ñe

nje

ñe

is a comparative. By itself it expresses an inexact equivalence. So jacālmi ñe jakīþi is “bricks as stones” and ancēwri ñe anhērmi “mud as mortar”, meaning here that the one substance is used in place of the other.

ē teteñ ien
hēja ñanna jacālmi jajūti nā
aþ te sāim nīkan jacālmi ñe jakīþi
aþ te sāim nīkan ancēwri ñe anhērmi;

And they to each other (said)
we should make many baked bricks
and te they with bricks as stones
and te they with mud as mortar