Appearance
Role compounds
When English would name a person, place or time from an event (a teacher from teach, the one told, a sleeping place, bedtime), Agazan builds that name from the event’s stem. Write a person or thing letter, then a, e, u, or o, then mid-word x, then the stem, then an ordinary word ending. a is the doer, e is the scene of the event (where or when), u is the one the event happens to, and o is the extra /b/ party (who is told, or the other party of a relation).
The ending decides whether you mean anyone in that part or the one from a particular event. With -l, -m, or -n, the word is anyone who does it, with no claim about how often: someone who teaches. With -r, it is the person or place of the latest matching event: the one teaching. To say it is their usual role, the kind English names as a job (a teacher), add a scope vowel after the stem (the usual role).
On this page
Beginner
Role compounds: the doer (a)
English someone who teaches names a person from what they do, from the same idea as teach. Write a person or thing letter (/z/ /d/ /b/), then a, then mid-word x, then the event root, then an ordinary word ending. The result is one content word (a role compound) that you can use as a participant. (cue: a ≈ add (add a doer))
zaxedehol varahal.z-agent-x-teach | v-run
"Someone who teaches runs."
The last letter is the ordinary word ending: -l takes the stem’s everyday concrete sense, -m its abstract sense. zaxedehol is someone who teaches; zaxavadal is someone who fights; zaxavadam is someone who struggles. No teaching or fight needs to come up earlier in the conversation, and the word says nothing about how often: one lesson is enough.
When the event is a dictionary word built from two roots, the role compound takes the whole word as its stem: zaxugulahahal is someone who reads, from ugulahahal read.
A noun that specifies the event goes in the same stem, before the event and joined to it with another x: zaxodogaxowogal is someone who walks dogs (the doer of dog-walking). The noun's part in the event is as open as in English (dog walker, coffee maker); for an exact part, use a hook or a second sentence. -r resumes the whole stem.
zaxodogaxowogal varahal.z-agent-x-dog-x-walk | v-run
"Someone who walks dogs runs."
A role compound has one role vowel, left of the first x. It is never one piece of another compound.
This instance (-r)
English the one teaching points at the doer of an event already mentioned. Put -r on the role compound: once the conversation has a matching event (Azawan teaches), -r on the same stem means that doer, not just anyone who teaches.
zazawan vedehol.zaxedehor vezebal.z-Azawan | v-teach z-←agent-x-teach | v-sleep
"Azawan teaches. The one teaching sleeps."
To build the -r form, take the whole stem of the earlier verb. In vehahel (sit), the stem is ehahe, so the one sitting is zaxehaher: subject z, doer ax, the stem ehahe, and -r.
zazawan vehahel. zaxehaher vowogal.z-Azawan | v-sit . z-←agent-x-sit | v-walk
"Azawan sits. The one sitting walks."
The undergoer (u)
English the one seen or the one fought names the person the event happens to. Use the same compound shape as the doer, but write u in the vowel slot. With -l, it is anyone it happens to (someone seen); with -r, it is the undergoer of the latest matching event. (cue: u ≈ undo (the one it happens to))
zazawan dagadul vahahal.zuxahahar varahal.z-Azawan | d-cat | v-see z-←patient-x-see | v-run
"Azawan sees a cat. The one seen runs."
The scene (e)
English a sleep-place or bedtime names where or when an event happens, from the same idea as sleep. Use the same compound shape as the doer, but write e in the vowel slot. That named thing is the scene of the event: its place or its time, not the sleeper. (cue: e ≈ order (the scene the act is ordered in))
You can name such a scene even when no sleep has come up in the conversation:
zazawan dexezebal vahahal.z-Azawan | d-scene-x-sleep | v-see
"Azawan sees a place where someone sleeps."
The same word can be a time. In /h/, hexezebal is at bedtime.
