Talking about rafsi in Lojban can get inconvenient. Not only must some rafsi be quoted like cmevla (e.g. {zo .lob. rafsi zo lojbo}), but rafsi of the form CCV can't be quoted at all. This caused the experimental {ra'oi} to be invented, but that's not necessarily a pretty solution because it still requires obnoxious quoting.
I therefore had the idea to use a simple, predictable algorithm that lets us refer to any rafsi via a regularly generated zi'evla. The system is simple:
- Use the zi'evla prefix -rafr- or -rafsr- (it doesn't matter).
- Add the rafsi. If the rafsi begins with r, use the zi'evla prefix -rafn- (or -rafsn- instead)
- If the rafsi ends in a consonant, add any of the five normal vowels. Probably -i is preferable, since it's also the last vowel of {rafsi}.
That's it.
Here are some examples that use each type of rafsi:
| rafsi | zi'evla |
| -bal- | rafrbali |
| -tsa- | rafrtsa |
| -bi'o- | rafrbi'o |
| -gai- | rafrgai |
| -ro'u- | rafnro'u |
Now you can talk about rafsi without ever needing to quote them:
lo rafrlo'i cu rafsi zo bloti
"-lo'i- is the rafsi of {bloti}"
You can even easily use them in tanru now:
lo nintadni cu su'o roi rafrpi'o se cfipu
"Beginners sometimes are confused about -pi'o-"