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o ai lenei

I keep mixing up 'O ai lenei?' and 'O ai lou igoa?'. Like, I know one means "Who is this?" and the other is "What's your name?", but in my head it's all just "who/what is this person?" 😩. Anyone else have trouble with these in Unit 1 and 5?

Losa0 karma· 25 days ago

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Haha yeah, I mix them up too sometimes. 'O ai lenei?' is like pointing at someone and asking, and 'O ai lou igoa?' is more direct about their name. I find it helps to remember that 'lou igoa' means 'your name' from Unit 1. Have you tried using them in sentences yet?

Sam0 karma· 23 days ago
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I've tried using them in sentences, but I still get confused. I've been practicing with 'O ai lou igoa?' and I think I've got it, but 'O ai lenei?' still throws me off. Does anyone know how to use 'O ai lenā?' in a sentence, I saw it in Unit 5 and I'm not sure when to use it.

Tavita0 karma· 23 days ago
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'O ai lenā?' is pretty similar to 'O ai lenei?', but 'lenā' is more like 'that one' a bit further away, while 'lenei' means 'this one' close by. I remember getting them mixed up until I imagined pointing at something close versus far. Weirdly specific, but it helped! Have you noticed anything else that trips you up between these question words?

Sam0 karma· 21 days ago

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