Once the conversation has a matching event, -r means the scene of that event (where or when it happened), not a kind of scene. The sentence with the scene word is a new claim about that place (who sees it, who punches it); it does not add a place to the first verb.
zalahen vezugel.zazawan dexezuger vahahal.z-Alahen | v-scream z-Azawan | d-←scene-x-scream | v-see
"Alahen screams. Azawan sees the place where Alahen screams."
zexagozal is a place where something is constructed (the -l sense of construct). A construction site as a kind of place, with no event in mind, is the dictionary word dagezal.
Compare with: zaxagozal is who constructs; duxagozal is what is constructed. To say where a constructing in your sentence happens (constructs in a house), put the place on that clause with the extra-noun hook al plus /b/. The scene word is for naming the place itself.
The extra /b/ party (o)
English the one told names who gets the telling. In a sentence, that person is the recipient: a /b/ word with no relation word before it (extra nouns). To name them from the verb stem, write o in the vowel slot. (cue: o ≈ one (that extra one))
zazawan vezebel.zoxezeber varahal.z-Azawan | v-tell z-←recipient-x-tell | v-run
"Azawan tells. The one told runs."
You can name that party with no prior telling: zoxezebel is someone told something (the -l sense of speech).
Some stems name a relation (who is bound to whom), not an action. The other person of that relation is the /b/ word right after the relation word. The same o names that person from the relation stem (the other party of the bond).
zazawan ganam balahen.zoxanar varahal.z-Azawan | [g-bond | b-Alahen] z-←recipient-x-bond | v-run
"Azawan is bound to Alahen. That other party of the bond runs."
Compare with: for someone (who the act is meant to benefit) is the extra-noun hook el plus /b/, not the recipient.
| Agazan | Use | English | Cue |
|---|---|---|---|
…axROOT… | names the doer of an event | someone who teaches / the one teaching | a ≈ add (add a doer) |
…exROOT… | names the scene (place or time) of an event | a place where someone sleeps / the place of that scream | e ≈ order (the scene the act is ordered in) |
…uxROOT… | names the undergoer of an event | someone seen / the one seen (this seeing) | u ≈ undo (the one it happens to) |
…oxROOT… | names the extra /b/ party | someone told / the one told | o ≈ one (that extra one) |
A role compound fills /z/, /d/, /b/, or /ɡ/. Under /x/ it sets a topic, as any compound does (xaxedehol now, about people who teach), and under /y/ with -n or -r it calls someone (yaxebezan calls the doctor).
Its stem is always an event. A special pronoun such as amun (the speaker) names a person, not an event, so zaxamun is not a word. The same root on -l is an ordinary content word with a verb sense (perform), so it can be a stem: zaxamul is someone who performs.
With -l, -m, or -n, the word is any such participant: someone who does it, a place or time where it happens, someone it happens to. -r looks back to the latest verb, event noun, or relation with that whole stem (including a stem already inside a role compound) and names this instance. The vowel still picks which part you mean: doer, scene, undergoer, or extra /b/ party.
Without the stem: role pointers
A role pointer is this same word with the event stem left out: the role vowel, x, a pointer vowel, and an ending (-r the participant itself, -l a new one of its kind, -m its part in the event). Instead of naming the event, the pointer vowel picks it by position: a the latest one, e this sentence’s own, o the other one, u the one that left the part unsaid. zaxehaher is the one who sat; zaxar is whoever did the latest thing.
A scene pointer names the place or time of the latest event. If that clause has a place (in a house), the scene is that place:
zazawan vezebal al bahazal. zalahen dexar vahahal.z-Azawan | v-sleep | [in | b-house] . z-Alahen | d-←scene.same | v-see
"Azawan sleeps in a house. Alahen sees the house."
With no place, a during time is the scene (huwem bavodel, during the storm). With neither, dexar is the event’s own place or time, as dexezebar would be. A place wins over a time, and with two places the first one is the scene. Before, after, until, by, and an as-of pair name a time the event is measured from, not its scene.
