Toki Pona

Toki Pona is a constructed language created by Canadian linguist and translator Sonja Lang in 2001. It's an experiment to see how minimalist a language can get.

Learn more on the official Toki Pona website.

This page is based on the cheat sheet created by blinry, CC0.

Alphabet

Toki Pona uses nine consonants (j k l m n p s t w) and five vowels (a e i o u). Pronounciation doesn't really matter.

Basic sentences

The particle li separates the subject and the verb:

soweli li moku. = The cat is eating.

jan li lape. = The person is sleeping.

There is no verb "to be"; the part after li can also be a noun or an adjective.

kili li moku. = Fruits are food.

telo li pona. = Water is good.

telo li moku. = Water is a drink.

If the subject is mi or sina, the li is always omitted:

mi moku. = I eat.

sina pona. = You are good.

Ambiguity

Toki Pona has a lot of ambiguity. You'll often need to know the context to decide what things mean. For example, verbs have no tense:

mi moku. = I am eating. / I was eating. / I will be eating.

Many words have multiple or general meanings:

soweli = cat / dog / (any land mammal)

kili = (any fruit or vegetable)

Many words can play the role of a noun, adjective, or verb:

telo = water / wet / to wash

pona = good, simple / to fix, to repair

Nouns have no singular / plural, and no definite / indefinite article:

kili = a fruit / the fruit / some fruits / the fruits

Direct objects

The particle e separates a direct object from the rest of the sentence:

soweli li moku e telo. = The cat drinks the water.

mi telo e soweli. = I'm washing the cat.

Modifying words

Words can be modified by appending other words:

jan lili = small human = child

tomo mi = my house

pilin pona = to feel good = to be happy

Negation

To negate a word, append ala:

mi lape ala. = I'm not sleeping.

jan ala li toki. = Nobody is talking.

Questions

To ask yes-or-no questions, replace the verb with "(verb) ala (verb)":

sina ken ala ken lape? = Are you able to sleep?

soweli li wile ala wile moku? = Is the cat hungry?

Alternatively, append anu seme ("or what") to the sentence:

sina wile uta e mi anu seme? = Do you want to kiss me?

To answer these questions, reply with either "(verb)" or "(verb) ala".

To ask questions that can't be answered with yes or no, write a normal sentence and replace the word in question with seme:

sina moku e seme? = What are you eating?

seme li moku e kili mi? = Who/what ate my fruit?

Modifying words using pi

To modify an expression with a group of words, separate them with the particle pi. It can often be thought of as "of". Note the difference:

tomo telo nasa = crazy water house = strange bathroom

tomo pi telo nasa = house of the crazy water = pub

jan wawa ala = no strong people

jan pi wawa ala = people of not- strong = weak people

Providing context using la

To add a context to a sentence, prepend another sentence or expression, followed by la. This often results in a structure like "If (part 1), then (part 2)" or "In the context of (part 1), (part2)."

mi lape la ali li pona. = When I'm asleep, everything is okay.

Time

You can use a la-clause to add a temporal context to a sentence:

tenpo ni la mi lape. = I am sleeping right now.

tenpo kama la mi lape. = I will be sleeping in the future.

tenpo pini la mi lape. = I slept in the past.

Compound sentences

Separate multiple subjects in a sentence using en:

lape en moku li suli. = Sleep and food are important.

To say that the subject does more than one thing, you can use multiple li-clauses:

pipi li moku li pakala. = The bug eats and destroys.

If there are several direct objects of the same verb, you can use multiple e-clauses:

mimokuekilietelo.=I consume fruit and water.

Unofficial words

Unofficial words (like names of countries, languages, or people) are capitalized and treated like adjectives. They are attached to a noun, and often simplified to Toki Pona's limited alphabet:

mi jan Kapile. = I'm Gabriele.

ma Kanata li pona lukin. = Canada is pretty.

mi toki ala e toki Inli. = I don't speak English.

ma tomo Nujoka li suli. = New York is big.

Prepositions

lon, kepeken, tawa, and tan can be used as prepositions at the end of a sentence:

mi moku lon tomo. = I eat in the house.

mi moku kepeken ilo moku. = I eat using a fork.

sina pona tawa mi. = You are good for me. = I like you.

sina tawa weka tan seme? = Why are you leaving?

