Teruene Teruene | |||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Type | IAL | ||||||||||||
Alignment | nominative-accusative | ||||||||||||
Head direction | head-final | ||||||||||||
Tonal | No | ||||||||||||
Declensions | No | ||||||||||||
Conjugations | Yes | ||||||||||||
Genders | No | ||||||||||||
Nouns decline according to... | |||||||||||||
Case | Number | ||||||||||||
Definiteness | Gender | ||||||||||||
Verbs conjugate according to... | |||||||||||||
Voice | Mood | ||||||||||||
Person | Number | ||||||||||||
Tense | Aspect | ||||||||||||
Meta-information | |||||||||||||
Progress | 97% | ||||||||||||
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Creator | Lucién Cerante |
Classification
Teruene is an IAL (International Auxiliary Language) based in part on Esperanto grammar (with Chinese influence), but with words which originate mainly from the world's five most spoken languages: Chinese (Mandarin), English, Spanish, Hindi and Arabic. (Some lists include French before Arabic, but French is sufficiently related to Spanish and English so it doesn't make sense to include it as a major source).
Spanish, English and Hindi represent the three most spoken branches of the Indo-European language family, which itself is spoken natively by about 45% of people worldwide. Chinese is by far the most spoken language in the Sino-Tibetan language family, which is spoken by about 22% of people. Finally, Arabic is the most spoken of the Afroasiatic languages, which in turn are spoken by 6% of the population. Arabic has also had a great influence over other languages, including Swahili and other Bantu languages.
It is an a posteriori agglutinative SVO language, although much more inclined to isolating languages than most agglutinative languages, including Esperanto.
Phonology and orthography
Teruene uses letters of the basic Latin alphabet.
Consonants
CONSONANTS |
Labial | Alveolar | Post-alveolar | Velar |
---|---|---|---|---|
Nasal | m | n | ||
Plosive | p b | t d | k g | |
Fricative | f | s | ʃ | x |
Affricate | t͡ʃ | |||
Trill | r | |||
Lateral app. | l |
Vowels
VOWELS |
Front | Back |
---|---|---|
High | i | u |
Mid | e | o |
Low | a |
Writing System
Letter | a | b | c | d | e | f | g | h | i | k |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
IPA Sound | a | b | t͡ʃ (d͡ʒ) | d | e | f (v) | g | x (h) | i (j) | k |
Letter | l | m | n | o | p | r | s | t | u | x |
IPA Sound | l | m | n (ŋ) | o | p | r (ɾ) | s (z) | t | u (w) | ʃ (ʒ) |
The names of the vowels are themselves (a, e, i, o, u), while the names of consonant are formed adding an -e (be, ce, se, te, xe, etc.)
The ideal pronunciation for r is the trilled r or the tap, but any similar sound that's distinguishable from the rest of the alphabet is ok.
Phonotactics
Words can end in vowels or the following consonants: l, m, n, r, s. Words must not contain consonant clusters of more than two consonants.
If for some speakers it's difficult to pronounce consonants at the end of words, or consonant clusters, they may add a rather neutral and short u/shwa sound, but it should not change the stress of the word.
Allowed consonant clusters:
Root
start: |
l | r | Between
vowels: |
m | n | s | l | r |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
f | fl- | fr- | -nf- | -sf- | -lf- | -rf- | ||
p | pl- | pr- | -mp- | -sp- | -lp- | -rp- | ||
k | kl- | kr- | -nk- | -sk- | -lk- | -rk- | ||
t | tr- | -nt- | -st- | -lt- | -rt- | |||
b | br- | -mb- | -sb- | -lb- | -rb- | |||
d | dr- | -nd- | -sd- | -ld- | -rd- | |||
g | gr- | -ng- | -sg- | -lg- | -rg- | |||
h | -nh- | -sh- | -lh- | -rh- | ||||
s | -ns- | -ls- | -rs- | |||||
x | -nx- | -lx- | -rx- | |||||
m | -nm- | -sm- | -lm- | -rm- | ||||
n | -mn- | -sn- | -ln- | -rn- | ||||
c | -nc- | -sc- | -lc- | -rc- | ||||
l | -nl- | -sl- | ||||||
r |
Other consonant clusters are not allowed when creating a new root, some of them may appear in word combinations but it is advisable to add a grammatical ending in order to avoid them.
Diphthongs
Diphthongs are not phonemic in Teruene (that means that pronouncing them as diphthongs or as separate vowels does not change the meaning). The letters i and u might be pronounced as the nucleus of their own syllables, palatalizing/labializing the previous consonant, or forming a diphthong with another vowel.
For instance something like "ilie" might be pronounced in several ways: /'i.li.e/, /'il.je/, /'i.lʲe/ (all vowels on their own, i as a consonant to e, or i palatalizing l). Similarly, "akue" would be pronounced /'a.ku.e/ or /'a.kʷe/.
Stress
Stress falls on the second to last syllable. Well.. it's a bit more complicated than that. Because u and i can be pronounced on their separate syllable or forming a diphthong with another vowel, there are sometimes two ways to select the syllable that takes the stress. In order to make stress regular among speakers regardless of how they pronounce u and i, stress falls on the second to last syllable when accounting for possible diphthongs. Let's see some examples:
- akue: /'a.ku.e/, /'a.kʷe/
- kaua: /'ka.u.a/, /'kaw.a/, etc.
- kiue: in cases such as this, where one could stress either an i or a u because they can make a diphthong together but one of them could also make a diphthong with another one, interpreting that other diphthon with an a, e or o takes precedence, thus /'ki.we/, not */'kiw.e/ or */'kju.e/.
Still, while not respecting stress rules might be confusing, it's not phonemic in Teruene, so mispronouncing stress sometimes should not be a problem.
Grammar
Pronouns
In the third person there is no distinction of gender, but there is distinction of animate and inanimate things. For thinking beings (animals, including us, imaginary characters, etc) one would use "ta", for plants and other unthinking living things one might use either "ta" or "so", depending on style; for all other things one would use "so".
Plural pronouns are created adding -su, (I decided not to use the plural marker -s because a pronoun ending in -s creates conflict with verbs starting with s-, making for example *"mis suo" (we are) sound like "mi suo" (I am)).
PRONOUNS |
Teruene | English |
---|---|---|
1st person singular | mi | I |
2nd person singular | tu | you (singular) |
3rd person singular animate | ta | he/she |
3rd person singular inanimate | so | it |
1st person plural | mimen | we |
2nd person plural | tumen | you (plural) |
3rd person plural animate | tamen | they (beings) |
3rd person plural inanimate | somen | they (things) |
impersonal pronoun | somule | one |
reflexive pronoun | os | X-self, own |
"Mi" comes from all the European languages where it appears, such as Spanish, English, Italian, etc.
"Tu" comes from Spanish, and it also appears in other European languages such as "du" in german.
"Ta" comes from Chinese "tā".
"So" comes from Spanish "eso".
Nouns
Normal nouns end in -e in singular form, the plural is formed adding -s. Apart from that, nouns don't change, but they can be combined to form new words.
Proper names
Proper names of people, places, and other things are nouns too, but because they don't usually have adjectival or verbal counterparts, it's possible to adapt names into Teruene without having them end in -e, but important proper names should follow Teruene's phonotactics and orthography as much as possible. For instance, "Argentina, Benesia, Franse, Brasil". Many names might be shortened in order to facilitate certain combinations, "Doice" (Germany) -> "doicuene" (german language).
If one wants to make an adjective out of a proper name, or add a suffix, the ending or suffix can be attached either to the whole word, or just to the last consonant of the name. For instance:
- Conkuo = China
- Conka / Conkuoa = Chinese (adj.)