Compare with: for the doer, the undergoer, or the extra party, a pointer looks back to whoever last had that part, skipping events without one (role pointers). For the scene, it takes the latest event, whatever it has. Scene u (zexur wherever it happened) says nobody has named the place, where zexar is a place the conversation already gave.
The event itself
English a fight names the event itself, not anyone in it. Put the event root on a thing letter with no role vowel: davadal is a fight. Use ax, ex, ux, or ox only when you mean who fights, where or when the fight is, who is fought, or the extra /b/ party.
zazawan davadal vahahal.z-Azawan | d-fight | v-see
"Azawan sees a fight."
Related form: a verb’s own -r resumes that event (vavadar that fighting). Role ax / ux names the people.
Saying someone does it
To say someone is one who teaches, put the same role compound on /ɡ/, as in classification. The word says only that they do it, with no claim about how often. With -r on /ɡ/, it says they are the doer of the matching event (is the one teaching).
zazawan gaxedehol.z-Azawan | g-agent-x-teach
"Azawan is one who teaches."
zazawan gaxavadal.z-Azawan | g-agent-x-fight
"Azawan is one who fights."
zazawan gaxavadam.z-Azawan | g-agent-x-struggle
"Azawan is one who struggles."
After another noun, the same /ɡ/ word picks out which one you mean by that role.
zazawan dagavol gaxavadal vahahal.z-Azawan | [d-guard | g-agent-x-fight] | v-see
"Azawan sees a guard who fights."
Compare with: the plain root on /ɡ/ is the act in progress: dagavol gavadal is a fighting guard, in the middle of a fight. English the guard who fought (that time) with extra participants or a place is two sentences, not this role word.
Practice
Short drills for Beginner. Try each item before opening Show answer.
Setting: a construction site
New words:
| English | Agazan | Cue |
|---|---|---|
| construct | vagozal | 👷 from construct |
| construction | agezal | 🚧 |
| helmet | ehevul | 🪖 |
| sleep | vezebal | 💤 from sleep |
Review:
| English | Agazan |
|---|---|
| Azawan | azawan |
| Alahen | alahen |
| Ahaben | ahaben |
| guard | agavol |
| tell | vezebel |
| punch | vabahel |
| fight | vavadal |
| scream | vezugel |
| see | vahahal |
| run | varahal |
English → Agazan
1. Someone who constructs runs.
Show answer
zaxagozal varahal.
z-agent-x-construct | v-run
2. Azawan tells. The one told sleeps.
Show answer
zazawan vezebel. zoxezeber vezebal.
z-Azawan | v-tell . z-←recipient-x-tell | v-sleep
3. Alahen punches Azawan. The one punched screams.
Show answer
zalahen dazawan vabahel. zuxabaher vezugel.
z-Alahen | d-Azawan | v-punch . z-←patient-x-punch | v-scream
4. Ahaben sees a construction site.
Show answer
zahaben dagezal vahahal.
z-Ahaben | d-construction | v-see
5. Azawan is one who constructs.
Show answer
zazawan gaxagozal.
z-Azawan | g-agent-x-construct
6. Alahen sees a fight.
Show answer
zalahen davadal vahahal.
z-Alahen | d-fight | v-see
Agazan → English
1. zagavol dexagozal vahahal.
Show answer
z-guard | d-scene-x-construct | v-see
The guard sees a place where something is constructed.
2. zahaben vagozal. zaxagozar dehevul vahahal.
Show answer
z-Ahaben | v-construct . z-←agent-x-construct | d-helmet | v-see
Ahaben constructs. The one constructing sees a helmet.
3. zazawan vavadal. zahaben dexavadar vahahal.
Show answer
z-Azawan | v-fight . z-Ahaben | d-←scene-x-fight | v-see
Azawan fights. Ahaben sees the place where Azawan fights.
4. zalahen dagavol gaxezebal vahahal.