Commands

To state a command, use o and then what you want the person to do:

o lukin e ni! = Look at this!

To address someone, start a sentence with "(person) o,":

jan Malin o, sina pona lukin. = Malin, you are pretty.

You can also use this together with a command, merging the two o's:

jan San o tawa tomo sina. = Sam, go home.

Numbers

Combine number words to add them up:

wan=1 tu=2 luka=5 luka luka tu wan = 13

And... that's it!

SORTED BY ALPHA

a PARTICLE (emphasis, emotion or confirmation)

akesi NOUN non-cute animal; reptile, amphibian

ala ADJECTIVE no, not

ala NUMBER zero

alasa VERB to hunt, forage

ali ADJECTIVE all; abundant, countless, bountiful, every, plentiful

ali NOUN abundance, everything, life, universe

ali NUMBER 100

anpa ADJECTIVE bowing down, downward, humble, lowly, dependent

ante ADJECTIVE different, altered, changed, other

anu PARTICLE or

awen ADJECTIVE enduring, kept, protected, safe, waiting, staying

awen PRE-VERB to continue to

e PARTICLE (before the direct object)

en PARTICLE (between multiple subjects)

esun NOUN market, shop, fair, bazaar, business transaction

ijo NOUN thing, phenomenon, object, matter

ike ADJECTIVE bad, negative; non-essential, irrelevant

ilo NOUN tool, implement, machine, device

insa NOUN centre, content, inside, between; internal organ, stomach

jaki ADJECTIVE disgusting, obscene, sickly, toxic, unclean, unsanitary

jan NOUN human being, person, somebody

jelo ADJECTIVE yellow, yellowish

jo VERB to have, carry, contain, hold

kala NOUN fish, marine animal, sea creature

kalama VERB to produce a sound; recite, utter aloud

kama ADJECTIVE arriving, coming, future, summoned

kama PRE-VERB to become, manage to, succeed in

kasi NOUN plant, vegetation; herb, leaf

ken ADJECTIVE possible

ken PRE-VERB to be able to, be allowed to, can, may

kepeken PREPOSITION to use, with, by means of

kili NOUN fruit, vegetable, mushroom

kin ADJECTIVE indeed, still, too

kiwen NOUN hard object, metal, rock, stone

ko NOUN clay, clinging form, dough, semi-solid, paste, powder

kon NOUN air, breath; essence, spirit; hidden reality, unseen agent

kule ADJECTIVE colourful, pigmented, painted

kulupu NOUN community, company, group, nation, society, tribe

kute NOUN ear

kute VERB to hear, listen; pay attention to, obey

la PARTICLE (between the context phrase and the main sentence)

lape ADJECTIVE sleeping, resting

laso ADJECTIVE blue, green

lawa NOUN head, mind

lawa VERB to control, direct, guide, lead, own, plan, regulate, rule

len NOUN cloth, clothing, fabric, textile; cover, layer of privacy

lete ADJECTIVE cold, cool; uncooked, raw

li PARTICLE (between any subject except mi alone or sina alone and its VERB; also to introduce a new VERB for the same subject)

lili ADJECTIVE little, small, short; few; a bit; young

linja NOUN long and flexible thing; cord, hair, rope, thread, yarn

lipu NOUN flat object; book, document, card, paper, record, website

loje ADJECTIVE red, reddish

lon PREPOSITION located at, present at, real, true, existing

luka NOUN arm, hand, tactile organ

luka NUMBER five

lukin PRE-VERB to seek, look for, try to

lukin VERB to look at, see, examine, observe, read, watch

lupa NOUN door, hole, orifice, window

ma NOUN earth, land; outdoors, world; country, territory; soil

mama NOUN parent, ancestor; creator, originator; caretaker, sustainer

mani NOUN money, cash, savings, wealth; large domesticated animal

meli NOUN woman, female, feminine person; wife

mi NOUN I, me, we, us

mije NOUN man, male, masculine person; husband

moku VERB to eat, drink, consume, swallow, ingest

moli ADJECTIVE dead, dying

monsi NOUN back, behind, rear

mu PARTICLE (animal noise or communication)

