't want to give it to me.

cepe take, get

mi cepe un kafe. – I will take a coffee.

ples cepe un kafe do mi. – Please take one coffee for me.

tu le cepe mone zi mi. – You already got money from me before.

mi cepe un bir. – I will take a beer.

kira rent, lease, hire

kira es 500 dolar a mes. – The rent is 500 dollars in a month.

ho ne pote pei ho kira. – He/she can't pay the rent.

mi voli cepe un kar a kira. – I want to take a car for rent.

mi voli cepe kira un kar. – I want to rent a car.

ho don kira kamar do safarer. – He/she rents rooms to travelers.