Show answer
z-Alahen | [d-guard | g-agent-x-sleep] | v-see
Alahen sees a guard who sleeps.
5. zuxabahel vezugel.
Show answer
z-patient-x-punch | v-scream
Someone punched screams.
6. zazawan vezebal al bagezal. zalahen dexar vahahal.
Show answer
z-Azawan | v-sleep | [in | b-construction] . z-Alahen | d-←scene.same | v-see
Azawan sleeps in a construction site. Alahen sees the construction site.
Pick one
1. Ahaben sees a place where someone sleeps. zahaben dexezebal vahahal. or zahaben daxezebal vahahal.
Show answer
zahaben dexezebal vahahal.
z-Ahaben | d-scene-x-sleep | v-see
Role vowel e names the scene; a would be someone who sleeps.
2. Ahaben sees something constructed. zahaben duxagozal vahahal. or zahaben daxagozal vahahal.
Show answer
zahaben duxagozal vahahal.
z-Ahaben | d-patient-x-construct | v-see
Role vowel u names what the constructing happens to; a is who constructs.
Fix it
1. Azawan is one who sleeps. zazawan gezebal.
Show answer
zazawan gaxezebal.
z-Azawan | g-agent-x-sleep
The plain root on /ɡ/ says Azawan is sleeping right now; the role compound says Azawan is one who sleeps.
Intermediate
The usual role (the)
English a teacher says more than someone who teaches: teaching is that person's usual role, often a job. Write the role compound, then mid-word th, then e, then the ending. This is the practiced role label scope: it says the role is something they regularly do, not one act. (cue: e ≈ order (a sequence of practice))
zaxedehothel varahal.z-agent-x-teach-th-role | v-run
"A teacher runs."
zaxavadathel is a fighter, and zaxodogaxowogathel is a dog walker. A role compound without the never makes that claim, so one fight does not make someone a fighter.
Compare with: a role compound takes only one addition after its stem, so a usual role (the) does not also take ability. Other scope vowels go in the same spot: tha is this time only, thu is a teacher type.
The other role vowels work the same way. With the, a scene is where the event usually happens: dexezebathel is a sleeping place. To say someone is a teacher, put the same word on /ɡ/.
zazawan gaxedehothel.z-Azawan | g-agent-x-teach-th-role
"Azawan is a teacher."
Instrument (ae)
Beginner already used four role vowels. Six two-vowel pairs in the same slot name six more parts of an event.
English a writing tool or an opener names the thing an event is done with. Write ae in the vowel slot. (cue: ae is the same pair as the hook ael using)
zazawan daexaradal vahahal.z-Azawan | d-instrument-x-write | v-see
"Azawan sees a writing tool."
With -r, it is the tool used in that event.
zazawan vavadal. zalahen daexavadar vahahal.z-Azawan | v-fight . z-Alahen | d-←instrument-x-fight | v-see
"Azawan fights. Alahen sees what Azawan fought with."
Compare with: writes with a pen on the same clause is still the hook ael plus /b/. The compound names the tool as its own noun.
Goal, source, path (oe / ua / uo)
A movement has three more parts: where it heads, where it comes out of, and the way it goes. Each uses the two-vowel pair of the matching extra-noun hook.
| Agazan | Names | English | Cue |
|---|---|---|---|
…oexROOT… | the goal of the event | a destination (from go), a target | oe, as in oel toward |
…uaxROOT… | the source it comes out of | a spring (from pour), a quarry | ua, as in ual out of |
…uoxROOT… | the path it goes by | a walkway (from walk), a route | uo, as in uol through |
zazawan doexuvudel vahahal.z-Azawan | d-goal-x-footprints | v-see
"Azawan sees a destination."
zalahen duoxowogal vahahal.z-Alahen | d-path-x-walk | v-see
"Alahen sees a walkway."
zazawan dawahel vobohol. zalahen duaxobohor vahahal.z-Azawan | d-wine | v-pour . z-Alahen | d-←source-x-pour | v-see
"Azawan pours wine. Alahen sees where it was poured from."
