Spoonfed Lesson 8: Into the Wild

tamola means “animal” or “creature.” Your friend Sima has brought you outside the city for a hike. You spot something moving in the grass – a small animal. With the -i ending, tamoli = animal-like.

makona means “tree” or “wood.” Trees surround you on every side. With the -i ending, makoni = wooded.

mikata means “sun” or “sunlight.” You look up through the canopy and see the sun high above the trees. With the -o ending, mikato = to shine.

mesapa means “sky” or “heaven.” You step into an open clearing and the sky stretches out endlessly above you. With the -i ending, mesapi = celestial.

losemo means “to breathe,” “to blow,” or “to ventilate.” With the -a ending, losema = air, atmosphere, or breath. You take a deep breath of fresh air under the open sky.

kopina means “stone” or “rock.” You notice large rocks along the trail. With the -i ending, kopini = stony, rocky.

kemopa means “ground,” “land,” or “terrain.” You look out over a wide valley of open earth. With the -o ending, kemopo = to land. Now you can form the compound kemopa-makona = forest (land-tree).

tesima means “fire” or “flame.” You gather wood and build a campfire on a flat stone. With the -o ending, tesimo = to burn, to ignite.

numesu means “still” – an aspect preverb indicating an action is continuing. It goes before the verb in the preverb position: numesu seso = still go, still walk. You keep walking deeper into the trees.

suminu means “again” – an aspect preverb for repetition. Preverbs stack in order: tense, then aspect, then modal, then negation, then verb. Here tense tilepu (future) comes before aspect suminu (again): tilepu suminu toso = will come again.

matilu means “begin to” – an aspect preverb for starting an action. matilu lelo = begin to know, start learning. With the -a ending, matila = opening, beginning, entrance.

litako means “to find” or “to discover.” You find a clearing that would make a good campsite. With the -a ending, litaka = discovery.

potiki means “hard” in the physical sense — solid, firm, rigid. Not “difficult.” You sit on a rock and feel how solid it is. With the -o ending, potiko = to harden.

lonumi means “soft” or “gentle.” The opposite of potiki (hard). You move off the rock and sit on the earth instead – much softer.

pekamu means “far from” — a spatial preposition that marks distance from a reference point. no pekamu pusaka = is far from the city. You’ve hiked a long way from Popasa. With the -i ending, pekami = far, distant (modifier): ponta pekami = a distant place.

nipolu means “thousand.” A magnitude quantifier like nasasu (ten) and netepu (hundred). It goes before the noun it counts: nipolu makona = a thousand trees. For larger quantities you can combine: nisu-nipolu = three thousand.

nomipu means “million.” The largest magnitude. You look up at the night sky and see countless points of light. With all the magnitudes you can now express any number: namu (1), nasasu (10), netepu (100), nipolu (1,000), nomipu (1,000,000).