- Conkuene / Conkuouene = Chinese (language)
Verbs
Verbs end in -o in infinitive, which is replaced by other endings according to tense or mood. However, infinitive verbs can be used everywhere, representing any tense or mood, while other endings can be used to be more specific about time or mood if context is not clear.
Infinitive | -o |
---|---|
Present tense | -an |
Past tense | -el |
Future tense | -on |
Conditional mood | -ol |
Past conditional mood | -em |
Imperative/Volitive mood | -am |
Verbs have five suffixes which are used to create a lot of different verbs from just a few original verbs
- -ant- specifies a more continuous action or state
- puo = to say/talk ➜ puanto = to talk/speak/be talking
- ho = to have ➜ hanto = to own
- biso = to see ➜ bisanto = to watch/be watching
- -ek- specifies a more instantaneous action or the beginning of an action
- rano = to run ➜ raneko = to start running
- sio = to know ➜ sieko = to learn (to start to know)
- fo = to do ➜ feko = to do suddenly
- ho = to have ➜ heko = to get/obtain
- dormo = to sleep ➜ dormeko = to fall asleep/to start sleeping
- -end- gives it the meaning of the culmination of the action
- lo = to go ➜ lendo = to arrive
- dormo = to sleep ➜ dormendo = to wake up
- -if- specifies transitive meaning
- dormeko = to fall sleep ➜ dormekifo = to make someone sleep
- dormendo = to wake up ➜ dormendifo = to wake someone up
- eko = to begin ➜ ekifo = to (make something) start
- folo = to fall ➜ folifo = to drop
- -os- specifies intransitive or reflexive meaning
- grabo = to hold/grab ➜ graboso = to hold on to something
- limpio = to clean ➜ limpioso = to clan oneself
- -ed- makes the passive voice version of the verb
- manco = to eat ➜ mancedo = to be eaten
- fo = to do ➜ fedo = to be done
Verbs and context
It's important to clarify that verbs can have several meanings according to context, and the previously shown suffixes simply pin down the intended meaning. Though usually -end- has a distinct enough meaning that it should not be left out.
Instant vs continuous
Most verbs fall into one of these categories, instant verbs being those that represent a change, and continuous those that represent a state (even if an active one like running).
As shown before, -ek- can be used to express change, while -ant- can be used to express a continuous state. However, when a verb is used without either of these suffixes, it can mean any of the two, allowing context to clarify which one is intended. Example:
- dormo = to sleep / to fall asleep
- dormeko = to fall asleep (instantaneous change)
- dormanto = to sleep (continuous state)
Transitive vs intransitive
Similarly, verbs can be used as transitive, intransitive and reflexive, and context will usually clarify. When context isn't enough, it's possible to use -os-, -if- or the pronoun "os" to specify. This also happens in English with some verbs such as "finish" or "start".
- endo = to end (something ends or someone ends something)
- endifo = to end (something)
- endoso = to end (something ends)
- folo = to fall / to drop
- folifo = to drop
- foloso = to fall
The conditional mood
This mood has two endings: -em for the past and -ol for the rest (usually present). In English the conditional mood is expressed with "would" and with the past tense, while the "past" of the conditional mood is expressed with "would + present perfect" and with past perfect.
Present/Neutral:
- Se mi siol xenal, mi laborol = If I knew how, I would work
Past:
- Se mi siem xenal, mi laborem = If I had known how, I would have worked
However, most of the time this "past conditional mood" in other languages is used to express something that could or should have been done, but wasn't. In this cases, Teruene can use indicative past tense instead.
- Mi duel no manco so, tan mi fel = I shouldn't have eaten it, but I did
- Mi pel rana, tan mi no fel = I could have run, but I didn't
Participles
The active participle is the verb root plus the -ant- suffix and an ending according to its function, and the passive participle is created adding -ed- instead:
Form of verb | Translation | Example sentence | Translation |
---|---|---|---|
aio | to love | Mi no kuan aio tu | I don't want to love you |
aianto | to be loving | Mi aiantel tu | I was loving you |
aianta | loving (adj) | Aianta uome suo bela | A loving person is nice |
aiantal | loving (adv) | Aiantal ta, mi sieko | Loving him, I learn |
aiante | lover | Ta suel mi te aiante | She was my lover |
aiedo | to be loved | Mi aiedo per Lukas | I am loved by Luke |
aieda | loved (adj) | Ta suo aieda aite | They are a loved parent |
aiedal | being loved | Aiedal, mi suo mas bona | Being loved, I'm better |
aiede | loved one | Ta suo mi te aiede | He is my loved one |
All examples:
- -ant-:
- -an: Mi mancantan mafes = I am eating apples
- -el: Mi manantel mafes = I was eating apples
- -on: Mi mancanton mafes = I will be eating apples
- -ol: Mi mancantol mafes = I would be eating apples
- -em: Mi mancantem mafes = I would have been eating apples
- -am usually makes no sense with -ant-
- -ed-: this one is used to create the passive voice, the meaning can vary between present and past depending on the verb and context, for example someone "known" is someone known today, not in the past, on the other hand something "eaten" can be something already eaten (past) or something that is commonly eaten in a place (present). In order to differentiate, one can use words like "hoim" (now).
- -a: Mafes mancedan = Apples are eaten (or were)
- -el: Mafes mancedel = Apples were eaten (or had been)
- -on: Mafes mancedon = Apples will be eaten (or will have been)
- -ol: Mafes mancedol = Apples would be eaten
- -em: Mafes mancedem = Apples would have been eaten
- -am: Mafes mancedam = (Let) apples be eaten!
Note: to show the agent in a passive voice phrase use "per"
- pane mancedo per uofe = the bread was eaten by the dog
Adjectives and adverbs
Adjectives end in -a. They don't agree in number with nouns (they don't add -s when plural).
Adverbs end in -al and also don't agree in number. Adverbs are optional though, if context is clear and one is not sure whether something should be an adverb or an adjective, they may use an adjective.
Note: remember that even though basically all nouns end in -e, that doesn't mean that all words that end in -e are nouns (for instance "pre" means "before" and is a preposition, not a noun). The same goes for all grammatical endings: -a, -e, -an, -al, -el, -am, etc.
Syntax
Possession
Possession is shown using the te particle, which comes from the Chinese particle "de" and works pretty much like it works for possession ("de" has other uses in Chinese that Teruene's "te" doesn't, though), it's similar to 's in the English language, but also used with pronouns. For example:
- Mi te aute = My car
- Ta suo Lukas te penge = She/He is Lucas' friend
- Dome suo tumen te = The house is yours
- (Data) uomire, xenule te dome suo ega, suo mi te penge = The man, whose house is big, is my friend.
As with many things in Teruene, te is optional but only when it's preceded by a personal pronoun and context is clear, so one may say "mi penge" (my friend) but not "Lukas penge"*.
Questions
Yes/No questions (or questions that give you a definite amount of answers) are created adding the particle ma at the end of the sentence.
- Tu suo bona = You are good
- Tu suo bona ma? = Are you good?
Ma can also be used in negative sentences.
- Tu no suo aitire ma? = You're not a father, are you?
Questions that give you the possible answer usually use the "xor" connector which is basically an "exclusive or" from binary logic (one can use regular "or" instead if one wants to). Examples:
- Tu kuo kafe xor cate ma? = Do you want coffee, or tea?
In that sentence it is explicitly stated that you can choose either coffee or tea, but not both. Possible answers:
- (Ia,) kafe. = (Yes,) coffee.
- (Ia,) cate. = (Yes,) tea.
- Nula, xiexe. = None, thanks.
