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Health and the body
The most important roots for this topic are sana
‘heal, health, medicine’ and its opposite mara ‘sick,
hurt’. Name a part of the body, put ri marasenti after
it, and you have said where it hurts.
Health roots
| Pikotika | Meaning |
| sana | heal, cure, treat; health; medicine |
| mara | sick, ill, injured; make sick |
| korpo | the body; physical |
| servi | help |
The body
| Pikotika | Literally | Meaning |
| testa | head | head |
| viteparte | see-part | eye |
| otiparte | hear-part | ear |
| ventosaporparte | air-taste-part | nose |
| puka | mouth | mouth, lips |
| pukarapis | mouth-stone | tooth |
| manu | hand | hand, arm, finger |
| kampa | leg | leg, foot |
| venter | stomach | stomach, belly |
| rets | back | back |
| korporapis | body-stone | bone |
| rusaku | red-water | blood |
manu is the whole limb, from shoulder to
fingertip, and kampa from hip to toe. When it matters
which part, point: Ri marasenti in tisroko.
Where it hurts
marasenti hurt-feel is
pain, and to hurt. Put the part that hurts in the subject, or use the indefinite subject form with the painful area after in.
| Pikotika | Meaning |
| Eko testa ri marasenti. | My head hurts. |
| Eko venter ri marasenti. | I have a stomachache. |
| Eko pukarapis ri meka marasenti. | My tooth really hurts. |
| Eko rets ri piko marasenti. | My back hurts a little. |
| Ri marasenti in kerroko? | Where does it hurt? |
| Ri marasenti in tisroko. | It hurts here. |
mara and
marasenti say different things.
Eko manu ri mara. is ‘my arm is injured’ — something
is wrong with it. Eko manu ri marasenti. is ‘my arm
hurts’ — you can feel it.
A headache has its own word, testamara
head-sick:
Eko ri tene a testamara. ‘I have a headache.’
Being sick
| Pikotika | Literally | Meaning |
| korpowo | body-hot | a fever |
| retsekomi | back-food | to vomit, throw up |
| korpononakor | body-not-agree | an allergy |
| Pikotika | Meaning |
| Eko ri mara. | I'm sick. |
| Viro ri mara. | The man is sick. |
| Yanyer, eko ri tiven mara. | I got sick yesterday. |
| Eko ri tene a korpowo. | I have a fever. |
| Eko ri retsekomi vin. | I threw up. |
| Eko ri tene a korpononakor. | I have allergies. |
As with feelings, put the cause in the
subject and the person after a, and
mara means ‘make sick’.
korpononakor works the same way.
| Pikotika | Meaning |
| Marum aku ri mara a omo. | Bad water makes people sick. |
| Tis komi ri mara a eko vin. | That food made me sick. |
| Raten ri korpononakor a eko. | I'm allergic to milk. |
| Ker ri korpononakor a tu? | What are you allergic to? |
Injuries
rompe is both ‘break’ and ‘cut’, and
rusaku is ‘bleed’ as well as ‘blood’.
| Pikotika | Meaning |
| Eko kampa ri rompe. | My leg is broken. |
| Eko manu ri rusaku. | My hand is bleeding. |
| Ri rusaku! | There's blood! |
| Pam non timo. Tis ri non pesaneses. | Don't worry. It's nothing serious. |
| Tu ri tene a sanaropa, ker? | Do you have a bandage? |
Getting help
| Pikotika | Literally | Meaning |
| sanaomo | heal-person | a doctor |
| pukarapis sanaomo | mouth-stone heal-person | a dentist |
| sanakase | heal-home | a hospital |
| sanakomparroko | heal-buy-place | a pharmacy |
| sanakaro | heal-vehicle | an ambulance |
| sanatentar | heal-test | a checkup, a medical test |
| Pikotika | Meaning |
| Pam servi! | Help, please! |
| Eko ri neses a sanaomo. | I need a doctor. |
| Ri sanaomo mets ekomen, ker? | Is there a doctor among us? |
| Pam tika ver sanakaro! | Call an ambulance! |
| Sanakase ri kerroko? | Where's the hospital? |
| Ri sanakomparroko nir tisroko, ker? | Is there a pharmacy near here? |
Medicine
sana is the medicine itself as well as the healing it
does, so ‘take medicine’ is just toma a sana.
| Pikotika | Meaning |
| Tu ri tene a sana por testamara, ker? | Do you have anything for a headache? |
| Tis ri apa in kertempo? | When did it start? |
| Pam komi, tar toma a tis sana. | Eat, then take this medicine. |
| Pam tormi, kum pipe a mur aku. | Rest, and drink lots of water. |
| Eko ri mas pona in tistempo. | I'm better now. |
And for someone else who is sick, Pona sana.
‘Get well.’ — see Pleasantries and
filler.
Staying healthy
| Pikotika | Literally | Meaning |
| sanaire | heal-movement | exercise; to exercise |
| sanaireroko | heal-movement-place | a gym |
| korpoyu | body-play | sport, athletics |
| korpokan | body-ability | strength; strong |
| Pikotika | Meaning |
| In pan suryan, eko ri sanaire. | I exercise every morning. |
| Eko ri kampaire ver opus. | I walk to work. |
| Tu ri kusta a ker korpoyu? | What sports do you like? |
A whole conversation
Bob goes into a pharmacy.
| Pikotika | English |
| Popu: Pam servi. Eko venter ri marasenti. | Bob: Can you help me? My stomach hurts. |
| Komparomo: Tis ri apa in kertempo? | Pharmacist: When did it start? |
| Popu: Yer nemyan. Eko ri komi a akupeste in komiroko. | Bob: Last night. I had fish at a restaurant. |
| Komparomo: Tu ri retsekomi vin, ker? | Pharmacist: Have you thrown up? |
| Popu: Non. Sets eko ri non komivori. | Bob: No. But I'm not hungry. |
| Komparomo: Tu ri tene a korpowo, ker? | Pharmacist: Do you have a fever? |
| Popu: Eko ri pensa a non. | Bob: I don't think so. |
| Komparomo: Tis sana ri pona. Pam komi, tar toma a tis. | Pharmacist: This medicine is good. Eat something, then take it. |
| Komparomo: Pos tu ri non mas pona in yantar, tisrason pam ire ver sanaomo. | Pharmacist: If you're not better tomorrow, go to a doctor. |
| Popu: Meka mersi. | Bob: Thank you very much. |
| Komparomo: Pona sana! | Pharmacist: Get well! |
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