Compare with: the scene e is where the whole event happens. A goal, source or path is one end or the route of a movement. Walks toward the station on the same clause is the hook oel plus /b/.
Result (ao)
English a building or a dish names the thing an event makes: it did not exist before. Write ao in the vowel slot. (cue: ao ≈ add one: one new thing in the world)
zazawan daoxagozal vahahal.z-Azawan | d-result-x-construct | v-see
"Azawan sees a building."
With -r, it is what that event made.
zalahen vagozal. zazawan daoxagozar vahahal.z-Alahen | v-construct . z-Azawan | d-←result-x-construct | v-see
"Alahen builds. Azawan sees what Alahen built."
Compare with: the undergoer u is a thing the event changes, which was already there. The result ao is a thing the event brings into being.
The one who pays (ue)
Some events cost someone who is not the one acted on. When a wallet is stolen, the wallet is what the stealing acts on, but its owner is the one who loses. Write ue in the vowel slot to name that person: the one the event goes against. (cue: ue, as in the hook uel against)
zuexaragum varahal.z-bearer-x-theft | v-run
"A theft victim runs."
With -r, it is the one who pays for that event.
zazawan varagum. zuexaragur vezugel.z-Azawan | v-steal . z-←bearer-x-steal | v-scream
"Azawan steals. The one stolen from screams."
Compare with: the undergoer u is what the event acts on; the recipient o is who it is told or given to. ue is whoever bears its cost, whether or not they were acted on.
Stacked vowels on a pointer
Each two-vowel pair also makes a role pointer: leave out the stem, and pointer vowel a reads the latest event. If that clause has the matching hook (ael, oel, ual, uol, uel) with its /b/, the pointer is that /b/; otherwise it is the event’s own tool, goal, and so on.
zazawan vowogal oel bahazal. zalahen doexar vahahal.z-Azawan | v-walk | [toward | b-house] . z-Alahen | d-←goal.same | v-see
"Azawan walks toward a house. Alahen sees the house."
zalahen vagozal. zazawan daoxar vahahal.z-Alahen | v-construct . z-Azawan | d-←result.same | v-see
"Alahen builds. Azawan sees what Alahen built."
| Agazan | Names | Its /b/ comes from |
|---|---|---|
daexar | the tool of the latest event | ael |
doexar | where it headed | oel |
duaxar | where it came out of | ual |
duoxar | the way it went | uol |
daoxar | what it made | (always the event’s own) |
zuexar | the one who paid for it | uel |
The other endings and pointer vowels of the pronouns page go on these too. -l is a new one of that kind (daexal another tool like that one), and -m is that part’s share in the event (daexam what the tool did; zuexam the cost they bore, rather than the theft or the victim).
Pointer vowel u picks the latest event that left that part unsaid (daexur whatever it was done with). Pointer vowel o is the other one: daexor is the other tool, the nearest earlier event whose named tool is someone or something else. Only an event that names that tool, goal, source, or path with its /b/ counts, so events that left it out are skipped, as a skips an event with nobody in the part.
zazawan vugugal ael banaval. zalahen vugugal ael buzubul. zazawan daexor vahahal.z-Azawan | v-cook | [using | b-knife] . z-Alahen | v-cook | [using | b-spoon] . z-Azawan | d-←instrument.other | v-see
"Azawan cooks with a knife. Alahen cooks with a spoon. Azawan sees the other tool (the knife)."
The scene has no such forms: zexor, zexol, and zexom are not words.
Viewpoint laterals (DIR × anchor)
English left / right / ahead / back can mean a compass heading (west) or a side of a viewpoint (Azawan’s left, the car’s left). For the viewpoint reading, write the same arrow root, then mid-word th, then the person or thing whose facing counts as north, then an ordinary word ending. You can then say walk left without meaning walk west.