Instead, if the speaker wants to give the option of choosing more than one thing, the speaker shall use "or" which is an "inclusive or". For instance:
- Tu kuo late, sukre or otre en tu te kafe ma? = Do you want milk, sugar or something else in your coffee?
- Ia, late. = Yes. milk.
- No, nule. = No, nothing.
- Ia, (data) dos = Yes, both.
Other questions are made with xen- correlatives, unlike many languages but like Chinese, the order of the sentence does not change (although it is allowed) when asking questions, the xen- word is in the place where the answer will be. For example:
- Tu manco xene? = What are you eating? (You eat what?)
- Tu suo xenule te aitise? = Whose mother are you? (You are whose mother?)
Word order
Basic word order
Teruene follows the order SVO, but it is also allowed to use OSV (Yoda's order) and VSO. These three orders are allowed because out of the six possible orders one can only choose three and still be able to differentiate subject from object. The one-phrase rule is "the nearer to the left of the verb, is the subject", in SVO and OSV the subject is already to the left of the verb, and in VSO the subject is closer to the left of the verb than the object.
SVO was chosen because it's the most widespread order in the world, which includes English, Spanish and Chinese, the three most spoken languages. It's also useful to have the verb separating subject from object, that allows free order for adjectives.
Apart from order, there is nothing differentiating subject from object, so even pronouns stay the same when they are the object of the sentence:
- Mi aio tu = I love you
- Ta aio ta = She/He loves him/her
- Mimen bisel tamen = We saw them
Adjectives and other modifiers
Adjectives are usually placed before the noun they modify, but if it doesn't create misunderstanding, it is allowed to put them after the noun. When there are two adjectives for one noun, they can be placed together before or after the noun, they can be separated by the noun, by the word for and: "he" or by nothing at all.
- Bela fasta womise / Womise bela fasta / Bela womise fasta / Bela he fasta womise / Womise bela he fasta = The/a beautiful, fast woman
In general modifiers are written before what they modify.
Articles
There is no specific definite (the) or indefinite article (a, an) but the number "uan" (one) can be used if necessary as singular indefinite article, for example there are words which can be either countable or uncountable, adding "uan" states that it is being used as countable:
- Mi manco mafe = I eat (the) apple (maybe one, maybe a slices, maybe mashed)
- Mi manco uan mafe = I eat an apple
- Mi manco mafes = I eat (the) apples
Instead there are words that can't be either countable or uncountable, in those cases "uan" should be avoided:
- Mi suo uome = I am a/the person
The definite article does not exist because its usage would vary depending on the speaker's mother tongue, it doesn't exist in very important languages such as Chinese and Russian, so for the sake of simplicity Teruene doesn't have it either.
Numbers
0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 100 | 1000 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
nul | uan | dos | san | ion | kuin | lou | ci | co | nau | ten | pai | mil |
Numbers are combined just like in Chinese:
- 10: ten
- 20: dosten
- 30: santen
- 400: ionpai
- 800: copai
- 9 000: nau mil
- 323 456: sanpai dosten san mil ionpai kuinten lou
After 999 999 there are words created in a similar way to "million", "billion", "trillion" but more regularly: number + ilie. Teruene follows the same scale English does, each new word adds 3 zeros. Unlike English, the word "uan" can be omitted just like it is done for "ten", "pai" and "mil".
- pai = one hundred
- mil = one thousand
- (uan) uanilie = one million
- dos uanilies = two million
- ci dosilies = seven billion
It's also allowed to simply read the numbers, like Chinese speakers do for years and phone numbers. This is only when context allows it. For instance:
- 1998 = uan nau nau co
- 2000 = dos nul nul nul
- 233445 = dos san san ion ion kuin
Ordinal numbers are created adding -a like adjectives. Other endings give other useful meanings:
- uana = first
- pai dosten coa = one hundred twenty eighth
- uanal = firstly / in the first place
- dosogal = in pair/s
- tenogal = in groups of ten
- uanilia = one millionth
The reflexive pronoun
Teruene has the reflexive pronoun "os" which is used as such for all other grammatical persons. These are its uses:
- To make the sentence reflexive for any subject (although it's also possible to use the corresponding pronoun to make it reflexive, for example "mi limpian mi" or "uome mancifan ta"):
- Mi limpio os = I wash/bath myself
- Tu mancifo os = You feed yourself
- Miaue limpian os = The cat cleans itself
- To specify or emphasize who is the owner of something:
- Ta bisel (ta te) os te dome = He saw his own house
- Mi aio (mi te) os te ermise = I love my own sister
- As the suffix -os- that makes verbs intransitive/reflexive (which is presented above).
- As a root for word building:
- osaxe = property
Comparison
- Comparative:
- Ta suo mas bona ke tu = He is better than you
- Ta suo kimas tala ke tu = He is less tall than you
- Tu suo mas teliga ke mi suo kiteliga = You are more intelligent than I am dumb
- Superlative:
- Ta suo mos bona inter tutules/fro Argentine/de data oge = She is the best one among everyone/from Argentina/of that group
- Ta suo kimos tala = She is the least tall
- Equals: Ta suo (datal) bela xenal tu = She is beautiful like you
- Or: Ta suo bela mesmal tu (suo) = She is beautiful same as you
Subordinate sentences
Subordinate sentences use either xen- correlatvies, or if no xen- correlative works, they use the particle ke:
- The xen- correlative has to respect word order. When possible, it's usually at the beginning, but when it's the object of the word, one has to be careful.
- Mi no sio(,) xener ta suo = I don't know where he is
- Mi tafahan kos xene ta fel date = I understand why he did that
- Ta suo uome xenule te dome suo kunara = She is the person whose house is red
- Mi bisel aute xene tu maiel = I saw the car you bought
- Also: Mi bisel aute, tu maiel xene
- To connect sentences that can't be connected by a xen- word, the particle "ke" is used
- Mi sio ke ta suo en os te dome = I know he's in his own house
- Mi tafaho ke date no suo ipla = I understand that's not possible
- To connect sentences when the subordinate sentence represents a "ma" question (in English one would use "if" or "whether"), the particle "ma" is used
- Mi no siel ma ta suel en os te dome = I didn't know whether she was in her house
- Mi kuesto ma ta puo Teruene = I ask whether she speaks Teruene
Lexicon
Passing from one word type to another
Changing the ending of a word can change its meaning from verb to noun, noun to adjective/adverb, and so on. Let's look what usually happens to the meaning:
- Adj to verb: the verb usually becomes the transitive verb "to make something Xadj"
- gara = warm ➜ garo = to heat
- Verb to adj: adjective for things that are used or necessary to do or related to the action of the verb
- manco = to eat ➜ manca = for eating/related to eating
- Verb to noun: this noun usually is the name of the action of the verb, but can also be the process of the verb:
- manco = to eat ➜ mance = a meal
- dormo = to sleep ➜ dorme = sleep (noun)
- Noun to verb: this verb is usually the action that is done with the noun:
- martile = hammer ➜ martilo = to (use a) hammer
- aute = car ➜ auto = to drive (a car)
- Adj to noun: the name of the quality of the adjective most probably
- bela = beautiful ➜ bele = beauty
- kibela = ugly ➜ kibele = ugliness
- fasta = fast ➜ faste = velocity
- ega = big ➜ ege = size
- tala = tall ➜ tale = height
- Noun to adj: usually "related to noun" or "for noun"
- cate = tea ➜ cata = for tea
- cata peie = a cup for tea
- miaue = cat ➜ miaua = for cats
- cate = tea ➜ cata = for tea
One syllable verbs
All verbs are regular in Teruene, just like in Esperanto. What that means for Esperanto is that every conjugated verb contains at least two syllables, such as "esti, pensas, diris, venu", etc. because every root contains at least one vowel, and every verb ending contains another one, so no one syllable verbs exist. In Teruene, I decided to have a limited amount of one syllable verbs (12 more or less), which are the most commonly used, their roots contain either no vowel, u, or i (ex. su-, h-, si-, etc.). This way speech can be a bit faster.
