Lesson 11: Compounds, Hyphens, and Imports
What if the word you need isn't in the dictionary?
Grammar
So far you've mostly worked inside words: BOE + MO → boemo. You can also combine whole words.
Ordinary modifier: describe this particular thing
yoyar beivu
Click to Reveal Translation
*a white car*Here yoyar just describes this car.
Compound: make one concept
To indicate that the words together create a category or concept, we add -s to the modifier. We may also add sol before the compound to make it extra explicit, but that's optional.
Now imagine a vehicle that is basically a kitchen on wheels:
sol boemos beivu
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*kitchen-vehicle → a food truck*The -s marks compound words except for the last. sol announces to the listener that a compound is coming.
You can still describe that food truck:
yoyar sol boemos beivu
Click to Reveal Translation
*a white food truck*yoyar describes this particular one. sol boemos beivu names the kind of vehicle.
Hyphen: blend two meanings
With a hyphen, one word is coloring the meaning of another. It is usually done with verbs to give them more nuance and expression, and make sentences more direct:
i eori-ilaluan u eofa
Click to Reveal Translation
*I speak politely / courteously to a friend.*Here ilaluan is still the main action, and eori gives it the polite flavor.
Imports and local coinages
A word outside the official vocabulary begins with an apostrophe:
'Italia — Italy
'Nihongo — Japanese language
Use the apostrophe for names and other words brought in from outside the fixed Oravia vocabulary: places, dishes, languages, species, local coinages, and so on.
Vocabulary
Before you split a word apart
A root can be more than one syllable. FENE, LUAN, PILI, and REVA are each single roots, so they don't split further. The same letters may also do different jobs in different words. There are only about ~260 building blocks, and once learned, recognizing them becomes easy.
Building blocks
CIU — creative products. Mnemonic: create.
REVA — accurate, real. Mnemonic: real / verify.
MIR — lots, much, many. Mnemonic: myriad.
SOI — speed. Mnemonic: Sprint Out Immediately.
VIO — change. Mnemonic: variation.
PILI — delicate. Mnemonic: picture a delicate petal.
Words
| Oravia | Meaning | Breakdown |
|---|---|---|
| ciureva | photo, picture | CIU creative product + REVA accurate/real |
| lumirwa | flood | LU outside/weather + MIR lots + WA water |
| lisoi | soon | LI time + SOI speed |
| leipili | flower | LEI plants + PILI delicate |
Six words you were never taught
You've learned enough building blocks to try six dictionary words that never appeared in the lessons. See what you make of them before clicking.
1. wilgai
WIL human-made geography + GAI small → wilgai = ?
Reveal
**village / town**2. visro
VIS organs + RO thinking → visro = ?
Reveal
**brain**3. lealei
LEA landscape + LEI plants → lealei = ?
Reveal
**forest**4. wilyel
WIL human-made geography + YEL joining → wilyel = ?
Reveal
**bridge**5. apasoi
APA physical movement + SOI speed → apasoi = ?
Reveal
**hurry / rush**6. oipili
OI fun + PILI delicate → oipili = ?
Reveal
**cute / adorable**With the building blocks from this short course, more than 40 additional dictionary words have breakdowns made entirely from pieces you already know.
Put it together
From earlier lessons
leayo = garden
eori = polite / please
ilaluan = say / tell
eofa = friend
lis = one day / sometime in the future
i anona e ciureva u eofa
Click to Reveal Translation
*I give a photo to a friend.*a lumirwa a yaltan
Click to Reveal Translation
*The flood is big.*lisoi, i anvu en leayo
Click to Reveal Translation
*Soon, I go to the garden.*a leipili en leayo
Click to Reveal Translation
*The flower is in the garden.*sol boemos beivu
Click to Reveal Translation
*kitchen-vehicle → food truck*i eori-ilaluan u eofa
Click to Reveal Translation
*I speak politely to a friend.*lis, i anvu en 'Italia
Click to Reveal Translation
*One day, I will go to Italy.*Your turn
Make a compound, a hyphenated expression, or a marked import. Pick whichever one sounds fun.
Mini Review
Quick review: