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Question

door eriksangel15, 25 maart 2016

Berichten: 10

Taal: English

eriksangel15 (Profiel tonen) 25 maart 2016 19:40:24

I'm confused by the function and definition of the Esperanto word "cxu". Sometimes it appears as if it's main function is to signify that a statement is a question, while other times, it has an actual definite English translation.

SPadern (Profiel tonen) 25 maart 2016 20:27:00

As I understand it cxu can be used (as you said) to make a yes/no-question out of a statement. But it can also mean "whether" or "if".

It might make more sense if you consider these examples.

1. Cxu li estas malsana?
2. Mi ne scias cxu li estas malsana.

1. Cxu ni foriru aux ne?
2. Ni devas decidi cxu foriru aux ne.

1. Cxu sxi estas preta?
2. Demandu cxu sxi estas preta.

The step from 1 to 2 seems natural to me.

Vestitor (Profiel tonen) 26 maart 2016 00:14:27

English translations of the above sentences will help other users with the same question!

FoxtrotUniform (Profiel tonen) 26 maart 2016 03:48:05

SPadern:As I understand it cxu can be used (as you said) to make a yes/no-question out of a statement. But it can also mean "whether" or "if".

It might make more sense if you consider these examples.

1. Cxu li estas malsana?
2. Mi ne scias cxu li estas malsana.

1. Cxu ni foriru aux ne?
2. Ni devas decidi cxu foriru aux ne.

1. Cxu sxi estas preta?
2. Demandu cxu sxi estas preta.

The step from 1 to 2 seems natural to me.
I also like the cxu....cxu. construction:

Mi ne certas cxu gxi estas bela cxu malbela.
(I cannot decide whether it is pretty or ugly.)

Cxu la kato en la skatolo estas cxu vivanta cxu mortinta.
The cat in the box is either alive or dead.

To wit a fan of The Big Bang Theory Might say:

La kato en la skatolo estas KAJ vivanta KAJ mortinta.
The cat the be box is both alive and dead.

Kristal (Profiel tonen) 26 maart 2016 05:06:09

Vestitor:English translations of the above sentences will help other users with the same question!
Good idea! I often forget that other languages use word order or completely different word choices than I usually use in English (American-English).

1. Cxu li estas malsana?
"Is he sick?"
2. Mi ne scias cxu li estas malsana.
"I don't know if he is sick."

1. Cxu ni foriru aux ne?
"Should we go or not?"
2. Ni devas decidi cxu foriru aux ne.
"We need to decide whether we should or shouldn't go."

1. Cxu sxi estas preta?
"Is she ready?"
2. Demandu cxu sxi estas preta.
"You ought to ask her if she is ready."

Ibraesil (Profiel tonen) 26 maart 2016 07:28:48

Kristal:1. Cxu li estas malsana?
"Is he sick?"
2. Mi ne scias cxu li estas malsana.
"I don't know if he is sick."

1. Cxu ni foriru aux ne?
"Should we go or not?"
2. Ni devas decidi cxu foriru aux ne.
"We need to decide whether we should or shouldn't go."

1. Cxu sxi estas preta?
"Is she ready?"
2. Demandu cxu sxi estas preta.
"You ought to ask her if she is ready."
Is there a reason "cxu" works better than "se" in those phrases? Like, is there a difference in meaning between the two words?

Vestitor (Profiel tonen) 26 maart 2016 07:59:06

Ibraesil:
Is there a reason "cxu" works better than "se" in those phrases? Like, is there a difference in meaning between the two words?
Yes there is. Se is a conditional 'if':

Se vi ne povas eĉ marŝi, ne provu kuri! = If you can't even walk, don't try to run!
Se vi iras, mi estos malĝoja = If you go I will be sad.

Which is a different 'if' (interchangeable with whether) from:

Mi ne scias ĉu li volas resti aŭ iri = I don't know whether he will stay or go
Mi volas scii ĉu li kapablas marŝi = I want to know whether he is able to walk.

I've not exhausted the possibilities.

Miland (Profiel tonen) 26 maart 2016 11:25:33

The word ĉu has two possible meanings in English, depending on the context.

1. At the beginning of a question it means "Is it (true) that ...?", the equivalent of the French Est-ce que ...?

2. In the middle of a sentence it means "whether". Thus "I haven't decided whether to use a taxi or walk" could be Mi ne decidis ĉu uzi taksion aŭ piediri.

Informally you may hear Ĉu vere? which means "Really?"

noureddin (Profiel tonen) 26 maart 2016 13:09:21

To explain why Esperanto has two words: "ĉu" and "se", let's consider these examples.

A: Kio estas tio? ─ What is that?
B: Mi ne scias, kio estas tio. ─ I don't know what that is.

A: Kial li kuras? ─ Why is he running?
B: Mi ne scias, kial li kuras. ─ I don't know why he is running.

A: Kiam ŝi venos? ─ When will she come?
B: Mi ne scias, kiam ŝi venos. ─ I don't know when she will come.

A: Ĉu ĝi estas multekosta? ─ Is it expensive?
B: Mi ne scias, ĉu ĝi estas multekosta. ─ I don't know if/whether it is expensive.

A: Ĉu mi volas? ─ Do I want?
B: Mi ne scias, ĉu vi volas. ─ I don't know if/whether you want.
C: Mi ne scias, se vi volas. ─ I don't know, if you want. = If you want, I don't know.

- Se mi havus monon, ĉu ni geedziĝus? ─ If I had money, would we get married?

I would suggest giving a meaningful title to your question; "Question about ĉu" would be much better. ridulo.gif

Alkanadi (Profiel tonen) 27 maart 2016 06:38:48

eriksangel15:I'm confused by the function and definition of the Esperanto word "cxu". Sometimes it appears as if it's main function is to signify that a statement is a question, while other times, it has an actual definite English translation.
Adding cxu to a sentence turns it into a question. Many language have a similar feature.

Also, cxu means whether.

Example: Sed mi ne scias, ĉu tio ĉi estas granda merito

You will know from the context, which meaning it has.

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