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Interrogative words

Interrogative words  ||  Examples of questions & answers


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Interrogative words  ||  Examples of questions & answers

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When asking a question, women put the word he at the end of a sentence; men use he informally and hwo (hunwó) officially.

Words without a visible accent are stressed on the second syllable.

Many thanks to Konstantin Hmelnitski for his kind collaboration.


Interrogative words


Lakhota word Interrogative Indefinite

táku what? something
tuwa who? someone
tóna(kca) how many/much?
tákuwe why?
tókhel, tókheshkhe how? somehow
tókhetu, tóktuka how he is? he is/was somehow
tókha what's wrong (with)?
what's the matter (with)?
something is wrong (with)
tukte which?
tuktel where? (location) somewhere
tukte el where exactly?
tókhiya where to? (direction) somewhere
tókhiyatanhan whence?
tóhan, tohánl when?



Examples of questions and answers


Nituwe he? Who are you?
Peter miye. I am Peter.
He túwe he? Who's that?
Le miye Peter. It's me, Peter.
Táku eniciyapi he? How do they call you?
Peter emakiyapi. I'm called Peter

Nitáku he? What are you?
Nilakhota he? Are you Lakhota/Sioux/Indian?
Hiya, malakhota shni. No, I'm not Lakhota/Sioux/Indian.
Wanishicu he? Are you White?
Han, wamashicu. Yes, I'm White.
Mílahanska hemacha. I'm American.
Hásapa hemacha. I'm Black.
Spayola hemacha. I'm Mexican.
Kilakhota kteh^cin hemacha. I'm a wannabe.

Tuktel yathi he? Where do you live?
South Dakota el wathi. I live in South Dakota.
Tuktel ti he? Where does he/she live?
Porcupine el ti ye. He/she lives in Porcupine.
Tuktel Mary ti he? Where does Mary live?
Mary Medicine Root el ti ye. Mary lives in Medicine Root.
Tuktel tipi he? Where do they live?
Martin el tipi ye. They live in Martin.
Tuktel Peter na Helen tipi he? Where do Peter and Helen live?
Peter na Helen Pine Ridge el tipi ye. Peter and Helen live in Pine Ridge.
Nituktetanhan he? Where are you from?
Russia ematanhan. I'm from Russia.
Tuktel yaun he? Where are you staying?
Rosebud el waun ye. I'm staying in Rosebud.
Tókhiya ni kta he? Where will you go?
Tókhiya la he? Where are you going?
Tókhiyatanhan yau he? Where do you come from?
Tuktel yaunhan he? Where have you been?

Tonikhetu (ka) he? How are you?
Matanyan na nish? I'm fine, and you?
Tanyan yaun he? Are you all right?
Waniyetu nitona he? How old are you?
Waniyetu wikcemna nunpa amakeyamni. I'm 23 years old.
Chinca kin tóna wichaluha he? How many children do you have?
Nichinca tónapi hwo? How many children do you have?
Nichinca kin tókhetupi he? How are your children?
Tókheshkhe óchiciya owakihi he? How can I help you?
Táku cha yachin he? What do you want?

Loyachin hwo? Are you hungry?
Lowachin (shni). I'm (not) hungry.
Ínipuza he? Are you thirsty?
Ímapuza (shni). I'm (not) thirsty.
Íniphi he? Are you full?
Ímaphi (shni). I'm (not) full.
Nih^wa he? Are your sleepy?
Mah^wa (shni). I'm (not) sleepy.
Wanitukha lugo he? Are you tired?
Wamatukha blugho (shni). I'm (not) tired.
Húnistaka lugo he? Are you tired?
Húmastake blugho (shni). I'm (not) tired.
Nikhuja he? Are you sick?
Makhuje (shni). I'm (not) sick.
Tuktel niyazan he? Where do you hurt?
Nata mayazan. My head aches.
Thezi mayazan. My stomach aches.
Waniyazan ke shni he? Are you not ill?
Hiya, wamayazan ke. No, I'm ill. (not "Han..." — "Yes, I'm ill".)

Tohan yagnin kta he? When will you go home?
Ecani wagnin kte ye. I will go home soon.
Tohanl yagli kta he? When will you return?
Mázashkanshkan tónakca he? What time is it?
Owaphe tónakca he? What time is it?
Lehanl táku anpetu he? What day is today?
Lehanl anpetu tokahe ye. Today is Monday.
Táku tókhanun han he? What are you doing?
He táku he? What's that?
He tuwa tháwa he? Whose is that?
Le mithawa. This is mine.

Wínyeya nanka he? Are you ready?
Wínyeya manke (shni). I'm (not) ready.
He wanlaka he? Do you see that?
He wanblake (shni). I (don't) see that.
He nayah^'un he? Do you hear that?
He nawah^'un (shni). I (don't) hear that.
Tó(khe)shkhe Lakhotiya eyapi he? How is it called in Lakhota?
Hécetu he? Is that right?
Han, hécetu ye. Yes, that's right.
Hiya, hécetu shni ye. No, that's not right.
Le Lakotiya tokeske eyapi he? How do they say this in Lakhota?
Hécel eyapi... They say...



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