The verbs are:
- suo = to be
- ho = to have
- puo = to say
- do = to give
- sio = to know
- fo = to do/make
- kuo = to want
- lo = to go
- xo = to like
- nio = to need
- po = can / be able to
- duo = must / should / to have to
When using these verbs for word combination, it will usually be better to use the full infinitive (-o) or the noun (-e) rather than the bare root:
- nie + rume (need + room) = nierume (room for needs / bathroom).
Also when using the root in other ways, such as using the noun derived from the verb, it's technically possible to just add the -e ending to the root (nio -> nie = to need -> a need), but sometimes it might be necessary to leave the -o ending and add -e after it (do -> doe).
Having these short verbs will surely create some ambiguities, "holo" means "to come", formed with ho- + l-, but maybe at some point there will be an independent word "holo" whose root is hol-, and has a different meaning, that's ok, and though it should be avoided, it usually makes for good jokes.
Correlatives
Correlatives are special words which consist of certain beginnings and endings and are ordered in a table.
CORR. |
Known thing -a |
Unknown thing -e |
Time -im |
Place -er |
Reason kos -e |
Way -al |
Amount -un |
Person -ule |
Kind -a leie (de) |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Which xen- |
xena which |
xene what |
xenim when |
xener where |
kos xene why |
xenal how |
xenun how much/many |
xenule who |
xena leie what type |
That dat- |
data that |
date that (thing) |
datim then |
dater there |
kos date because of that |
datal so/like that |
datun that/so much/many |
datule that one |
data leie that type |
This ho- |
hoa this |
hoe this (thing) |
hoim now |
hoer here |
kos hoe because of this |
hoal so/like this |
houn this much/many |
houle this one |
hoa leie this type |
Some som- |
soma some |
some something |
somim ever/in some moment |
somer somewhere |
kos some for some reason |
somal somehow |
somun some (quantity) |
somule someone |
soma leie some type |
No nul- |
nula no |
nule nothing |
nulim never |
nuler nowhere |
kos nule for no reason |
nulal no way |
nulun no (quantity) |
nulule nobody |
nula leie no type |
Every tut- |
tuta every |
tute everything |
tutim always |
tuter everywhere |
kos tute for every reason |
tutal in every way |
tutun "all of it" |
tutule everyone |
tuta leie every type |
Many bah- |
baha many |
bahe many things |
bahim many times |
baher in many places |
kos bahe for many reasons |
bahal in many ways |
bahun a great amount |
bahule many people |
baha leie many types |
Few kibah- |
kibaha few, little |
kibahe few things |
kibahim few times |
kibaher in few places |
kos kibahe for few reasons |
kibaho in few ways |
kibahun little amount |
kibahule few people |
kibaha leie few types |
Other otr- |
otra other |
otre another thing |
otrim in another moment |
otrer in another place |
kos otre for another reason |
otral in another way |
otrun another amount of |
otrule(s) someone else |
otra leie other type of |
Any renh- |
renha any |
renhe anything |
renhim at any time |
renher anywhere |
kos renhe for any reason |
renhal in any way |
renhun any amount of |
renhule anyone |
renha leie any type |
"kos -e" and "-a leie" are in the table to explain how they are formed and used because they are common correlatives, but they are not technically their own correlatives, but derived from other correlatives. This system can be used to create new ones too.
The specific words for some of the horizontal meanings are:
- ime = moment (this is also a suffix)
- ere = place (this is also a suffix)
- kose = reason
- ale = way
- une = quantity/amount
- ule = individual (used like "person", "dude" or "guy")
- leie = type/kind/class
Examples of correlatives in use
- -a
- Tu lego xena kitabe? = Which book are you reading?
- Data dome suan mi te = That house is mine
- Tu legel hoa kitabe ma? = Have you read this book?
- Tu legon soma kitabe ma? = Will you read some book?
- Nula diere fol date = No animal would do that
- Mi legol tuta kitabe = I would read every book
- Baha dieres manco roue = Many animals eat meat
- Kibaha kitabes suo bona = Few books are good
- Mi kuo otra kitabe = I want another book
- Mi kuo lego renha kitabe = I want to read any book
- -e
- Date suo xene? = What is that?
- Hoe suo aute = This is a car
- Suo some sor tauile ma? = Is there something on the table?
- Mi fel nule! = I did nothing!
- Tute suo kibona hoer = Everything is bad here
- Mi kuo bahe = I want many things
- Mi kuo kibahe = I want few things
- Tu kuo otre ma? = Do you want another thing?
- Renhe suol bona hoim = Anything would be good now
- -er
- Mi te aute suan xener? = Where is my car?
- Mi bitekel dater = I was born there
- Suo pane hoer = There is bread here
- Mi sercendam mi te kitabe somer = I'll find my book somewhere
- Mi te kitabe suo nuler = My book is nowhere
- Mi dormel tuter = I've slept everywhere
- Mi lel baher = I've gone to many places
- Mi pol lo (to) kibaher = I could go to few places
- Mi kuo lo otrer = I want to go to other place
- Dormam renher = Sleep anywhere
- -im
- Mimen mancon xenim? = When will we eat?
- Mi datim siel = Then I knew
- Holam hoim! = Come now!
- Tu somim holel to Argentina ma? = Have you ever come to Argentina?
- Mi nulim dormo = I never sleep
- Mi tutim aion tu = I'll always love you
- Mi bahim lel (to) dater = I've gone there many times
- Mi kibahim lel (to) dater = I've gone there few times
- Ta lon otrim = She will go in other moment
- Holam renhim = Come here at any time
- kos -e
- Kos xene tumen fel date? = Why did you do that?
- Kos date mi lol to Mexiko = Because of that I would go to Mexico
- Mi no dormel bonal kos hoe = I didn't sleep well because of this
- Mi kos some no sercendel mi te aute = For some reason I haven't found my car
- Kos nule mi fol date = For no reason I'd do that
- Mi aio ta kos tute = I love her for every reason
- Mi aio ta kos bahe = I love him for many reasons
- Mi lol kos kibahe = I'd go for few reasons
- Mi fol date kos otre, no kos date = I'd do that for another reason, but not because of that
- Ta manco kos renhe = He eats for any reason
- -al
- Tumen xenal fel date? = How did you do that?
- Ta suo datal tala xenal os aitire = He is as tall as his father
- Hoal somule fo keikes = This is how one makes cakes
- Somal ta no tafahel = Somehow he didn't understand
- Nulal mi fol date = No way I would do that
- Mi dormel tutal = I've slept in every way
- Mi po lo bahal = I can go in many ways
- Mi pol la kibahal = I could go in few ways
- Mimen pan lo otral ma? = Can we go in another way?
- Tu po holo renhal, tan holam = You can come in any way, but come
- -un
- Tu maiel xenun pane? = How much bread did you buy?
- Mi nio datun = I need that amount
- Houn kafe no suo sufica = This amount of coffee is not enough
- Mi nio somun kafe = I need some coffee
- Mi ho nulun kafe = I have no coffee
- Mi ho tutun kafe = I have all the coffee
- Mi ho bahun kafe = I have a great amount of coffee
- Mi ho kibahun kafe = I have a small amount of coffee
- Mi ho otrun kafe, no datun = I have another amount of coffee, not that amount
- Mi xol renhun date = I'd like any amount of that
- -ule(s)
- Xenules suo datules? = Who are those?
