Spoonfed Lesson 4: A Place to Stay

tuntu means “from.” A preposition — tuntu mansa loni = from another place. The traveler has been on the road and arrives somewhere new.

tunima means “city” or “town.” This is the biggest place the traveler has seen so far.

soluku means “through” or “along.” A preposition — soluku kanopa = through the streets. You explore the city on foot. soluku also marks duration: soluku nilu monpa = for two days (through two days). With the -i ending, soluki means “long”: kanopa soluki = a long road.

sonlo means “to live” or “to reside.” Many people call this city home. Notice mansu — you already know mans (place); the -u form mansu means “at” (a location): mansu lita = at this place. A konka-sonla is a residence — literally a live-building.

monpa means “day.” You arrived during a hot day.

supoma means “night.” A nice contrast with monpa — hot days and cold nights. You need a place to sleep.

sotuno means “to sleep.” You are tired from traveling and want to find a place to rest. Notice the difference: sotuno is for sleeping (temporary rest), while sonlo is for living (making your home). A konka-sotuna is a hotel — a sleep-building.

konka means “building” or “structure.” Stem konk + -a noun ending. You spot two large buildings side by side.

kenpi means “new” or “fresh.” One of the two buildings looks new — maybe a hotel?

kinli means “bad” or “poor.” The opposite of anli (good). The other building does not look good.

sumoni means “old” or “aged.” The opposite of kenpi (new). This sentence also introduces lonu — “but.” You already know the stem lon (other/different); the -u form means “but” and connects two contrasting clauses. Notice the comma before lonu — required when a -u word introduces a new clause with its own subject and verb.

tanku is the plural marker. It goes before a noun or pronoun to indicate more than one: tanku oma = people (multiple persons), tanku sa = we, tanku uta = you all. Without tanku, nouns can be singular or plural from context.

kalemi means “full” or “filled.” The residence (konka-sonla = live-building) is full because people live there. Notice tuntu here — it means “from” or “because of.” You will see more of this preposition soon.

tonipa is the noun form of tonip — vacancy, emptiness. Here kanto = “to have” — the verb form of kant, which you know as kantu (owned by). pa kanto tonipa = it has a vacancy. konka-sotuna is a compound: konka (building) + sotuna (sleep) = sleep-building = hotel. Compound parts always use the -a ending.

tupaku means “can” or “is able to.” A modal preverb — like musu (want), it goes before the verb: tupaku sotuno = can sleep. The hotel owner points to the new building — you can sleep there.

nulu means “four.” The numbers continue: nepu (1), nilu (2), nomu (3), nulu (4). Same pattern — a quantifier before its target noun: nulu supoma = four nights. Notice soluku again — earlier it meant “through” (space), and here it means “for” (duration).

nanu means “five.” You are not alone in the hotel — five other guests are sleeping here too.