Common Phrases and Expressions

Greetings

salom - hi, hello

xanti - hello ("peace")

bonsoba - good morning

bonnuru - good day/afternoon

bonaxam - good evening

bonnoce - good evening ("good night")

Farewells

weda - (good)bye

xanti - bye ("peace")

finfe (rioko) - see you

finfe xaya - see you later

finfe ner xaya - see you soon

bon soba - good morning

bon nuru - good day/afternoon

bon axam - good evening

bon noce - good night

Other Well Wishes

Note: As seen above, greetings with bon (good, well) are expressed as compounds, whereas farewells are expressed as two-word phrases. In the following expressions, compounds are used when the speaker and listener remain together. Hence, the two root words are together, combined into one word. In contrast, two-word phrases are used if either the speaker or the listener departs. Hence, the root words are apart.

bonata or bon ata - welcome

bonxanse or bon xanse - good luck

bonyam or bon yam - bon appetit ("good meal")

bonglu or bon glu - cheers ("good drink")

bonturi or bon turi - bon voyage, safe travels

Being Polite

fe lutuf - please

xukra - thank you

multi xukra - many thanks, thank you much

no hay seba - you're welcome ("there's no reason")

asif - sorry

mafu - excuse me, pardon

Other Interjections

daybon - great, excellent

melibon - nice, sweet

suprem - cool, great, excellent

otima - awesome

afarin - well done, good job ("applause")

hura - hooray, hoorah, hurrah, woo-hoo, yay

ay - ouch

wao - wow

Dialogue Fillers

o - oh

a - ah

nun - well (then), so, now

fe folo - so, therefore, consequently

fe fato - in fact, actually

fe fini - finally

fe bonxanse - luckily, fortunately

fe asif - regretfully, unfortunately

fe onxala - hopefully

fe misal - for example

fe xugwan - usually

fe benji - in essence, basically

fe moy kaso - in any case, at any rate, anyway

fe alo kaso - otherwise

maxpul - moreover, furthermore

pia - also

abruto - suddenly

e or em - uh

aham - I see, understood ("understand")

yakin - certainly, surely

totalyakin or pulyakin - absolutely, totally

mimbay - obviously, of course

sipul - indeed

okey - okay, all right

ible - maybe, perhaps, possibly

dayible - probably

sahi - correct, right

mal - incorrect, wrong, not so

sati - true

falso - false, not true

samaijen - agreed ("same opinion")

Kam sati? - Really?

Kam jidi? - Seriously? Are you serious?

Kam yakin? - Are you sure?

Kam bon? - Are you well? Are you good? Is it good?

Kam okey? - Is that okay? Is everything all right?

Common Questions/Replies

  • Yu sen kepul? or Yu kepul?
    How are you?

Daymo bon, ji yu?
Very well, and you?

semibon
Not too bad

semi semi
so-so

  • Yu name keto? or Yusu name sen keto?
    What is your name?

Mi name... or Misu name sen...
My name is...

(To sen) yukwe, na xorkone yu. or Yukwe.
It's nice (pleasant) meeting you. or It's pleasant.

(To sen) furaha, na xorkone yu. or Furaha.
It's a pleasure to meet you. or It's a pleasure.

(Mi sen) hox na xorkone yu. or Mi sen hox.
(I am) happy to meet you. or I am happy.

  • Yu ogar keloka?
    Where do you live?

Mi ogar in...
I live in...

  • Yu sen of keloka?
    Where are you from?

Mi sen of...
I'm from...

  • Yu sen kemo lao? or Yu sen fe ke nyan?
    How old are you?

Mi sen lao fe... (nyan). or Mi sen fe... (nyan).
I am... years old.

  • Kam yu (pala) Globasa?
    Do you speak Globasa?

Si, xosu.
Yes, a (little) bit.

  • Yu pala ke basa?
    What language(s) do you speak?

Mi pala...
I speak...

  • Kam yu aham?
    Do you understand?

(Si,) mi aham.
(Yes,) I understand.

(No,) mi no aham.
(No,) I don't understand.

  • Ren loga... kemaner (in Globasa)?
    How do you say... (in Globasa)?

In Globasa, ren loga...
(In Globasa), you say...

Common Statements

Mi jixi.
I know.

Mi no jixi.
I don't know.

Mi lubi yu.
I love you.