Lesson 2 — Yes, no, hello

Four words that get you through almost any first exchange: hello, yes, no, okay.

1 · Say this

aiya (EYE-yah) Hello!

aiya is Amatu's bright, all-purpose greeting — the one you call out when you arrive, and the other person calls it right back. One warm word, and you've opened the door.

2 · A closer look

Three more survival words. Each one stands completely alone — just say it:

Amatu	Says	Means
`da`	"dah"	yes / agreed
`no`	"noh"	no
`okei`	"OH-kay"	okay / got it / received

So a whole tiny conversation already works:

— aiya! (Hello!) — aiya! (Hello!) — ... okei? (All good?) — da! (Yes!)

🌏 You already know this da is "yes" in a surprising share of the world (Russian, Bulgarian, Romanian...), and okei is exactly the okay you already say. You're not memorizing here so much as recognizing.

⚠️ Watch out okei ends in ei, and in Amatu ei is one sound — "ay", as in say. Never two syllables ("o-kay-ee"). And the stress lands on the first part: OH-kay, not the English oh-KAY. Small thing, but it's the difference between sounding like you're speaking Amatu and sounding like you're speaking English with Amatu words.

3 · Your turn

Out loud:

Someone walks in. Greet them → aiya
Yes! → da
No. → no
Got it. → okei

Then run the four-line conversation above by yourself, both parts.

4 · Tonight's phrase

aiya — hello — plus da / no in your back pocket.

30-second check

Cover the page. Say: hello, yes, no, okay — in Amatu. Four for four? Done.

⬅️ Back: Lesson 1 · ➡️ Next: Lesson 3 — You and me, well and not