She, he, it
So far every sentence has been about me and you. Today you get the words for everyone else — one for any person, one for any thing.
1 · Say this
la ama mi(lah · AH-ma · mee) She loves me. / He loves me.
ama and mi you've had since Lesson 1. The new piece is la — the word for any third
person: she, he, they, that person over there. One word covers them all.
2 · A closer look: la for people, ta for things
| Amatu | Says | Means |
|---|---|---|
la |
"lah" | she / he / they (a person) |
ta |
"tah" | it (a thing) |
la slots into the same place mi and tu do — so every move you already know still works:
mi ama la— I love her / him. (swap the order, as you've done since Lesson 1)
la pai?— Is she well? (thetu pai?question from Lesson 3, pointed at someone else)
And for a thing, reach for ta:
mi fia ta— I want it. (themi fia nishape from Lesson 6, withtaas the thing)
🧭 Why it's built this way
Amatu doesn't make you pick he or she — la is one word for any person, whoever they
are. The only split is person vs. thing: la for someone, ta for something. Two words,
and you can talk about the whole rest of the world.
⚠️ Watch out
Keep both vowels pure and short. la is "lah" (not "law"), ta is "tah" (not "tah-ah").
One clean beat each.
3 · Your turn
Out loud:
- She loves me →
la ama mi - I love her →
mi ama la - Is he well? →
la pai? - I want it →
mi fia ta
4 · Tonight's phrase
la ama mi— she loves me — plustafor any it.
30-second check
Cover the page. (1) Say she loves me. (2) Say I want it. (3) Tell yourself which word is for a person and which is for a thing. Three for three? You can now talk about anyone and anything, not just the two people in the room.
⬅️ Back: Lesson 12 — What's your name? · ➡️ Next: Lesson 14 — With you
Get one lesson delivered to your inbox each morning —subscribe free.