ojoja / ojogua

Equal and Alike: Ojoja and Ojogua

Level 5

Ojoja means “they are alike” and ojogua means “it resembles”.

How It Works

Both words are verbs, and both compare.

  • Ojoja “they are alike, they are equal”. The book splits it into o-, jo- “each other” and ja “get closer”, so it means “they are close to one another”. It needs ndive “with”, as in oñondive “with one another”.
  • Ojogua “it resembles”. The thing it looks like takes -pe: isýpe “like his or her mother”.

Be careful with ojogua. It is also the ordinary verb jogua “to buy”: Ojogua pakova “He buys bananas”. The -pe on the second thing tells you that it means “resembles”.

Other comparison words are -icha “like” and haʼete “the same as”.

Examples (3)

  1. Umi karai ojoja oñondive.

    Those gentlemen are alike.

    Ojoja “they are alike” goes with oñondive “with one another”.

  2. Pe mitã ojogua isýpe.

    The child looks like his or her mother.

    Ojogua takes -pe on the person it resembles: isy “his or her mother” plus -pe.

  3. Ñande yvy ára ha ára ojogua peteĩ kure chikérope.

    Our Earth, day after day, looks like a pigsty.

    The thing compared with takes -pe: chikérope “to a pigsty”.

Common Mistakes

  • Using ndive with ojogua.

    Pe mitã ojogua isy ndive.
    Pe mitã ojogua isýpe.

    To say “looks like”, ojogua takes -pe on the thing it resembles. With ndive the sentence would read “buys with his or her mother”, and ndive belongs with ojoja.

How It Connects

Tap a pattern to see what it builds on and what it leads to.

ojoja / ojoguaLevel 5Equal and Alike: Ojoja and Ojogua

Learn This First

Ojoja and ojogua begin with ojo- and say that things are alike, and ojoja needs ndive, so those come first.

Words in This Pattern

ndiveoñondivejogua