A person’s front is the direction they face. For an object, use the front its design or current use makes forward; if that does not settle a front, make the frame clear from context.
The sake roots are never a direction: after one of them, th starts a sake word, even when a root-shaped piece follows (emotion compose).
yel vowogal hewezathazawan.y-command | v-walk | h-west-th-Azawan
"Walk left (Azawan’s left)."
Bare arrow words are compass points on a north-up map:
yel vowogal hewezal.y-command | v-walk | h-west
"Walk west."
Speaker and listener roots are the facing person when you mean my left / your left:
yel vowogal zehon hewezathehon.y-command | v-walk | z-listener | h-west-th-listener
"You, walk left (your left)."
For their left, put a role pointer on -r after th: hewezathaxar is on the latest doer's left, and hewezathaxer is on this sentence's own doer's left.
zazawan vowogal. zalahen vehahel hewezathaxar.z-Azawan | v-walk . z-Alahen | v-sit | h-west-th-←agent.same
"Azawan walks. Alahen sits on their left." (Azawan's left)
| Agazan | Use | English |
|---|---|---|
| PoS | slot as usual (/ɡ/ property, /h/ path / manner, /z/ /d/ /b/ side-region) | same slots as other content |
| DIR | an arrow-rose root | north / ahead, … |
th | joins DIR to the viewpoint | viewpoint after th (cue: th ≈ think, whose point of view) |
| ANCHOR | what sets the facing frame: special amu / eho / aha, a person’s name, a content -r of a person or oriented object, or a role pointer on -r | Azawan’s left, your left, the car’s left, their left |
| Ending | ordinary ending is written at the end of the whole compound; its reference is the viewpoint anchor, not the direction | viewpoint kind / hedge / name / resume |
Compare with: naming a doer from an event puts a vowel left of x (role compounds: zaxavadal). Viewpoint laterals put a direction root left of th and a facing person on the right.
Arrow rose (compass vs face)
The examples above used west / left. The other seven arrow roots work the same way: alone, each is a compass heading; with th and a facing person, it is that direction from the person’s body.
| Agazan | Use | English | Cue |
|---|---|---|---|
onoval | compass heading, or ahead on a face | north / ahead | ⬆️ up-arrow: map north, or ahead if facing is north |
azaval | compass heading, or back on a face | south / back | ⬇️ down-arrow: map south, or back if facing is north |
odul | compass heading, or right on a face | east / right | ➡️ right-arrow: the sun’s path east, or right of facing |
ewezal | compass heading, or left on a face | west / left | ⬅️ left-arrow: opposite east, or left of facing |
anovel | compass heading, or forward-right on a face | northeast / forward-right | ↗️ northeast-arrow: between north and east |
onovel | compass heading, or forward-left on a face | northwest / forward-left | ↖️ northwest-arrow: between north and west |
azovel | compass heading, or back-right on a face | southeast / back-right | ↘️ southeast-arrow: between south and east |
azawel | compass heading, or back-left on a face | southwest / back-left | ↙️ southwest-arrow: between south and west |
Indoor headings may follow a local map (building north). When you mean directions from a person’s body, name the viewpoint or use the listener (…thazawan, …thehon).
Gravity (abaha / adahe)
English up / down usually follows the pull of gravity, not anyone’s facing. Write abaha (skyward) or adahe (toward the pull) as ordinary content words, with no th + facing person. Everyone shares that frame.
yel vowogal habahal.y-command | v-walk | h-up
"Walk up."
yabahal.y-up
"Up!"
| Agazan | Use | English | Same root as | Cue |
|---|---|---|---|---|
abahal | skyward, shared gravity frame | up | ⏫: away from the pull | |
adahel | toward the pull, shared gravity frame | down | ⏬: toward the pull | |
evadel | the vertical axis | up–down axis | ↕️: the axis only |
Viewpoint vs landmark
English left of the tree, from Azawan’s view needs both a facing person and a landmark. Put the facing person after th; put the tree, door, or wall in /b/. The /b/ word is the landmark, not whose left it is.
zugul gewezathazawan bedehul.z-book | [g-west-th-Azawan | b-tree]
"The book is left of the tree, from Azawan’s view."
