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I have a question

The polite little opener that makes room for whatever you're about to ask: I have a question for you.

1 · Say this

mi kena tu (mee · KEH-na · too) I have a question for you. (literally: "I ask you.")

mi is I, tu is you, and the new word in the middle is kena — ask / put a question to. It's the same I–verb–you shape you've used since Lesson 1, with kena as the verb.

2 · A closer look: kena, both directions

Amatu Says Means
kena "KEH-na" ask / put a question to

Because it's the plain I–verb–you frame, the same two moves you already know still work:

tu kena mi — you ask me. (swap mi and tu — the question comes back the other way)

mi no kena tu — I'm not asking you. (the flip-word no from Lesson 3, before the verb)

And kena pairs naturally with last lesson's request — first you flag the question, then you ask it:

mi kena tu — yuva mi — I have a question for you — help me.

It also pairs with not knowing — the reason you ask in the first place. Remember mi no sen (I don't know) from Lesson 3:

mi no sen — mi kena tu — I don't know — so I have a question for you.

🎯 Pro tip kena is ask a question, not ask for a thing — that second one is just a request, which you already do by dropping the "you" (yuva mi). Keep them apart: kena opens a question; a subject-less verb makes a request.

⚠️ Watch out Keep kena clear of the look-alike ke you'll meet later — kena is two full syllables, "KEH-na," both vowels open and even. No swallowing the ending.

3 · Your turn

Out loud:

  1. I have a question for you → mi kena tu
  2. You ask me → tu kena mi
  3. Flag a question and then make your request → mi kena tu — yuva mi
  4. I don't know, so I'm asking you → mi no sen — mi kena tu

4 · Tonight's phrase

mi kena tu — I have a question for you. The doorway you open before you ask.

30-second check

Cover the page. (1) Say you have a question for someone. (2) Turn it around — you ask me. (3) Say I'm not asking you. Three for three? You can now open a question from either side of the conversation.

⬅️ Back: Lesson 7 — Help me · ➡️ Next: Lesson 9 — Thank you