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, no verb "to be", 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
🙋
sal Hello!
sal suba! Good morning!
sal dia! Good day!
sal xam! Good evening!
sal noce! Good night!
sal yam! Bon appetit!
sal lai! Welcome!
sal ga! 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.
Etymology. sal is from French salut, Arabic سَلَام salām, Hebrew שָׁלוֹם šalom, Turkish selam, Hindi सलाम salām, Swahili salaam, Indonesian selamat.
xukur thanks
🙏
xukur! Thanks!
poli xukur! Thanks a lot!
ye, xukur. Yes, thank you.
no, xukur. No, thank you.
xukur tu. Thank you.
mi xukur tu. I thank you.
mi xukur tu mede mi. I thank you for helping me.
xukur tu mede mi. Thanks for helping me.
no yau xukur. You're welcome. (Literally: No need to thank.)
si to be
The word si can be used also for stating something as a fact.
mi si Tomas. I am Thomas.
tu si Sara. You are Sarah.
aple si frute. The apple is a fruit.
Etimology. si is from Mandarin: 是 "shì", Shanghainese: 是 "sí".
mi I, me
mi si Sara. I'm Sarah.
mi si Tomas. I'm Thomas.
mi salam mama. I greet mother.
mi salam papa. I greet father.
The word salam is both a noun and a verb. The basic word order in Pandunia is subject–verb–object.
Sara ye salam Tomas. Sarah greets Thomas.
salam mama! Greetings, mother!
salam papa! Greetings, father!
Etymology. mi is from English: me, Hindi: मैं (meṇ), Spanish: me, French: me, Swahili: mimi.
tu you
tu si Tomas. You are Thomas.
mi salam tu. I greet you.
tu salam 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 ame tu. I love you.
Etymology. tu is from Spanish: tu, Russian: ты (ty), Italian: tu, French: tu.
ya he, she or it
👥🗣️👉👤
ya si man. He is a man.
ya si fem. She is a woman.
ya si aple. It is an apple.
ya is the general third person pronoun. It is used for people (irrespective of gender) as well as for things.
mi salam ya. I greet him/her.
Etymology. ya is from Swahili: yeye, Hindi यह (yeh).
sual to ask a question
sual tu si Tomas? Are you Thomas?
sual tu si davar? 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 davar (I ask, you doctor?) by dropping out the first word.
sual tu bon?
How are you? (Literally: Are you good?)
mi bon.
I'm good.
sual tu?
And you?
mi no bon.
I'm not good.
Etymology. sual is from Arabic سؤال (su'āl), Hindi सवाल (savāl), Malay soal, Swahili swali.
ye yes
sual tu si Tomas? Are you Thomas.
ye, mi si Tomas. Yes, I am Thomas.
sual ya si davar? Is he/she a doctor?
ye, ya si davar. Yes, he is a doctor.
no no, not
mi no si Sara. I'm not Sarah.
mi no si davar. I'm not a doctor.
sual tu bon?
Are you well?
ye. mi bon.
Yes, I'm well.
sual tu bon?
Are you well?
no, mi no bon.
No, I'm not well.
You can use no to deny anything. It is placed before the word that is denied.
ya no salam mi. He/she doesn't greet me.
Etymology. no is from Spanish: no, English no, French: non.
Plural pronouns
Plural pronouns are created like this:
mi
(I) →
mimen
(we)
tu
(you) →
tumen
(you all)
ya
(he, she, it) →
yamen
(they)
mimen salam tumen. We greet you all.
tumen salam yamen. You greet them.
yamen salam mimen! They greet us.
mimen si fem. We are women.
tumen si man. You are men.
yamen si aple. They are apples.
ke? what? who?
ke? What?
tu si ke?
Who are you?
mi si Tomas.
I'm Thomas.
ya si ke?
Who is he/she?
ya si Sara.
She is Sarah.
tumen si ke? Who are you people?
yamen si ke? Who are they?