A bare compass word plus /b/ is the region on that side of the landmark (gewezal bedehul west of the tree).
Gravity works the same way: bare adahe + /b/ is under the landmark, and bare abaha + /b/ is above / over it.
zodogal vezebal hadahel bedehul.z-dog | v-sleep | [h-down | b-tree]
"The dog sleeps under the tree."
zugul vehahel gabahal bedehul.z-book | v-sit | [g-up | b-tree]
"The book sits above the tree."
Compare with: locative at / on / inside name how the figure sits relative to the landmark (locative relations), not a compass heading.
| Agazan | Use | English |
|---|---|---|
| Bare DIR | compass / gravity | gewezal west; gabahal up |
DIR th ANCHOR | that point on ANCHOR’s facing rose | gewezathehon listener-left |
DIR + th + o + /b/ | that point on the landmark’s own rose | gazavathol bahazal behind the house |
complex /ɡ/ + /b/ | region on a side of a landmark | gewezathazawan bedehul left of the tree, from Azawan’s view |
The landmark's own front (DIR + th + o)
English behind the house means the house's own back, not a compass heading and not the speaker's back. Write the arrow root, then th, then o in place of a facing person, then the ending. Put the landmark in hosted /b/ right after it. o is the same vowel that names the extra /b/ party in role compounds: here, the /b/ landmark is the one whose facing counts.
zodogal vehahel gazavathol bahazal.z-dog | v-sit | [g-south-th-landmark | b-house]
"The dog sits behind the house."
zazawan vowogal honovathol boyel.z-Azawan | v-walk | [h-north-th-landmark | b-door]
"Azawan walks in front of the door."
This is label scope tho on a direction: the direction relative to that landmark. Arrow roots take no other scope vowel.
The landmark's front is where its design or current use faces (a house's front door, a car's windshield). A DIR + th + o word always takes a /b/ landmark.
| Agazan | English |
|---|---|
gazavathol bahazal | behind the house (its own back) |
gonovathol bahazal | in front of the house |
gewezathol bahazal | on the house's left |
gewezathazawan bahazal | left of the house, from Azawan's view |
gewezal bahazal | west of the house |
Endings and resume
Write the ordinary word ending at the end of the whole compound. In a viewpoint lateral, the ending applies to the viewpoint anchor, not to DIR: -l / -m describe the anchor’s reference, -n names the anchor, and -r resumes it. A bare direction word still takes its ending on the direction itself.
| Agazan | Use | English |
|---|---|---|
| -l | indefinite / kind viewpoint anchor or unmarked path | left of a viewpoint |
| -m | soft / hedged viewpoint anchor | left of a hedged viewpoint |
| -n | named viewpoint anchor | that named viewpoint’s left |
| -r | resume the most recent matching viewpoint anchor in a DIR th ANCHOR compound, or the anchor alone when it is the latest match: ordinary pronoun rules | that viewpoint’s left |
| Agazan | English |
|---|---|
gewezal | west (shared map) |
gewezathazawan | Azawan’s left |
gewezathehon | your left (listener facing) |
gewezathamun | my left (speaker facing) |
gewezathahan | our left (shared facing) |
gabahal / habahal | gravity up |
Practice
Short drills for Intermediate. Try each item before opening Show answer.
