Lesson 22: Time Units
How to Use This Lesson
Every lesson is divided into five sections. Please move through them in this order: Warm-Up, Grammar, Vocabulary, Exercise, Review, and then Exercise and Review once more to see how much you've improved.
Do not try to memorize! Just read through the content attentively. We will have plenty of exercises and reviews later!
How much do you remember?
Check the boxes for words you think you know. Then click Show Answers to reveal the meanings.
Time Units
We will use numbers to talk about time! The numbers 1–7 are: tam, tor, par, bale, alui, teva, peri.
We will use these to say the days of the week. The week starts on Monday, so that's day 1. Then Tuesday is day 2, and so on, like this:
Tamen liperi = one in week = Monday
Toren liperi = two in week = Tuesday
Paren liperi = three in week = Wednesday
How would you say Thursday, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday?
In speech, people may drop liperi and say just Tamen, Toren, Paren, Baleen, Aluien, Tevaen, and Perien. In writing, the full form may be preferred.
For months, we use numbers 8–12: auta, tenda, das, dastam, dastor. For dates, we specify the month and day, like this:
Lipardas tam = month one = January
Lipardas tor = month two = February
Litam tam = day one = 1st of...
Litam tor = day two = 2nd of...
How would you say July, October, and December? How about 23rd of August?
Celi run favi litam?
Finally, there are two more important words when it comes to time. Lar is used for a general, unspecified past, and lis is used for a general, unspecified future. For example:
These words can also be used to mean last and next when followed by a time period, like this:
The reference is usually the present, so when someone says lis or lar + time, it usually means last or next year / month / week. But remember, -ar and -is work as relative time, so if the narrative is not in the present, they may mean the previous / the following.
To sum up:
Lipardas tam, lipardas tor... = January, February...
Litam tam, litam tor... = day 1, day 2...
Tamen liperi, toren liperi... = Monday, Tuesday...
Lar = unspecified past, once
Lar + time period = the previous year / month / week...
Lis = unspecific future, one day
Lis + time period = the following year / month / week...
VA Subclusters
Let's take a look at the VA Cluster!
| Oravia | English |
|---|---|
| vamio | neck, throat |
| vandi | finger |
| vanu | arm |
| vanta | hand |
| vanpai | foot |
| vanvu | leg |
| vardei | eye |
| varluan | tongue |
| varodu | head |
| varsus | ear |
| varmo | mouth |
| vardur | tooth |
| varpu | nose |
What do you think the subcluster VAN is about?
How about the subcluster VAR?
These words can also be verbs or adjectives, for example:
| Oravia | English |
|---|---|
| vanpai | foot, kick |
| vanvu | leg, walk |
| vardei | eye, see, look, watch |
| varluan | tongue, taste |
| varsus | ear, hear, listen |
| vardur | tooth, bite |
| varpu | nose, smell, prying |
| vandi | finger, toe, skillful |
| vanta | hand, hold, manual |
🌍 Sound Connections
Pai is like Hindi पैर pair (foot) and Tamil பாதம் pādam (foot).
Var comes from Sanskrit वक्त्रम् vaktram (face/mouth).
Van comes from Hindi बाँह (bāṃh = arm/limb); Arabic بَدَن (badan = body/limbs); Indonesian badan (body and its limbs).
We also have:
yespai = shoe (clothing + feet), just like vanpai = foot, kick (limb body part + foot)
Now try to create a sentence using VA words, or 3 if you're up for a challenge!
You are ready for the exercise now!
Matching Games
Time to practice! Match the Oravia words with their English meanings. Use sound-meaning associations as clues. For example, the subcluster sound tells you the category, even for words you haven't seen before.
If you don't remember or make a mistake, that's totally fine! We will have plenty of opportunities to practice. Right now just give it a try.
Click one word from each column to match them. The game will check automatically when you select both words.
Round 1
Round 2
Round 3
Matching Games
Time to practice! Match the Oravia words with their English meanings. Use sound-meaning associations as clues. For example, the subcluster sound tells you the category, even for words you haven't seen before.
If you don't remember or make a mistake, that's totally fine! We will have plenty of opportunities to practice. Right now just give it a try.
Click one word from each column to match them. The game will check automatically when you select both words.
After completing the Exercises and Review, try it again to see how much you've improved.
Round 1
Round 2
Round 3
Round 4
Round 5
Round 6
Round 7
Review Missed Words
This section shows words you got wrong during practice. If you didn't miss any, this will be empty - great job! 🎉
🎉 Lesson 22 Complete!
If you missed any words, check the Review tab to practice them again.
Come back tomorrow for Lesson 23.