- Datule suo mi te erme = That one is my brother
- Houles suo mi te penges = These ones are my friends
- Somule fel date = Someone did that
- Nulule fol date = Nobody would do that
- Mi aio tutule(s) = I love everyone
- Bahule(s) manco pane = Many people eat bread
- Kibahule(s) kono mi = Few people know me
- Otrule holendel, no ta = Someone else arrived (here), not her
- Renhule po fo date = Anyone can do that
- -a leye (de)
- Tu ho xena leie de aute? = What type of car do you have?
- Tu ho data leie de aute ma? = Do you have that type of car?
- Tu kono tuta hoa leies de pane ma? = Do you know every one of these types of bread?
- Soma leies de dieres manco roue = Some types of animals eat meat
- Mi ho nula leie de pane = I have no type of bread
- Mi ho tuta leie de pane = I have every kind of bread
- Mi ho baha leies de cate = I have many types of tea
- Mi ho kibaha leies de kafe = I have few types of coffee
- Mi no ho data leie, tan mi ho otra leie = I don't have that type, but I have another type
- Renha leie suon sufica = Any type will be enough
The useful word "ke"
"Ke" has many uses, most of them are designed to make our lives easier, sometimes by replacing longer or more specific words when they are not really necessary.
"Ke" for comparisons
First, "ke" is used as the word "than" for comparisons:
- Ta suo mas bona ke tu = He is better than you
- Ta suo kimas tala ke tu = He is less tall than you
"Ke" in subordinate sentences
As seen previously, "ke" can be used to connect sentences when they can't be connected with xen- correlatives:
- Mi sio ke ta suo en os te dome = I know he's in his own house
- Mi tafaho ke date no suo ipla = I understand that's not possible
- Mi no siel ke ta suel en os te dome = I didn't know that she was in her house
"Ke" replacing xen- words
When context allows and xen- words are either long, obvious, or simply make a sentence ugly, they can be replaced with "ke":
- Ta suo uome ke dormo hoer (instead of "xenule") = He is the person who sleeps here
- Data uomire, ke te dome suo ega, suo mi te penge (instead of "xenule") = That man, whose house is big, is my friend
- Tu suo ke te aitise? (instead of "xenule") = Whose mother are you?
- Tu lego ke kitabe? (instead of "xeni") = What book are you reading?
- Date suo ke? (instead of "xene") = What is that?
- Mi te aute suo ke? (instead of "xener") = Where is my car?
- Kos ke tumen fo date? (instead of "xene") = Why did you do that?
Days, months and years
The names of the days is created in a similar way to Chinese and Portuguese, with numbers. Months too. Monday is considered the first day of the week. The system is really simple: number + ote. There are two words for "day" in Teruene, one with the meaning of "rotation" for the 24 h day (ote), and one which represents the hours of light of one day (solime), which means "sun time".
Monday | Tuesday | Wednesday | Thursday | Friday | Saturday | Sunday |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Uanote | Dosote | Sanote | Ionote | Kuinote | Louote | Ciote |
Months are created the same way but with the word "lune" which means both "moon" and "month". And weeks are lun+ab+e, meaning "a fraction of moon".
January | February | March | April | May | June |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Uanlune | Doslune | Sanlune | Ionlune | Kuinlune | Loulune |
July | August | September | October | November | December |
Cilune | Colune | Naulune | Tenlune | Tenuanlune | Tendoslune |
The word for year is "iare". The order of dates is dd/mm/yyyy, let's see some examples:
- Mi biteko ces sana hore he dosabe dosarote tenuana (rote) de ionlune uan nau nau co
- I was born at 3:30 Tuesday the 20th of April 1998
- Mi dormel dur lunabe = I slept during one week
Common phrases
- Haie = Hi/Hello
- Bona rote = Good day (at any time)
- Bona solime = Good day (during daitime)
- Bona kisolime = Good night
- Bona morne = Good morning
- Bona kimorne = Good afternoon
- Til sun = See you soon
- Til posote = See you tomorrow
- Kihaie = Bye
- Xiexe = Thank you
- Kixiexe = You're welcome
- Preie = Please
- Ihane = Sorry
- Bonholende = Welcome
- (Tu suo) xenal? = How are you? (sing.)
- (Tumen suo) xenal? = How are you? (pl.)
- Bonal, he tu(su)? = Good, and you?
- Bona mance! = Bon appetit!
- Bona boie! = Bon voyage! (Good trip!)
- Helse! = Health!
Prepositions
Important note: when prepositions are used alone (they are not working as prepositions but rather as adverbs), it is recommended to place them at the end of the sentence or in the place where they create the least misunderstandings, or a comma is placed after them to represent a silence.
To “to” direction
- Ta holon to urbe = she will come to the city
- Ta puanto to tamen = he speakes to them
I is a preposition that marks the complement of certain verb that already have an object. Consequently, it's also used when making those phrases into passive voice
- Mi likaio dome i kilimpia = I leave the house dirty (I made it dirty and left)
- Compare to: Mi likaio dome kilimpia = I leave the dirty house (I left a house that was dirty)
- Ta fel mi i os penge = She made me her friend
- Tu kaoledo i mos forta = You are considered the strongest
- In active voice: Tutule kaolo tu i mos forta = Everyone consideres you the strongest
Ces “at” relatively in the same position or time but not exactly
- Mi te penge suo ces porde = my friend is at the door
- Mi te erme suo ces tauile = mi brother is at the table
- Ta suo ces ange = she is at the corner
- Mimen manco ces cia = we eat at 7
Fro “from/since”, origin in time, place, group, material, or otherwise
- Mi lel fro ange to mi te dome = I went from the corner to my house
- Tamen suo kronules fro uan nau nau co = They are kings since 1998
- Ta suo fro Argentina = She is from Argentina
- So suo fro arbaxe = It is made of wood
- Tu suo mos bela fro mimen = You are the most beautiful among/from us
Te “ 's ” possession
- Lukas te kitabe = Luke's book
- Hoa aute suo egikere te = This is the university's car
De “of” shows some relation or expresses quantity
- Kitaboteke de urbe (Urbe te kitaboteke) = the city's library (not necessarily owned by the city)
- Peie de kafe = a cup of coffee (a cup full of coffee)
Dur “during/while”
- Dur mi mancel, ta trinkel = While I was eating, he was drinking
- Mi no futo dur mornes = I don't walk in the morning
En “in” necessarily inside, can be metaphorical or figurative
- Mi resido en data dome = I live in that house
- Mi iko en egikere = I study in a university
- Tu suo en xor kien ma? = Are you inside or outside?
Kien "outside"
- Tu suo kien dome ma? = Are you out of the house?
- Mimen lam (to) kien = Let's go outside
Til "until” both for time and place
- Mi mancel til naua = I ate until 9:00
- Mimen ranam til dome! = Let's run up to the house!
