Cheat sheet

The ten rules

1. Read it as written. One letter, one sound. j = "y". Stress the first syllable.
2. Sentence = Subject ha Predicate. The word ha ("is/does") marks where the subject ends and the predicate begins. wa ha fa = "I speak."
3. Head first, then its stuff. Verb before object: wa ha mu we = "I love you." This one ordering rule is used everywhere (rule 4).
4. Modifiers follow what they modify. Adjective after noun, adverb after verb, number after noun, owner after the owned. tu le = "big house"; kali liwa = "walk fast"; tu wa = "my house".
5. Words never change shape. No endings, ever. kema is eat / ate / will eat / eating.
6. Roots have no fixed part of speech. fa = speech (noun), to speak (verb), verbal (modifier) depending on slot.
7. Negate with he, right before what you deny. wa ha he fa = "I don't speak."
8. Ask yes/no with ho at the end. Ask everything else with a je‑ word (jeta what, jepa who, jewa where, jeni when, jesa why, jefe how, jenu how‑many), placed where the answer would go. we ha ka jewa? = "Where are you going?"
9. Join with hi (and) / hu (or). wa hi we = "you and I".
10. Make new words by describing them, head first (§7). That's the whole vocabulary system.

There is no rule 11. The full text is in the grammar.

The sixteen sounds

One letter, one sound, always. Tap to hear. Consonants are shown with a vowel, because that is how you say them.

The nine families

A content word's first sound tells you its domain, and tells you how to coin a new one.

The numbers

Big part first, and add: ne na ki is 2×10+3 = 23. Numbers follow the noun, like every modifier.

The one-syllable core (47 words)

Every single-syllable word in the language. They are the most frequent ideas, which is why they are the shortest.