Setting: a harbor
New words:
| English | Agazan | Cue |
|---|---|---|
| boat | obodal | 🚤 |
| ship | ehebal | 🚢 |
| go | vuvudel | 👣 from footprints |
| steal | varagum | 🦝 from raccoon |
| west | ewezal | ⬅️: west on the map, left on a face |
Review:
| English | Agazan |
|---|---|
| Azawan | azawan |
| Alahen | alahen |
| Ahaben | ahaben |
| down | adahel |
| construct | vagozal |
| swim | vezewel |
| write | varadal |
| walk | vowogal |
| run | varahal |
| sit | vehahel |
| see | vahahal |
| scream | vezugel |
English → Agazan
1. Alahen is a thief (as a practiced role).
Show answer
zalahen gaxaraguthem.
z-Alahen | g-agent-x-theft-th-role
2. Azawan writes. Ahaben sees what Azawan writes with.
Show answer
zazawan varadal. zahaben daexaradar vahahal.
z-Azawan | v-write . z-Ahaben | d-←instrument-x-write | v-see
3. Alahen goes. Azawan sees where Alahen goes.
Show answer
zalahen vuvudel. zazawan doexuvuder vahahal.
z-Alahen | v-go . z-Azawan | d-←goal-x-go | v-see
4. Alahen steals. The one who loses out screams.
Show answer
zalahen varagum. zuexaragur vezugel.
z-Alahen | v-steal . z-←bearer-x-steal | v-scream
5. Ahaben, walk left (Azawan's left).
Show answer
yel vowogal zahaben hewezathazawan.
y-command | v-walk | z-Ahaben | h-west-th-Azawan
6. The boat sits west of the ship.
Show answer
zobodal vehahel gewezal behebal.
z-boat | v-sit | [g-west | b-ship]
Agazan → English
1. yel vuvudel zalahen hewezal.
Show answer
y-command | v-go | z-Alahen | h-west
Alahen, go west.
2. zazawan vezewel hadahel bobodal.
Show answer
z-Azawan | v-swim | [h-down | b-boat]
Azawan swims under the boat.
3. zahaben vagozal. zalahen daoxagozar vahahal.
Show answer
z-Ahaben | v-construct . z-Alahen | d-←result-x-construct | v-see
Ahaben builds. Alahen sees what Ahaben built.
4. zazawan vowogal. zalahen duoxowogar vahahal.
Show answer
z-Azawan | v-walk . z-Alahen | d-←path-x-walk | v-see
Azawan walks. Alahen sees the way Azawan walks.
5. zazawan vuvudel oel behebal. zalahen doexar vahahal.
Show answer
z-Azawan | v-go | [toward | b-ship] . z-Alahen | d-←goal.same | v-see
Azawan goes toward the ship. Alahen sees the ship.
6. zahaben varahal. zazawan vehahel hewezathaxar.
Show answer
z-Ahaben | v-run . z-Azawan | v-sit | h-west-th-←agent.same
Ahaben runs. Azawan sits on Ahaben's left.
Pick one
1. Azawan sits on the ship's left. zazawan vehahel hewezathol behebal. or zazawan vehahel hewezal behebal.
Show answer
zazawan vehahel hewezathol behebal.
z-Azawan | v-sit | [h-west-th-landmark | b-ship]
tho turns the arrow to the ship's own facing; bare hewezal is west of the ship.
2. Ahaben sees something to write with. zahaben daexaradal vahahal. or zahaben daoxaradal vahahal.
Show answer
zahaben daexaradal vahahal.
z-Ahaben | d-instrument-x-write | v-see
ae names the instrument; ao would be something written, the result.
Fix it
1. Alahen goes left (Alahen's own left). zalahen vuvudel hewezal.
Show answer
zalahen vuvudel hewezathaxer.
z-Alahen | v-go | h-west-th-←agent.self
A bare arrow word is the compass; for someone's left, add th and whose facing counts.
See also
- Event resume vs participant: pronouns.md
- Mid-word
xfamilies: x-compounds.md - Join-relations as relation roots: join-across-roles.md
- Can / can’t (vowel right of
x): intention.md#ability