Ko “with”
- Mi manco mafes ko frutakue = I eat apples with juice
- Ko tu mi suo mas bonal = With you I feel better
- Ta resido ko ta te ermes = He lives with his siblings
Kiko “without”
- Mi trinkan kafe kiko late = I drink coffee without milk
Par “for”
- Mi fel hoe par tu = I did this for you
- Ta fo keikes par kimaio = I make cakes for selling
- Peie par ubalkole = a cup/glass for wine
Kos “because (of)”
- Kos date mi no maio mafes = Because of that I don't buy apples
- Ta no holon kos os te kihelse = She won't come because of her illnes
- Mi no manco kos mi no xo date = I'm not eating because I don't like that
Xia “under”
- Uomihe suo xia tauile = A child is under the table
- Mi lel (to) xia aute = I went under the car
- Ta suo xia = He is below
Sor “on”
- Suo mafes sor tauile = There are apples on the table
Super "over" over something but not touching it
- Taires udano super mimen te aute = Birds fly over our car
Taiti “instead”
- Mi trinko taiti tu = I drink instead of you
- Mi trinko taiti manco = I drink instead of eating
- Taiti, tu manca = Instead, you eat
Amam "in front of" place
- Mi suo amam tu te dome = I am in front of your house
Kiaman "behind"
- Mi suo kiamam tu = I'm behind you
Pre "before" only for time
- Premorne = early morning
- Mi biteka pre baha tempe = I was born a long time ago
- Pre mi dormeko mi manco = Before I fell asleep, I ate
- Pre dorme mi manco = Before falling asleep, I ate
- Mi nulim sento date pre = I'd never felt that before
Pos "after" only for time
- Pos dormendo mi mancel = After waking up, I ate
- Pos mi dormendel mi mancel = After I woke up, I ate
- Mi fo date pos = I'll do that after/later
Pas "next to"
- Mi suo pas aute = I am next to a car
- Xene suo pas tu? = What is next to you?
Far "far from/far/away"
- Mi suo far = I am far
- Date suo far mimen = That is far from us
- Lam far! = Go away!
Kifar "near/nearby"
- Mi suo kifar tu = I'm near you
- Mimen lo somer kifar = Let's go somwhere nearby
- Data kifara kafere suo bona = That nearby cafe is good
Bau "about, regarding" introduces a topic
- Tu sio bau xene? = What do you know about?
- Kitabe suo bau uofes = The book is about dogs
Tra "through"
- Tra uinteporde enlo uinte = Through the window enters wind
Cirki "around"
- Cirki santen = around thirty
- Cirkilo = to go around
- Cirki dome suo autes = Around the house there are cars
Inter "between/among"
- International = international
- Mi suo inter arbes = I'm between the trees
Anti "against"
- Anti kihelse = against (for) an illnes
- Anti mure = against the wall
- Mi suo anti tu = I'm against you
Per "by/using"
- Ta holo per aute = He'll come by car
- Mi martilo per martile = I hit with a hammer
- Posotal suo acete per urbidre = Tomorrow will be the acceptance by the mayor
- Bitende de miaue per uofe = The death of a cat by a dog
Kiper "without" without an instrument
- Mi martilo kiper martile = I hit without hammer
Tran "crossing/at the other side of"
- Mi te dome suo tran sadake = My house is at the other side of the street
- Tran data nade suo otra lande = Crossing that river it's another country
Bei "beyond"
- Mimen lo (to) bei urbe = Let's go beyond the city
- Uomoge nulim lel bei Lune = Humankind has never gone beyond the moon
Exeti "except, appart from, other than"
- Mi manco tute exeti mafes = I eat everything except apples
- Tutules holo exeti tu = Everyone came except you
When prepositions are optional
When a verb takes no object but takes a complement with some preposition, it's possible to leave out that preposition, if it is clearly understood which preposition has been left out (thus, context is clear). Very usually, this preposition is "to", or some preposition to express place or time.
- Mi lo dome = Mi lo to dome = I go home
- Mi boion Mexiko = Mi boion to Mexiko = I'll travel to mexico
- Mi enlo porde = Mi enlo tra porde = I entered through the door
- Ta sio numike = Ta sio bau numike = She knows about math
- Mi suo dome = Mi suo en dome = I am in the house
- Taires udano mimen te aute = Taires udano super mimen te aute = Birds fly over my car
- Mimen manco cia = Mimen manco ces cia = We eat at 7
- Tu dormel ten hores = Tu dormel dur ten hores = You slept ten hours
Prefixes
- Ho- from ho- correlatives, this particle can also be used to show proximity, usually meaning "here". All of its uses are optional, for example, one may use "lo" as "to come" but to be more clear it's possible to use "holo"
- lo = to go ➜ holo = to come
- lendo = to arrive ➜ holendo = to arrive here (usually the speaker's "here")
- leno = to take (from one place to another) ➜ holeno = to bring (from one place to here)
- Lau- from laue = law shows relation by marriage or similar relationship
- aitise = mother ➜ lauaitise = mother in law
- Disi- disseminating, separately
- do = to give ➜ disido = distribute
- disial = disseminatingly
- disio = disseminate
- Exe- ex-, former
- presidante = president ➜ exepresidante = expresident
- exea = former
- Ki- "un-" the opposite meaning or the closest approximation of it
- maio = to buy ➜ kimaio = to sell
- tonge = east ➜ kitonge = west
- nore = north ➜ kinore = south
- kia = opposite (adj)
- kial = contrarily
- sendo = to send ➜ kisendo = to receive
- Pre- before, pre-, long ago in time
- histore = history ➜ prehistore = prehistory
- biso = to see ➜ prebiso = to anticipate (to have a vision)
- morne = morning ➜ premorne = early morning
- aite = parent ➜ preaite = ancestor
- Re- to repeat, to do again
- sendo = to send ➜ resendo = to resend
- puo = to say ➜ repuo = to repeat
- real ➜ again
- Mis- to do incorrectly
- tafaho = to understand ➜ mistafaho = misunderstand
- uso = tu use ➜ misuso ➜ to misuse
- misal = mistakenly/wrongly
- Far- from afar
- biso = to see ➜ farbisatore = television (the object)
- farbise = television
- Dosab(e)- half-, semi-
- hore = hour ➜ dosabahore = half an hour
- Kuasi- almost, quasi-, pseudo
- nome = name ➜ kuasinome = pseudnim
- diose = god ➜ kuasidiose = demigod
- ihe = son/daughter ➜ kuasiihe = stepson/daughter
Suffixes
I won't repeat the five verb suffixes, they are explained in the Verbs section
- -apl- capable
- biso = to see ➜ kibisapla = blind
- suimo = to swim ➜ suimapla = that can swim
- apla = capable
- -ipl- possible, the passive counterpart of -apl-
- bisipla = visible
- manco = to eat ➜ mancipla = edible
- ipla = possible
- iplal = maybe, possibly
- -ul- individual characterized by the root, when adding this suffix to a proper name, such as the name of a country, it's possible to remove all the vowels that come at the end of the name
- Argentina = Argentina ➜ Argentinule = an Argentine citizen or inhabitant
- Conkuo = China ➜ Conkule = a Chinese citizen or inhabitant
- anti = against ➜ antiule = an oppositor
- fenfa = rich ➜ fenfule = a rich person
- krone = crown ➜ kronule = king/queen
- kimaio = sell ➜ kimaiule = sales person
- -uen- language, when adding this suffix to a proper name, such as the name of a country, it's possible to remove all the vowels that come at the end of the name
- Inglande = England ➜ Inglanduene = English (lang)
- Franse = France ➜ Fransuene = French (lang)
- Conkuo = China ➜ Conkuene = Chinese (lang)
- Nihon = Japan ➜ Nihonuene = Japanese (lang)
- Some languages that can not be derived from a place or people may not take -uen- and may not take the -e ending at all
- Esperanto = Esperanto
- Latin = Latin
- Klingon = Klingon
- -ax- concrete thing or material related to the root
- manco = to eat; mance = meal ➜ mancaxe = food
- dulca = sweet ➜ dulcaxe = a sweet/candy
- arbe = tree ➜ arbaxe = wood
- en = in ➜ enaxe = content
- -es- state or abstract quality related to the root
- bela = beautiful ➜ belese = beauty
- gara = warm; gare = warmth ➜ garese = temperature
- ekua = equal ➜ ekuese = equality
- libra = free ➜ librese = freedom
- ule = an individual; ulese = individuality
- When you turn an adjective into noun and it already means the quality, -es- is not necessary:
- fasta = fast ➜ faste = velocity (=fastese)
- -il- tool to do the verb of the root or related to it
- tingarte = music ➜ tingartile = a musical instrument
- ile = tool
- -og- group of the root
- arbe = tree ➜ arboge = forest
- bede = sheep ➜ bedoge = a flock of sheep
- uome = human ➜ uomoge = humankind
- -ib- tendency or inclination to do somthing (not all -ive English words end with this!)
