Lesson 36 — This and that

You've said this since Lesson 6 (mi fia ni). Today you get its partner — that, the one over there — so you can point near and far.

1 · Say this

mi fia ra (mee · FEE-ah · rah) I want that.

You know all of this but one word: mi fia is I want (Lesson 6). The new piece is ra — that, the thing further off. It's the far-pointing partner of ni (this, close at hand).

2 · A closer look: near and far

Amatu	Says	Means
`ni`	"nee"	this (near)
`ra`	"rah"	that (far)

ra drops into every spot ni lives in:

mi fia ni — I want this. · mi fia ra — I want that.

mi ho ra — I have that. (with ho from Lesson 34)

Point it at anything in the room. That dog over there? ra cho (that dog). The cat right here? ni mau (this cat) — cho and mau were your pets back in Lesson 32. The person across the way? ra nara — that person (nara, Lesson 16).

ra reaches into time, too — pair it with wa (time, Lesson 27): since ni is near and ra is far, ni wa is now (this-time) and ra wa is back then (that-time, far off).

🧭 Why it's built this way ni and ra mark the two ends of distance — here-near versus there-far — for things and for time alike. Near is ni, far is ra; point with the one that fits and the listener knows which you mean.

⚠️ Watch out ra is a single light tap — a soft Spanish-style r, the vowel a clean "ah." Don't harden it into an English "raw," and don't roll it long; one quick beat.

3 · Your turn

Out loud:

I want that → mi fia ra
That dog, not this cat → ra cho, no ni mau
I have that → mi ho ra
Back then → ra wa

4 · Tonight's phrase

mi fia ra — I want that — the far-pointing twin of mi fia ni, I want this.

30-second check

Cover the page. (1) Say I want that. (2) Say I have that. (3) Tell yourself which word is near and which is far. Three for three? You can now point at anything — close or distant — and make clear which one you mean.

⬅️ Back: Lesson 35 — Recap · ➡️ Next: Lesson 37 — Where is it?