What is Toki Pona?
Toki Pona (lit. Good Language)(ISO tok, yes it has an ISO code) is an artistic conlang which aims to simplify thoughts and communication that was created by Sonja Lang in 2001 (or 2014 if you base it on the book).
Its main feature is to have only 120 words (137 if you include community based words, still not a lot, don’t boo me). It focuses on simple, near-universal concepts to maximise expression from very few words.
Its words are easy to pronounce across language backgrounds, which allows it to serve as a bridge of sorts for people of different cultures. However, it was not created as an international auxiliary language, the language is designed to help users concentrate on basic things and to promote positive thinking.
Let’s start learning
Writing
Toki Pona alphabet is made out of 14 latin letters, which being a e i j k l m n o p s t u w. They are the same letters as they are in IPA.
Toki Pona also uses sitelen pona, where each word is represented by its own symbol. It has been described as "a hieroglyphic-like script that makes use of squiggles and other childlike shapes".
One important point is all Toki Pona words are written with lowercase letters unless they are derived from other languages (like names).
Sentence structure
Simple sentence structure is the good ol’ SVO.
Grammar
Subjects (except I and You, mi and sina) are marked with li, direct objects are marked with e, and context is linked with la.
“jan Elin telo e soweli la mi pilin ala pona - When Elin washes cat, i don’t feel good”
Words mean a lot of different things.
Multiple/general meanings (soweli - dog/dogs/cat/cats/land animal).
Nouns, verbs, adjectives, adverbs (telo = water/wet/wash)
Adjectives come after nouns.
“toki (language), pona (good) - toki pona (not pona toki)“
Negative expressions
In order to have negative, add ala.
“mi moku ala - i am not eating”
“jan ala li moku - no one is eating”
Modifiers
When the sentence has multiple modifiers, they modify the first word. To change that, use pi.
“poki laso pimeja - blue and black box”
“poki pi laso pimeja - dark blue box”
Prepositions (kepeken, lon, sama, tan, tawa) come at the end of sentences.
“jan Elin toki tawa sina - Elin talks to you”
Conjunction
In order to say “and”; en for subjects, li for predicates, repeating e for direct objects.
“mina en sina - I and you”
“moku li pona li sin - food is good and fresh”
“jan Elin li jo e soweli e kala”
Loaning words
To loan words, use following toki words; jan (person) for people (jan Elin), toki (language) for languages (toki Tosi), ma (country) for countries (ma Mewika).
Loaned words must follow (C)V(N) syllable structure with C being single consonant. What not allowed are clusters of vowels/consonants and the sequences wu, wo, ji, ti, nm, and nn.
Imperative, calling and wishing
Use o before a verb to make it imperative tense.
“o moku - eat!”
If you use o after a subject, it becomes a way to address the subject.
“jan Elin o - Elin!”
If you put o between a subject and a predicate, it becomes a way to express a wish.
“pona o tawa sina - goodness to you”
Question and answer
To ask questions, use the following template; [word] ala [word] or [xyz] anu seme (or what)
To say yes, repeat verb. Common way is to say lon (affirmative).
Seme can replace the word in question.
“mi moku e seme? - what am I eating?”
Numbers
There is not many numbers; wan (1), tu (2) and luka (5). Other numbers are created by those like luka tu (7). Big numbers are often just mentioned as mute (many). Clever right? This is the weakest point of the language.
Nanpa before a number makes it ordinal.
“Nanpa wan - first”
Word List
a - (emphasis, emotion or confirmation)
akesi - reptile, amphibian
ala - no, not, zero
alasa - to hunt, to forage
ale/ali - all, everything
anpa - downward, humble, lowly
ante - different, other, changed
anu - or
awen - enduring, kept, protected
e - (direct obiect marker)
en - (multiple subject marker)
esun - market, shop, fair
ijo - thing, object
ike - bad, negative
ilo - tool, machine, device
insa - centre, inside, organ, stomach
jaki - disgusting, unclean, toxic
jan - person, somebody
jelo - yellow, yellowish
jo - to have, carry, contain, hold
kala - sea creature
kalama - sound, to make a sound
kama - arriving, coming, future
kasi - plant, vegetation
ken - to be able to, can, may, possible
kepeken - to use, with, by means of
kili - fruit, vegetable
kiwen - hard object, metal, stone, rock
ko - clay, semi-solid, powder
kon - air, spirit, essence
kule - colour, colourful
kulupu - community, group, company
kute - ear, to hear
la - (context marker)
lape - sleeping
laso - blue, green
lawa - head, ruler, to lead, to regulate
len - cloth, fabric
lete - cool, cold, raw
li - (predicate marker)
lili - small, little, few
linja - long and flexible thing, string
lipu - flat object, paper, card, website
loje - red, reddish
lon - located at, present at, true
luka - arm, hand, five
lukin - to see, examine
lupa - door, hole, orifice
ma - earth, land, outdoors, soil
mama - parent, creator
mani - money, cash, currency item
meli - female
mi - first-person pronoun
mije - male
moku - to eat, drink, food
moli - dead, dying
monsi - back, behind, rear
mu - (animal noise)
mun - night sky object
musi - entertaining, fun
mute - many, a lot, very
nanpa - -th, number
nasa - strange, unusual
nasin - way, road, doctrine, method
nena - bump, hill, nose
ni - this, that
nimi - word, name
noka - foot, leg
o - (vocative/ imperative particle)
olin - to love
ona - third-person pronoun
open - to begin, to start, open, turn on
pakala - broken, mistake
pali - to do, to work on
palisa - long hard object
pan - grain, pasta, bread, rice
pana - to give, emit, send
рі - (regroups modifiers)
pilin - heart, feeling
pimeja - black, dark, unlit
pini - finished, past, end
pipi - bug, insect
poka - hip, side, nearby
poki - container, bag, box, bowl, cup
pona - good, useful, simple, positive
pu - interacting with Toki Pona: The Language of Good
sama - similar, same, as
seli - fire, heat source
selo - outer form, layer, skin, peel
seme - what? which?
sewi - area above, highest part, divine, sacred
sijelo - body, physical state, torso
sike - circular object, cycle, of one year
sin - new, fresh, another
sina - second-person pronoun
sinpin - face, front, wall
sitelen - image, picture, writing, symbol
sona - to know, wisdom, knowledge, info
soweli - land animal
suli - big, heavy, large
suno - light source, bright, sun
supa - horizontal surface
suwi - sweet, cute
tan - from, by, because
taso - but, only
tawa - going to, moving
telo - liquid, beverage
tenpo - time, duration, moment, period
toki - to say, language
tomo - indoor space
tu - two
unpa - sex, to have sexual relations
uta - mouth, oral
utala - to battle, challenge
walo - white, light-coloured, pale
wan - one, unique
waso - flying creature
wawa - strong, powerful
weka - absent, away
wile - must, need, want
