Ni diskutis la labortempon.

In Esperanto, -is marks the past tense. So diskutis means discussed.

The verb is built like this:

• diskut- = the verb root, discuss
• -is = past tense

Some related forms are:

• diskutas = discuss / are discussing
• diskutis = discussed
• diskutos = will discuss
• diskuti = to discuss

So Ni diskutis means we discussed.

The -n shows the direct object of the sentence.

In Ni diskutis la labortempon, the thing being discussed is the working time / work time, so labortempo is the direct object. That is why it becomes labortempon.

Breakdown:

• Ni = we
• diskutis = discussed
• la labortempon = the work time / working time

Esperanto often uses -n where English relies mostly on word order.

Compare:

• Ni diskutis la labortempon. = We discussed the working time.
• La labortempon ni diskutis. = The working time, we discussed.

Both can mean the same thing because the -n makes the object clear.

La is the Esperanto definite article, meaning the.

So:

• labortempo = work time / working time
• la labortempo = the work time

It is used when the speaker means a specific thing that is known from the context.

A learner should also notice that Esperanto has:

• only one definite article: la
• no separate word for a/an

So:

• la labortempon = the working time
• labortempon = a working time / working time, depending on context

It is a compound word:

• laboro = work
• tempo = time

Together, labortempo means something like work time, working time, or hours of work, depending on context.

Then we add:

• la = the
• -n = direct object marker

So:

• labortempo = work time
• la labortempo = the work time
• la labortempon = the work time, as a direct object

Compound words are very common in Esperanto. Usually the last element is the main idea, and the earlier part modifies it. Here, tempo is the main noun, and labor- tells you what kind of time it is.

Because diskuti is commonly used as a transitive verb in Esperanto, meaning it can take a direct object.

So Ni diskutis la labortempon is a very natural way to say We discussed the working time.

A learner coming from English may expect a preposition like about, but Esperanto often does not need one here.

That said, you may also see diskuti pri io in some contexts, but with this verb, the direct-object pattern is very standard and straightforward:

• diskuti ion = discuss something

So this sentence is a good example of normal Esperanto usage.

No, Esperanto word order is fairly flexible, partly because of endings like -n.

The neutral order here is:

• Ni diskutis la labortempon.

But you could also say:

• La labortempon ni diskutis.

That changes the emphasis, not the basic meaning. Because labortempon has the -n, we still know it is the object.

Even so, the most ordinary and beginner-friendly order is:

subject + verb + object

So Ni diskutis la labortempon is the most natural default form.

Ni is the Esperanto pronoun for we.

Pronouns already have their own forms, so ni does not need a noun ending like -o or an adjective ending like -a.

Some basic pronouns are:

• mi = I
• vi = you
• li = he
• ŝi = she
• ĝi = it
• ni = we
• ili = they

If a pronoun is a direct object, it can take -n too:

• Li vidis nin. = He saw us.

But in your sentence, ni is the subject, so it stays ni.

Yes. Esperanto often allows both a compound word and a phrase with de.

So these are related:

• labortempo
• tempo de laboro

Both can mean something like work time or time of work.

The compound form labortempo is compact and very typical of Esperanto style. Learners should get used to this kind of word-building, because it is one of the most useful features of the language.

In many cases, the compound sounds more natural and economical.

A simple approximate pronunciation is:

nee dis-koo-TEESS la la-bor-TEM-pon

A few helpful points:

• Ni sounds like nee
• diskutis has stress on ku? Actually in Esperanto, stress is always on the second-to-last syllable, so dis-KU-tis
• labortempon has stress on tem: la-bor-TEM-pon

So more carefully:

nee dis-KU-tis la la-bor-TEM-pon

The regular stress system is one of Esperanto’s easiest features:
stress the second-to-last syllable.

The dictionary forms are:

• ni = we
• diskuti = to discuss
• la = the
• labortempo = work time / working time

In the sentence, some words appear in changed forms:

• diskuti → diskutis because it is past tense
• labortempo → labortempon because it is the direct object

This is a useful habit for learners: when you see a word in a sentence, try to identify its base form.