Etymology. ke is from Spanish: qué, Portuguese: que, Italian: che, Bengali: কী "ke".
yi e vo this and that
yi si ke? What's this?
yi si aple. This is an apple.
vo si ke? What is that?
vo si oranje. That is an orange.
yi si rubi aple. This is a red apple.
yi aple si rubi. This apple is red.
yi si rubi. This is red.
yamen a ke? Where are they?
yamen a yi. They are here.
yamen a vo. They are there.
su 's (possessive particle)
yi si ke? What's this?
ya si mi su telefon. It's my telephone.
yi si ke su? Whose is this?
ya si mi su. It's mine.
Note: Possessive particle su is put between the owner and the owned thing. So mi su means "my", tu su means "your" and so on.
ya si ke? Who's he/she?
ya si mi su dosti. He/she is my friend.
mi si Sara su dosti. I am Sarah's friend.
Etymology. su English 's, Afrikaans se, Spanish su.
nam name
tu su nam si ke? What's your name?
mi su nam si Tomas. My name is Thomas.
ya su nam si ke? What is his/her name?
ya su nam si Sara. Her name is Sarah.
Etymology. nam is from Hindi: नाम "nām", Farsi: نام "nām", Thai: นาม "naam", Malay: nama, Japanese: 名前 "namae", German: Name, English: name.
ten have
mi ten un bon dom. I have a good house.
ya no ten pesa. He/she doesn't have money.
mi vol ten un neu telefon. I want to have a new phone.
sual tu ten yo ben?
Do you have children?
mi ten du ben.
I have two children.
sabe to know
mi sabe ya. I know him/her/it.
sual tu sabe vo jen? Do you know that person?
sual tumen sabe semen? Do you know each other?
mimen sabe semen de long. We know each other for a long time.
mede help
mi yau yo mede. I need help.
sual tu bil mede mi? Can you help me?
sual mi bil mede tu? Can I help you?
mi vol mede tu. I want to help you.
Part 2: Eating
yam consume, eat, drink
sual tu vol yam yo? Would you like to eat something?
ya yam un aple. He/she eats an apple.
yamen yam ba 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?
ye. 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 pang. I'm having coffee and bread.
vol want
sual tu vol yam? Would you like to eat?
tu vol 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 vol yam kafe. I want to drink coffee.
sual tu vol yam cai?
Would you like to drink tea?
no. mi no vol cai. mi vol kafe.
No, I don't want tea. I want coffee.
tu vol ke aple?
Which apple do you want?
yi rubi.
This red one.
cing request, please
mi cing tu yam cai. I ask you to drink tea.
mi cing tu lai dom. I ask you to come home.
mi cing tu mede mi. I ask you to help me.
Tip: To make direct requests, drop all the pronouns.
cing yam cai. Please, have some tea!
cing yam kafe. Please, have some coffee!
cing lai dom. Please, come home!
cing mede mi. Please, help me.
haida let's
haida yam! Let's eat!
haida ga yam! Let's go eat!
haida ga dom. Let's go home.
yau need
mi yau yo mede. 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
maf sorry, pardon
maf! mi no aha. Sorry, I don't understand.
maf! yi si ke? Excuse me, what's this?
maf. tu su nam si ke? Excuse me, what's your name?
aha understand
sual tu aha mi? Do you understand me?
mi aha. I understand.
maf. mi no aha tu. Sorry. I don't understand you.
mi no bas aha tu. I didn't quite understand you.
mi aha siro xe. I don't understand at all.
bil can
mi bil xofe un kar. I can drive a car.
ya no bil xofe un kar. He/she doesn't know how to drive a car.
sual tu bil xuli ya? Do you know how to fix it?
sual tu bil pandunia? Can you speak Pandunia?
mi bil pandunia. I can speak Pandunia.
mi bil kam pandunia. I can speak a little Pandunia.
mi no bil englix. I can't speak English.
maf. mi no bil tu su baxa. Sorry, I can't speak your language.
loga to say, speak, talk
tu loga ke? What did you say?
mi loga to tu. I talk to you.
mimen loga to semen. We talk to each other.
men loga "cat" a ke yang a pandunia? How do you say "cat" in Pandunia?
