Negation
One word negates anything: put non in front of it. A second word, nem, says that there isn't any.
non — not
It goes immediately before whatever it denies, and denies exactly that.
| Pikotika | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Eko ri non kansa. | I'm not tired. |
| Eko ri non komi a akupeste. | I don't eat fish. |
| Tis ri non tuke. | They're not sweet. |
| Non rikus, pam. | Not cold, please. |
It is also the word for ‘no’ in an answer, and the tag that turns a statement into a leading question — see Questions and answers.
nem — none, there isn't
nem is not a stronger non; it is a different claim. non denies a description, nem denies that the thing is there at all.
| Pikotika | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Non rikus, pam. | Not cold, please. (bring it warm) |
| Nem rikus, pam. | No ice, please. (leave it out) |
| Ri nem marumkosa. | There's no problem. |
| Eko ri vake a nem. | I did nothing. |
Not happy is not the same as sad
Written as two words, non konten says only ‘not happy’ — someone who simply isn't cheerful. Close it up into one word and non takes its other reading, un-, and you get a positive claim about the opposite state.
| Pikotika | Meaning |
|---|---|
| non konten | not happy |
| nonkonten | sad |
| non mas | not more |
| nonmas | less |
Only where the opposite has no root of its own. There is already a word for ‘small’, so piko is what you say — never nonmeka, and never nonpona for marum.
One more member of the family: nonves (not-true) is the plain adjective ‘false’, and it is also what opens a condition you know to be false — see Conditions and counterfactuals.
Try it yourself
- Tis ri non ves.
Show answer
‘That isn't true.’ Compare Tis ri nonves., ‘That's false’ — the same claim, stated positively.
- Say ‘There's no hot water.’ (Hot water is wo aku.)
Show answer
Ri nem wo aku. — none present, so nem.
- Tis ri non wosapor.
Show answer
‘It's not spicy.’