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Terms of Endearment

by Disputulo, November 22, 2010

Messages: 17

Language: English

Disputulo (User's profile) November 22, 2010, 4:23:01 PM

What are your favorite terms of endearment in Esperanto?

erinja (User's profile) November 22, 2010, 4:44:48 PM

I think each couple tends to come up with their own.

"kara" is very popular though. Some people use only with their spouse/girlfriend/boyfriend, other people use it also with close friends ("Venu, karaj!")

"karuleto" is a variant that you could use, though certainly I would never use that with a friend (def. ok for boyfriend use, might use it for a small child, assuming I liked children, or for a pet)

Oŝo-Jabe (User's profile) November 26, 2010, 8:18:35 PM

I like "knanjo."

ceigered (User's profile) November 28, 2010, 7:36:24 AM

Mi preferas "Hej, vi!" por miaj karoj.

Of course, in English, that's simply too many syllables, and is replaced with a much quicker "oi!", which I think is a very beautiful pet name, such a nice diphthong without any nasty consonants to chip away at the sound.

rido.gif

Evildela (User's profile) November 28, 2010, 9:09:00 AM

formiĉjo:
Oŝo-Jabe:I like "knanjo."
You call your significant other "girl"?
I too like knanjo. Also knanjo dosn't just mean girl - its like when us English speakers call out girl friends ktp.. baby, anyways that’s how I see knanjo, plus it rolls nicely off the tongue and even sound sexy.

ceigered (User's profile) December 1, 2010, 12:14:59 PM

formiĉjo:girlie ... sounds too disrespectful ... chick.
*tugs shirt collar*
Perhaps a cultural difference? Or perhaps I'm just blunt? lango.gif

erinja (User's profile) December 1, 2010, 2:32:30 PM

I would feel a little insulted if someone called me knanjo.

I'm sure some people would like it but I'm sure it depends on the people in the relationship. I know married people who call each other "babe" all the time, which I find so annoying, but they must like it or they wouldn't do it.

KetchupSoldier (User's profile) December 6, 2010, 12:36:43 AM

A man with whom I was corresponding here on the site (who probably didn't know how young I am) called me "Mia kara," even though we barely knew each other. That was a bit weird.

However, if a close friend were to call me knanjo, I wouldn't mind. I call my friends hun/dear/darling, etc. all the time.

RiotNrrd (User's profile) December 6, 2010, 12:54:06 AM

Don Harlow, a well known Esperantist who passed away not long ago, addressed me as "kara" in an email, once. I don't think it has quite the same romantic punch as it might in English.

erinja (User's profile) December 6, 2010, 1:44:36 AM

Not sure of the context in which Don used "kara".

"kara" is the standard opening to a letter; just as we would say in English "Dear Mr. Smith", we would say "Kara S-ro Smith" in Esperanto.

I have also known people who address a group of friends as "karaj".

"Karaj, ni eku!" (Guys, let's get going!)

I also notice that people from certain cultures make a lot more use of these kinds of words. South Americans in particular have said things to me that seemed overly personal considering how well they knew me (=not well). But I assumed that it was due to cultural differences, so I didn't think much of it. Maybe kind of like a verbal version of the way Europeans kiss each other on the cheek as greetings.

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