- kreo = to create ➜ kreiba = creative
- puanto = to talk ➜ puantiba = talkative
- repuo = to repeat ➜ repuiba = repetitive
- imagino = to imagine ➜ imaginiba = imaginative
- -ind- worthy
- lego = to read ➜ leginda = read-worthy
- aceto = to accept ➜ acetinda = acceptable (worthy of acceptance)
- xiexo = to thank ➜ xiexinda = worthy of being thanked
- -ein- recipient or container of the thing or characterized by the root
- male = money ➜ maleine = wallet
- kigara = cool/cold ➜ kigareine = fridge
- cefo = to cook ➜ cefeine = oven
- eine = recipient
- -ist- professional of follower of a doctrine (can be interchangeable with -ul- in some words)
- dente = tooth ➜ dentiste = dentist
- helso = to treat/cure ➜ helsiste = physician/doctor
- piane = piano ➜ pianiste = pianist
- Buda = Buddha ➜ budiste = buddhist
- -ism- doctrine, idea, religion
- Kristo = Christ ➜ kristisme = christianity
- Buda = Buddha ➜ budisme = buddhism
- Marxe = Marx ➜ marxisme = marxism
- socia = social ➜ sociaisme = socialism
- -ator- machine, part of machine, or system that does the verb of the root (it's NOT used for people who do a work, -ist- or -ul- are used instead, not even roots should end with -ator if it's for people, in the rare case there is a profession that needs its own root then it may end in -ador, but preferably some form with -ist-)
- faste = velocity; bario = to change; fastebario = to accelerate ➜ fastebariatore = accelerator
- udano = to fly ➜ udanatore = flying machine, aircraft
- uinge = wing ➜ uingudanatore = plane, aircraft with wings
- aspe = blade ➜ aspudanatore = helicopter
- cisuo = to calculate ➜ cisuatore = calculator
- -opl- multiplication
- dosopla = double
- sanoplo = to triple
- ionopla = quadruple
- oplo = to multiply
- -ab- fraction
- dosabe = a half
- sanabo = to divide in three parts
- ionabe = a quarter
- lune = moon/month ➜ lunabe = week
- abo = to divide
- abe = fraction
- -ar- color
- kune = blood ➜ kunara = red
- banane = banana ➜ bananara = yellow
- akaxe = sky ➜ akaxara = blue
- orange = orange ➜ orangara = orange
- plante = plant ➜ plantara = green
- ube = grape ➜ ubara = purple/violet
- lume = light ➜ lumara = white
- kilume = darkness ➜ kilumara = black
- rake = ashes ➜ rakara = grey
- kafe = coffee ➜ kafara = brown
- baha = many ➜ bahara = colorful
- are = color
- By the way, to say "light blue" or "dark blue" and similar combinations, the word (ki)luma or the prefix (ki)lum(a)- are used:
- lumakaxara = light blue
- kilumakaxara = dark blue
- lumarakara = light grey
- lumakunara = pink
- -eg- a bigger or stronger counterpart of the root
- lafo = to laugh ➜ lafego = to laugh a lot or very hard
- uinte = wind ➜ uintege = a very strong wind
- gara = warm ➜ garega = hot
- kigara = cool ➜ kigarega = cold
- ega = big
- -it- a smaller or softer counterpart of the root
- lafo = to lough ➜ lafito = to smile
- uinte = wind ➜ uintite = a breeze
- lage = lake ➜ lagite = lagoon
- nade = river ➜ nadite = stream/creek
- gara = warm ➜ garita = warm but more temperate
- kigara = cool ➜ kigarita = cool but more temperate
- safine = ship ➜ safinite = boat
- ita = small
- -er- place
- maio = to buy ➜ maiere = store
- manco = to eat ➜ mancere = restaurant
- -otek- a place to save lots of the same thing
- kitabe = book ➜ kitaboteke = library
- male = money ➜ maloteke = bank
- -im- time, moment, season
- gara = warm ➜ garime = sommer
- kigara = cool ➜ kigarime = winter
- flore = flour ➜ florime = spring
- foile = leaf ➜ foilime = autumn
- sole = sun ➜ solime = day
- -o- this infinitive ending can also be used with other endings representing the meaning of the verb if the root itself doesn't express it well (thus the root is rather a noun or adjective than a verb)
- "krone" means "crown", and "krono" is "to crown", but to say the name of the action one can't go back to "krone" to mean coronation, so one leaves the infinitive ending, thus "kronoe" is "coronation".
- martile = hammer; martilo = to hammer ➜ martiloe = hammering (the name of the action)
- -ic- a part or particle of the whole or of the material
- sande = sand ➜ sandice = a grain of sand
- sale = salt ➜ salice = a grain of salt
- himpate = snow ➜ himpatice = a snowflake
- toufe = hair (the whole) ➜ toufice = a single hair
- -idr- leader, ruler, boss
- urbe = city ➜ urbidre = mayor
- probince = province/state ➜ probincidre = gobernor
- lande = country ➜ landidre = president, king/queen, etc.
- safine = ship ➜ safinidre = captain
- -ih- offspring, son
- wome = person/human ➜ womihe = child
- miaue = cat ➜ miauihe ➜ kitten
- faraxe = butterfly ➜ faraxihe = caterpillar
- kronule = king/queen ➜ kronulihe = prince/princess
- -is- -ir- -ip- the first one is for women the second one for men and the third one is for non-binary people
- aite = parent ➜ aitise = mother; aitire = father; aitipe = non-binary parent
- aipenge = boy/girlfriend ➜ aipengise = girlfriend; aipengire = boyfriend
- ihe = son/daughter ➜ ihise = daughter; ihire = son
- ise = a woman (for humans, female for other living beings)
- ire = a man (for humans, male for other living beings)
- ipe = non-binary person
- These suffixes should not be used in excess, only when it's really necessary to mention gender/sex of the person/living being in question.
- -ik- means science that studies X field (most words that in English end in -ics and -logy)
- ike = science, study
- nume = number ➜ numike = mathematics
- uene = language ➜ uenike = linguistics
- diose = god ➜ diosike = theology
- helse = health ➜ helsike = medicine
- bite = life ➜ bitike = biology
Ki- and no-
The word no can be used in a similar way to ki- but they are not the same, the first one is the negation of the meaning, while the second one is the opposite meaning. Sometimes both arrive at the same meaning, in those cases ki should be used, but no may be used when ki does not create the correct meaning or doesn't make sense at all.
There are words that could have been created through ki, but two separate roots have been chosen because either a shorter word was needed (such as for prepositions), a root that started in a vowel was needed (for suffixes such as eg and it), or the two words should be different for better understanding (such as pre and pos).
