English Translation
Tom is but a child.
“jan Ton li jan lili taso.”
jan: This word means "person" or "people."
Ton: This is a proper noun, specifically a name. In this case, it can be "Ton," a name of a person.
li: This particle is used to separate the subject from the predicate when the subject is not "mi" (I) or "sina" (you). It can be thought of as "is" in English.
jan: Again, this means "person."
lili: This means "small" or "little."
taso: This means "only" or "but."
Putting it all together, we get:
jan Ton (Person Ton) is the subject, meaning Ton.
li separates the subject from the rest of the sentence.
jan lili taso is the predicate:
jan (person)
lili (small or little)
taso (only)
So the sentence “jan Ton li jan lili taso” translates to “Ton is just a small person” or “Ton is only a small person.”
In summary:
jan Ton = Ton (the person)
li = is
jan lili = small person
taso = only
Together, it means “Ton is only a small person.”