100 Superwords: Part 1

As I explained in a previous article we are going to start learning the 100 superwords that will boost your language comprehension if you are just beginning to study it. 

These are the first ten:

• ti: I
• mä: you (singular)
• niara: he, she
• ni: we, person
• nun: we (excluding)
• mun: you (plural)
• niaretre: they
• jän, järi: yes
• ñan, ñaka, ñakare: no
• kä: name, land, time

Let's see some of these words in detail:

• Ni / Nun: The difference between these words that mean "we" is small but important. "Ni" mean "we" and refers to all, whoever speaks and whoever listens. The point here is "nun" refers to whoever speaks but not to whoever listens. I will explain all this better in another lesson. "Ni" can also just mean or refer to "person", For instance "Ni doctor ye" > "Person doctor that > "That doctor"
• Niaratre: As you can see "niaratre" is formed by joining "niara" which means he or she, with "-tre" which is used to form the plural, even though only for words that refer to people.
• Jän, järi: "Järi" is just "jän" which has been added "-ri", that usually refers to something that just happened.
• Ñan, ñaka, ñakare: Which of these three words that mean "no" you need to use in every situation depends on context and is learned with time. For now I can say "ñakare" is used most often, and "ñaka" is the most emphatic.
• Kä: One of its meanings is "time" therefore it is used for "year" too. "Kä" is used also to convey a state, for instance "happy" is "kä juto", and in order to say "it's very cold" ngäbe people say "kä tibo krubäte"

Well, those are the first 10 superwords. Please, if you have any question or have seen any mistake, let me know in the comments.
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See all 100 Superwords articles