Family words
There are four main family words:
- aite = parent
- ihe = offspring (son/daughter)
- erme = sibling
- espe = spouse
With those, the -is-/-ir-/-ip- suffixes for gender, and the -it-/-eg- suffixes for age, we can create most of the family words that a culture may need. For example:
- aitaite = grandparent
- aitiraitise = the mother of my father
- ermihe = nephew/niece
- aiterme = uncle/aunt
- aitermespe = uncle's/aunt's spouse
- aitermihe = cousin
- ihihe = grandson/granddaughter
- ermisite = younger sister
- ermirege = older brother
- ermespire = a sibling's husband
- and many many more...
Short words not worthy of being classified
Some words and phrases in many languages like "very", "too", "and", "but", "at least", "still" and so on, are difficult to classify and usually don't follow the same rules. Here is a list:
- He and
- Mi manco pane he trinko cate = I eat bread and drink tea
- Or inclusive or
- Xor exclusive or
- Tan but
- Hen very
- Tu suo hen bela = You are very beautiful
- Tai too (in the sense of too much)
- Data suo tai ega = That one is too big
- Ye also, too
- Mi aio uofes, mi aio ie miaues = I love dogs, I love cats too
- Tu manco pane, ie mi manco pane = You eat bread, I also eat bread
- Mas plus, more, anymore
- Plus in maths: Uan mas dos suo san =One plus two is three
- More: Mi kuo mas pane = I want more bread
- More and -er in comparisons: Tu suo mas tala ke mi = You are taller than me
- Anymore when with no: Mi no mas dormo bonal = I don't sleep well anymore
- Mos
- Most and -est in comparison
- Mose maximum (noun): Xenun suo mose? = How much is the maximum?
- Mosa maximum (adj): Mosa une suo ten = The maximum amount is ten
- Mosal at most: Mi kuo mosal ten = I want at most ten
- Kimas
- Minus in math: san kimas dos suo uan = three minus two is one
- Less: mi xo so ko kimas sukare = I like it with less sugar
- Less in comparison: ta suo kimas tala ke tu = she is less tall than you
- Kimos
- Least in comparison: Tu suo kimos teliga = You are the least intelligent
- Kimose Minimum (noun): Xenun suo kimose? = How much is the minimum?
- Kimosa minimum (adj): Kimosa une suo ten = The minimum amount is ten
- Kimosal at least: Kimosal ten uome holel = At least ten people came
- Kuasi
- Almost: Mi kuasi lendo = I'm almost arriving
- + no barely: Mi kuasi no dormo = I barely sleep
- Ankor
- Still: Ta ankor manco = He's still eating
- + no yet: Tu ankor no manco = You haven't eaten yet
- Iam
- Already: Mi iam tafaho = I already understand
- Yet: Tu iam manco hoer ma? = Have you eaten here yet?
- + no no longer: Mi iam no manco roue = I no longer eat meat
- Sun soon
- Preotal yesterday
- Hootal today
- Posotal tomorrow
- Otal daily
- Lunabal weekly
- Lunal monthly
- Yaral annually
- Iben even
- Iben tu tafaho date = Even you understand that
- Hus just (recently)
- Mi hus fo so = I just made it
- Tui immediately
- Holam tui! = Come immediately
Other vocabulary
Animal and human parts
- Kepe = extremity, limb (arms, legs, tails, trunks)
- Sorkepe = arm
- Xiakepe = leg
- Kiamamkepe = tail
- Gandile = nose ➜ gandilkepe = trunk
- Biso = to see ➜ bisile = eye
- Gando = to smell ➜ gandile = nose
- Tingo = to hear ➜ tingile = ear
- Onte = lip
- Ontoge = mouth
- Oste = bone
- Toufe = hair
- Bisiltoufe = eyelash
- Frente = forehead
- Bisilfrente = eyebrow
- Piele = skin
- Xente = body
- Mane = hand
- Kepite = finger, toe
- Fute = foot
- Kepitedire = nail (dire = shield)
- Neke = neck
- Maneneke = wrist
- Penso = to think ➜ pensile = brain
- Toue = head
- Toumiene = face
- Dile = heart
- Dente = tooth
Rooms
- Rume = room
- Cefo = to cook ➜ cefrume = kitchen
- Dormo = to sleep ➜ dormerume = bedroom
- Manco = to eat ➜ mancerume = dining room
- Limpio = to wash ➜ limpierume = washing room
- Bano = to take a bath ➜ banerume = bathroom (with shower)
- Nio = to need ➜ nierume = bathroom (with or without a shower)
- Bite = life ➜ bitrume = living room
Person, human, man and woman
The word for human, man and woman is "uome" which may take a suffix to specify gender. However, even though some languages, like Chinese, have only one word for person/human, I decided to have a separate word for person, since humans are a species, while person is more like an intelligent being. Think about it, would you rather call an Artificial Intelligence which is as smart and concious as us a human or a person? Would you rather call an intelligent alien a human or a person? Also the word "person" is used for other meanings, such as "juridical person". So, the word for person is "persone".
IUPAC nomenclature
Alkanes (alkanes), alkenes (alkenes) and alcynes (alkines) use Teruene numbers as prefixes.
Number of carbons | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 20 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Prefix | uan | dos | san | ion | kuin | lou | ci | co | nau | ten | tenuan | tendos | dosten |
Ex.:
- Uanalkane = methane
- Dosalkene = ethene
- Tenuanalkine = undecyne
This is just an example. Similar prefixes and suffixes can be created from Teruene's own words to create a scientific vocabulary much more comprehensible to common people, not just scientists who studied for years.
Example text
The North Wind and the Sun
The North Wind and the Sun were disputing which was the stronger, when a traveler came along wrapped in a warm cloak. They agreed that the one who first succeeded in making the traveler take his cloak off should be considered stronger than the other. Then the North Wind blew as hard as he could, but the more he blew the more closely did the traveler fold his cloak around him; and at last the North Wind gave up the attempt. Then the Sun shined out warmly, and immediately the traveler took off his cloak. And so the North Wind was obliged to confess that the Sun was the stronger of the two.
Nora Uinte he Sole
Nora Uinte he Sole kiakordel bau xenule suo mas forta, datim boiule holel bolbeda en gara koute. Tamen akordel ke ule uanal pahunco ifo boiule i sako os koute, datule duo kaoledo i mas forta inter dos. Datim Nora Uinte soplel fortal xenal ta pel, tan mas ta soplel, mas tangal boiule bolbosel en koute; he endal Nora Uinte likaiel tento. Datim Sole xainekel garital, he boiule tui sako os koute. He kos date Nora Uinte duel amito ke Sole suo mas forta inter dos.
Mars (planet) Wikipedia article
Marse (planete).
Marse suo iona planete fro Sole he dosa mos ita planete en Sola Sisteme pos Merkure. So ho nome de roma diose de harbe, he so plurimal nomedo "Kunara Planete" kos kunaroida fera oxigaxe sor os te miene do to so kunaroida oide ke suo kibehifa inter astes bisipla to akela bisile. Marse suo petra planete ko kidensa aireparate, so ho miena miases oida to Lune te krateres he to Tere te bales, sahares, he pola barfa parates.
Marse te ota imege he gara cikle ie suo oida to Tere te, kos tamen te anges, xena koso gara cikle. Sor Marse suo Olimpus Monte, mos ega huomonte he dosa mos tala koneda monte en Sola Sisteme, he ie suo Bale Marineris xena suo uan de mos ega bales en Sola Sisteme. Kirofa Norpola Diprese en nora dosabesfire okupo ionten interpaie de planete he iplal suo egega kratere. Marse ho dos lunes: Fobos he Deimos, dos suo ita he ko kiregula morfe. Somen iplal suo trapeda astites, xenal 5261 Eureka, Marsa troiane.
Dictionary
Dictionary with English, Spanish and Esperanto translations and examples.
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