"cat" si ke a pandunia? What is "cat" in Pandunia?
mau loga "miau". Cat says "meow".
aude to listen, hear
aude mi! Listen to me!
mi no bil aude tu. I can't hear you.
cing loga max bala. Please speak louder.
mi aude muzike. I listen to music.
tu aude ke yang di muzike? What kind of music do you listen to?
vide to see
suka vide tu. Pleased to see you!
vide tu re! See you again!
vide tu a posden! See you tomorrow!
mi vide ya a preden. I saw him/her yesterday.
semi to mean
yi lexi ye semi ke? What does this word mean?
"mau" ye semi ke? What does "mau" mean?
ya semi un yang de hevan. It means a kind of animal.
mi no aha ya semi ke. I don't understand what it means.
kitabu write
cing kitabu tu su adres. Please, write your address.
cing kitabu ya a yi. Please, write it here!
baxa speak a language, communicate
sual tumen baxa pandunia. Do you speak Pandunia?
mimen baxa pandunia. We speak Pandunia.
sual tu bil baxa englix? Can you speak English?
franse, espanya, portugal, rus French, Spanish, Portuguese, Russian
putong han, nipon, malayu Chinese, Japanese, Malay
arabi, turki, farsi, urdu, hindi Arabic, Turkish, Farsi, Urdu, Hindi
suahili, hausa, yoruba, amare Swahili, Hausa, Yoruba, Amharic
Part 4. Going around
ga to go
tu ga ke? Where are you going?
mi ga la dom. I'm going home.
mi mus ga ke? Where should I go?
mi mus ga to ke jen? To whom should I go?
haida ga! Let's go!
haida ga a fute Let's go by foot!
lai to come
cing lai! Come here!
tu lai de ke? Where do you come from?
mi lai de Dubai. I come from Dubai.
mi lai dom a pos den. I will come home tomorrow.
safar to travel
sual tu safar a tren? Do you travel by train?
mimen safar de London to Paris. We travel from London to Paris.
safar tre long. The voyage is very long.
a in, on, at
hotel a ke? Where is the hotel?
hotel a vo dau. The hotel is on that road.
tu a ke? Where are you?
mi a dom. I'm at home.
ya a ke? Where is he/she?
ya side a kamar. He/she sits in the room.
Tip! You can use a as a preposition or alone as the verb.
mi gong a... I work at ...
dom to live, reside
tu dom ke? Where do you live?
mi dom Singapur. I live in Singapore.
sual tu dom yi hotel? Do you live in this hotel?
dele to wait
cing dele! Please wait!
dele mi! Wait for me!
yamen dele mimen. They wait for us.
mi dele to tu a hotel. I wait for you in the hotel.
Part 5. Time expressions
zai currently
mi zai salam tu su dosti.
I am greeting your friend.
la man ye zai vide un filme.
The man is watching a film.
ya zai si xefe.
He or she is currently the chief.
ya zai a dom.
He or she is currently at home.
pas in the past
mi pas salam tu su dosti.
I greeted your friend.
la man ye pas vide un filme fem.
The man watched a film.
ya pas si xefe.
He or she was the chief.
ya pas a dom.
He or she was at home.
le already, completed
mi le salam tu su dosti.
I have greeted your friend.
la man le vide un filme.
The man has watched a film.
ya le si xefe.
He or she has been the chief.
ya le a la dom.
He or she has been at home.
xa in the future
mi xa salam tu su dosti.
I will greet your friend.
la man xa vide la filme.
The man will watch the film.
ya xa si xefe.
He or she will be the chief.
ya xa a dom.
He or she will be at home.
Part 6. Doing business
da give
cing da yo pesa. Please give some money.
cing da ya to mi. Please give it to me.
mi da yi to tu. I give this to you.
mi da buku to yamen. I give a book to them.
ya no vol da ya to mi. He/she doesn't want to give it to me.
na take, get
mi na un kafe. I will take a coffee.
cing na un kafe to mi. Please take one coffee for me.
tu pas na pesa de mi. You already got money from me before.
mi na un bir. I will take a beer.
kira rent, lease, hire
kira si 500 dolar a lun.
The rent is 500 dollars in a month.
ya no bil pei la kira.
He/she can't pay the rent.
mi vol na un gar a kira.
I want to take a car for rent.
mi vol kira na un kar. I want to rent a car.
ya kira da la kamar to safarer. He/she rents rooms to travelers.