クアニ アナク テレビ クヌカル。
Kuani anak Terebi ku=nukar.
I watch TV.
クアニ アナクネ ポロ ウンマ クオ。
Kuani anakne poro umma ku=o.
I ride a big horse.
The independent pronoun kuani may be used by itself, but it is more often accompanied by the topic marker particle anak or anakne, which were introduced in lesson 12. This is used to emphasise the subject of the sentence, it is "I" who is watching the TV (while the others might be doing other things). There is an implied sense of relativity.
Pay attention to the pronominal affix ku as well, it has to be used in all cases.
・ I watch TV.
○ クアニ アナクネ テレビ クヌカル。 kuani anakne terebi ku=nukar.
× ク アナクネ テレビ ヌカル。 ku anakne terebi nukar.
× クアニ アナクネ テレビ ヌカル。 kuani anakne terebi nukar.
○ テレビ クヌカル。 terebi ku=nukar.
・ I ride a big horse.
○ クアニ アナク ポロ ウンマ クオ。 Kuani anak poro umma ku=o.
× クアニ アナク ポロ ウンマ オ。 Kuani anak poro umma o.
× ク アナク ポロ ウンマ オ。 Ku anak poro umma o.
○ ポロ ウンマ クオ。 Poro umma ku=o.
Anak and anakne are mutually interchangeable. The additional ne is thought to be derived from the copula ne.
1) I am listening to radio.
2) I come from Sapporo.
1) クアニ アナク ラジオ クヌ Kuani anak Radio ku=nu.
2) クアニ アナクネ サッポロ ワ クエク Kuani anakne Satporo wa ku=ek.
ク | Ku= | I |
ラジオ | Rajio | Radio |
アナク | Anak | Topic marker |
ヌ | Nu | To hear, listen to |
クアニ | Kuani | I |
アナクネ | Anakne | Topic marker |
サッポロ | Satporo | Sapporo |
ワ | Wa | From |
エク | Ek | To come |
ウンマ | Umma | Horse (from Japanese 馬 uma.) |
テレビ | Terebi | Television. (from Japanese) |
ヌカル | Nukar | To look, watch |
ポロ | Poro | Big |
オ | O | To ride |
エアニ チエプ エコイキ。
Eani cep e=koyki.
You catch a fish.
エアニ アナク アナウンサー エネ。
Eani anak Anaunsa e=ne.
You are an announcer.
Eani is the independent pronoun for the second person singular, analogous to kuani. The corresponding pronominal suffix for it is e=, which must be present even when eani is used.
1) You drink beer.
2) You are a boy.
1) エアニ ビール エク Eani Beer e=ku.
2) エアニ アナクネ ヘカチ エネ Eani anakne hekaci e=ne.
ビール | Biru | Beer. (a Dutch loanword in Japanese) |
ク | Ku | To drink |
エ | E= | You |
エアニ | Eani | You |
ネ | Ne | Copula |
アナクネ | Anakne | Topic marker |
ヘカチ | Hekaci | Boy, young man |
アナウンサー | Anaunsa | Announcer. (from Japanese) |
アナク | Anak | Topic marker |
コイキ | Koyki | To take, catch, annoy, pile. |
チェプ | Cep | Fish |
ルヤンペ アシ ワ ル テイネ
Ruyanpe as war u teyne.
Rain fell and the road is wet.
ヘリコプター エク ワ ヘカッタル ウウェカルパ。
Herikiputa ek wa hekattar uwekarpa.
A helicopter came and the children gathered.
Wa is a connector which links two sentences together, best translated as "and" in English. A more literal translation of the first sentence would be "the road became wet as it was raining", and a sense of spontaneity is implied. Wa can become ma after a word ending in n or m.
サク アン マ シリセセク。
Sak an ma sirsesek.
Summer came and it became hot.
メアン マ クテケ ヤム。
Mean ma ku=teke yam.
It became cold and my hand is cold.
1) Wind blows and the wave is rough.
2) Father is angry and the daughter cries.
1) レラ アシ ワリリ ユプケ Rera as wa rir yupke.
2) アチャ イルシカ ワ マッネポ チシ Aca iruska wa matnepo cis.
ワ | Wa | "And" |
リリ | Rir | Sea wave |
アシ | As | To blow, fall |
レラ | Rera | Wind |
ユプケ | Yupke | Strong, rough |
チシ | Cis | To cry |
アチャ | Aca | Father |
マッネポ | Matnepo | Daughter |
イルシカ | Iruska | To be angry |
ウウェカルパ | Uwekarpa | To gather |
エク | Ek | To come |
テイネ | Teyne | To become wet |
ヘカッタル | Hekattar | Children |
ヘリコプター | Herikoputa | Helicopter (from Japanese) |
ル | Ru | Road, pathway |
ルヤンペ | Ruyanpe | Rain |
コンドル ホプニ ワ オマン。
Kondoru hopuni wa oman.
Condor flew and went.
トノト クホク ワ クエク。
Tonoto ku=hok wa ku=ek.
I bought alcohol and came.
Wa as a connector in lesson 23 was translated as "and". It is also used to describe a sequence of actions: a condor first flies and goes somewhere and I buy alcohol and comes back. Note that the example sentences are both translated in the past tense. Ainu verbs have no time tense, and it is customary to translate them into the past tense unless the time is specified otherwise. Not everyone agrees with this convention, and it is up to the translator to translate them as one sees fit.
1) Uncle rode the car and went.
2) I walked a lot and became tired.
1) アチャポ 車 オ ワ オマン Acapo Kuruma o wa oman.
2) ポロンノ クアプカシ ワ クシンキ Poronno ku=apkas wa ku=sinki.
ワ | Wa | "And" |
オマン | Oman | To go |
オ | O | To ride |
アチャポ | Acapo | Uncle |
車(クルマ) | Kuruma | Car (from Japanese) |
ク | Ku= | I |
アプカシ | Apkas | To walk |
ポロンノ | Poronno | A lot, many, much |
シンキ | Sinki | To come |
エク | Ek | To come |
コンドル | Kondoru | Condor |
トノト | Tonoto | Alcoholic drink |
ホク | Hok | To buy |
ホプニ | Hopuni | To fly, to wake up from sleep |
エムコタ オマン。
Emkota oman.
Go quickly.
ワッカタ ワ エク。
Wakkata wa ek.
Ladle water and come.
There are no special verb forms for the imperative in Ainu, and it is formed by using the base form of the verb without the pronominal affix.
1) Go to the railway tomorrow.
2) Get up quickly and wash the face.
1) ニサッタ クスル エン オマン Nisatta kusur en oman.
2) エムコタ ホプニ ワ ヤシケ Emkota hopuni wa yaske.
クスル | Kusur | Railway |
オマン | Oman | To go |
エン | En | "To" Allative case particle. |
ニサッタ | Nisatta | Tomorrow |
エムコタ | Emkota | Quickly, early |
ホプニ | Hopuni | To wake up, rise |
ワ | Wa | "And" |
ヤシケ | Yaske | To wash face |
エク | Ek | To come |
ワッカタ | Wakkata | To ladle water. Wakka (water) + ta (ladle) |
This is the end of part five. You can continue with part VI of this course.
Thanks for your interest in this course! If you discovered any mistakes or you just want to say something then please let us know . We do need feedback!