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Lesson 24: Dia & Hue / VA Subclusters

How to Use This Lesson

This lesson is divided into five sections. Please move through them in this order: Warm-Up, Grammar, Vocabulary, Practice, Flashcards.

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.

Dia & Hue

When you use certain words as adjectives, you may be a bit confused about what they mean. For example:

anye ilhei = is this person creator or created?

Enter dia and hue! Dia is used to indicate an agent or role, while hue is used to indicate a recipient, like this:

anye dia = maker, creator
anye hue = made, created

If you have trouble remembering which is which, notice their sounds are the same as the markers! That is, dia has i + a (actor), and hue has u + e (receiver).

Here are some words and what they mean with each:

Oravia English + Dia + Hue
anye to make maker made
anita to take taker taken
anopu to lose loser lost
anocari to leave leaver left behind
anelem to keep keeper kept
gehdove sell seller sold
eomiu support supporter supported
mo eat eater eaten

Dia may be used to derive words about roles or professions. For example:

i boemo = to cook
boemo dia = a cook
i roena = to teach
roena dia = teacher

Finally, hue may be used to create passive voice. To do this, you use it on the verb and indicate the doer with de, like this:

nim i eodya e run = I invited you
nim i eodya hue de run = I was invited by you

a falfal i vanpai e eofa = the child kicks their friend.
a eofa i vanpai hue de falfal = the friend is kicked by the child.

Of course, the order is still flexible: 

e eofa i vanpai a falfal = the child kicks their friend.
de falfal i vanpai hue a eofa = the friend is kicked by the child.

To sum it up: 

dia = agent, role
hue = receiver
i [verb] hue de [actor] = passive voice

Now try to create a sentence using dia and hue, or 3 if you're up for a challenge!

VA Subclusters

Let's take a look at the VA Cluster!

Oravia English
vatale neck, throat
vandi finger
vanu arm
vanta hand
vanpai foot
vanvu leg
vardei eye
varluan tongue
varodu head
varsus ear
varmo mouth
vardur tooth
varasi 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
varasi nose, smell, prying
vandi finger, toe, skillful
vanta hand, hold, manual

Recognize the Roots

Take another look at vanvu, varluan, and vardur. Do you recognize any roots you've learned before?

🌍 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!

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

Round 4

🎉 Lesson 24 Complete!

Come back tomorrow for Lesson 25.