My mother, my father

The words for your parents — and the one small word that turns mother into my mother.

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1 · Say this

iya de mi (EE-ya · deh · mee) My mother. (literally: "mother of me.")

iya is mother. The little word de means of — and mi you've had since Lesson 1. Read straight across: mother — of — me. That's how Amatu says my anything.

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2 · A closer look: de makes it yours

Amatu	Says	Means
iya	"EE-ya"	mother
pita	"PEE-ta"	father
de	"deh"	of / belonging to

Swap iya for pita and you've named the other parent:

pita de mi — my father ("father of me").

A mother and a father are both, of course, people — iya li nara, a mother is a person. And de is general — it joins a thing to whoever it belongs to, always in that order: [the thing] de [the owner]. Add anything you already know on top:

iya de mi li pai — my mother is well. (the li from Lesson 12, plus pai)

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🧭 Why it's built this way English has a pile of possessive words — my, your, her, his, their — each one different. Amatu has one move: name the thing, say de, name the owner. My mother, your mother, her mother all use the same de — only the last word changes (de mi, de tu, de la). One pattern instead of a list to memorize.

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⚠️ Watch out de is "deh" — the e is the "eh" of bed, short and clean. Not "dee," not "day." One small flat syllable doing one big job.

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3 · Your turn

Out loud:

1. My mother → iya de mi
2. My father → pita de mi
3. A mother is a person → iya li nara
4. My mother is well → iya de mi li pai

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4 · Tonight's phrase

iya de mi — my mother — and pita de mi — my father.

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30-second check

Cover the page. (1) Say my mother. (2) Say my father. (3) Say what de does and which order it wants (thing, then owner). Three for three? You can now speak about your own family — and de will make anything yours from here on.

⬅️ Back: Lesson 21 — I see you, I hear you · ➡️ Next: Lesson 23 — My child, my friend