mun NOUN moon, night sky object, star

musi ADJECTIVE artistic, entertaining, frivolous, playful, recreational

mute ADJECTIVE many, a lot, more, much, several, very

mute NOUN quantity

namako NOUN spice, something extra

nanpa NOUN numbers

nanpa PARTICLE -th (ordinal number)

nasa ADJECTIVE unusual, strange; foolish, crazy; drunk, intoxicated

nasin NOUN way, custom, doctrine, method, path, road

nena NOUN bump, button, hill, mountain, nose, protuberance

ni ADJECTIVE that, this

nimi NOUN name, word

noka NOUN foot, leg, organ of locomotion; bottom, lower part

o PARTICLE hey! O! (vocative or imperative)

oko NOUN eye

olin VERB to love, have compassion for, respect, show affection to

ona NOUN he, she, it, they

open VERB to begin, start; open; turn on

pakala ADJECTIVE botched, broken, damaged, harmed, messed up

pali VERB to do, take action on, work on; build, make, prepare

palisa NOUN long hard thing; branch, rod, stick

pan NOUN cereal, grain; barley, corn, oat, rice, wheat; bread, pasta

pana VERB to give, send, emit, provide, put, release

pi PARTICLE of

pilin ADJECTIVE feeling (an emotion, a direct experience)

pilin NOUN heart (physical or emotional)

pimeja ADJECTIVE black, dark, unlit

pini ADJECTIVE ago, completed, ended, finished, past

pipi NOUN bug, insect, ant, spider

poka NOUN hip, side; next to, nearby, vicinity

poki NOUN container, bag, bowl, box, cup, cupboard, drawer, vessel

pona ADJECTIVE good, positive, useful; friendly, peaceful; simple

pu ADJECTIVE interacting with the official Toki Pona book

sama ADJECTIVE same, similar; each other; sibling, peer, fellow

sama PREPOSITION as, like

seli ADJECTIVE fire; cooking element, chemical reaction, heat source

selo NOUN outer form, outer layer; bark, peel, shell, skin; boundary

seme PARTICLE what? which?

sewi ADJECTIVE awe-inspiring, divine, sacred, supernatural

sewi NOUN area above, highest part, something elevated

sijelo NOUN body (of person or animal), physical state, torso

sike ADJECTIVE of one year

sike NOUN round or circular thing; ball, circle, cycle, sphere, wheel

sin ADJECTIVE new, another, more

sina NOUN you

sinpin NOUN face, foremost, front, wall

sitelen NOUN image, picture, representation, symbol, mark, writing

sona PRE-VERB to know how to

sona VERB to know, be skilled in, be wise about, have information on

soweli NOUN animal, beast, land mammal

suli ADJECTIVE big, heavy, large, long, tall; important; adult

suno NOUN sun; light, brightness, glow, radiance, shine; light source

supa NOUN horizontal surface, thing to put or rest something on

suwi ADJECTIVE sweet, fragrant; cute, innocent, adorable

tan PREPOSITION by, from, because of

taso ADJECTIVE only

taso PARTICLE but, however

tawa ADJECTIVE moving

tawa PREPOSITION going to, toward; for; from the perspective of

telo NOUN water, liquid, fluid, wet substance; beverage

tenpo NOUN time, duration, moment, occasion, period, situation

toki VERB to communicate, say, speak, say, talk, use language, think

tomo NOUN indoor space; building, home, house, room

tu NUMBER two

uta NOUN mouth, lips, oral cavity, jaw

utala VERB to battle, challenge, compete against, struggle against

walo ADJECTIVE white, whitish; light-coloured, pale

wan ADJECTIVE unique, united

wan NUMBER one

waso NOUN bird, flying creature, winged animal

wawa ADJECTIVE strong, powerful; confident, sure; energetic, intense

weka ADJECTIVE absent, away, ignored

wile PRE-VERB must, need, require, should, want, wish

SORTED BY TYPE

adjective

ala ADJECTIVE no, not, zero