Lesson 1: Greetings and Polite Formulas

ta'n(i)si

"Hello.", "Hi.", "How are you?", "How are things?"
Literally: "How?"

m'on~(a) na'ntaw.

"Hi.", "Fine." (in response to ta'n(i)si.)

ki'n~a ma'ka.

"And you?"

kinana'skomitin.

"Thank you." (said to one person.)
Literally: "I thank you."

kinana'skomitina'wa'w.

"Thank you." (said to more than one person.)
Literally: "I thank you people."

e'kosi.

"That's how!", "That's the way!", also very commonly used for "Thank you."

ki'htwa'm ka-wa'p(a)mit(i)n.

"I'll see you again." (said to one person.)

ki'htwa'm ka-wa'p(a)mit(i)na'wa'w.

"I'll see you people again."

ki'htwa'm ka-wa'p(a)mit(i)na'n.

"We'll see you again." (said to one or more persons.)

The last three sentences are probably the most commonly used equivalents of "Goodbye."

Notes

Greetings and polite formulas are among the first expressions most people seek translations for in another language. But many of these expressions are peculiar to European culture and therefore have no close equivalents in Native North American languages.

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