Common Phrases and Expressions
Greetings
salom - hi, hello
xanti - hello ("peace")
bonsoba - good morning
bonnuru - good day/afternoon
bonaxam - good evening
bonnoce - good evening ("good night")
Farewells
weda - (good)bye
xanti - bye ("peace")
finfe (rioko) - see you
finfe xaya - see you later
finfe ner xaya - see you soon
bon soba - good morning
bon nuru - good day/afternoon
bon axam - good evening
bon noce - good night
Other Well Wishes
Note: As seen above, greetings with bon (good, well) are expressed as compounds, whereas farewells are expressed as two-word phrases. In the following expressions, compounds are used when the speaker and listener remain together. Hence, the two root words are together, combined into one word. In contrast, two-word phrases are used if either the speaker or the listener departs. Hence, the root words are apart.
bonata or bon ata - welcome
bonxanse or bon xanse - good luck
bonyam or bon yam - bon appetit ("good meal")
bonglu or bon glu - cheers ("good drink")
bonturi or bon turi - bon voyage, safe travels
Being Polite
fe lutuf - please
xukra - thank you
multi xukra - many thanks, thank you much
no hay seba - you're welcome ("there's no reason")
asif - sorry
mafu - excuse me, pardon
Other Interjections
daybon - great, excellent
melibon - nice, sweet
suprem - cool, great, excellent
otima - awesome
afarin - well done, good job ("applause")
hura - hooray, hoorah, hurrah, woo-hoo, yay
ay - ouch
wao - wow
Dialogue Fillers
o - oh
a - ah
nun - well (then), so, now
fe folo - so, therefore, consequently
fe fato - in fact, actually
fe fini - finally
fe bonxanse - luckily, fortunately
fe asif - regretfully, unfortunately
fe onxala - hopefully
fe misal - for example
fe xugwan - usually
fe benji - in essence, basically
fe moy kaso - in any case, at any rate, anyway
fe alo kaso - otherwise
maxpul - moreover, furthermore
pia - also
abruto - suddenly
e or em - uh
aham - I see, understood ("understand")
yakin - certainly, surely
totalyakin or pulyakin - absolutely, totally
mimbay - obviously, of course
sipul - indeed
okey - okay, all right
ible - maybe, perhaps, possibly
dayible - probably
sahi - correct, right
mal - incorrect, wrong, not so
sati - true
falso - false, not true
samaijen - agreed ("same opinion")
Kam sati? - Really?
Kam jidi? - Seriously? Are you serious?
Kam yakin? - Are you sure?
Kam bon? - Are you well? Are you good? Is it good?
Kam okey? - Is that okay? Is everything all right?
Common Questions/Replies
- Yu sen kepul? or Yu kepul?
How are you?
Daymo bon, ji yu?
Very well, and you?
semibon
Not too bad
semi semi
so-so
- Yu name keto? or Yusu name sen keto?
What is your name?
Mi name... or Misu name sen...
My name is...
(To sen) yukwe, na xorkone yu. or Yukwe.
It's nice (pleasant)
meeting you. or It's pleasant.
(To sen) furaha, na xorkone yu. or Furaha.
It's a pleasure to meet
you. or It's a pleasure.
(Mi sen) hox na xorkone yu. or Mi sen hox.
(I am) happy to meet you.
or I am happy.
- Yu ogar keloka?
Where do you live?
Mi ogar in...
I live in...
- Yu sen of keloka?
Where are you from?
Mi sen of...
I'm from...
- Yu sen kemo lao? or Yu sen fe ke nyan?
How old are you?
Mi sen lao fe... (nyan). or Mi sen fe... (nyan).
I am... years old.
- Kam yu (pala) Globasa?
Do you speak Globasa?
Si, xosu.
Yes, a (little) bit.
- Yu pala ke basa?
What language(s) do you speak?
Mi pala...
I speak...
- Kam yu aham?
Do you understand?
(Si,) mi aham.
(Yes,) I understand.
(No,) mi no aham.
(No,) I don't understand.
- Ren loga... kemaner (in Globasa)?
How do you say... (in Globasa)?
In Globasa, ren loga...
(In Globasa), you say...
Common Statements
Mi jixi.
I know.
Mi no jixi.
I don't know.
Mi lubi yu.
I love you.