Gismu
Gismu can be thought of as root words. They are always exactly five letters long, taking the form of either CVCCV or CCVCV (C = consonant, V = vowel).
| Example 1.1 : gismu forms | ||
| word | form | gloss |
| bajra | CVCCV | to run |
| stuzi | CCVCV | location |
In a Lojban sentence, gismu generally appear as either a predicate (bridi, something like an adjective or verb), or as an argument (sumti, something like a subject or an object). There is no single part of speech that gismu correspond to in English.
| Example 1.2 : parts of speech | ||
| word | gloss | English part of speech |
| bajra | to run | transitive verb |
| stuzi | location | common noun |
Many gismu have one or more three-letter abbreviations (rafsi) for forming compound words (lujvo).
| Example 1.3 : rafsi | ||
| word | abbreviation(s) | |
| bajra | baj | |
| stuzi | stu, tuz | |
Example 1.4 forming a compound word
| running + site = track (for running on) | ||
| baj (bajra) + stu (stuzi) = bajystu |
lei gismu cu jicmu traji lo'i lojbo brivla .i ro da poi gismu zo'u da porsi fi lo'i 5 lo lerfu .i ro da poi lujvo zo'u da se zbasu loi rafsi be loi gismu
Definitions elsewhere: