a
A
description
emphasis, emotion, or confirmation
Definitions & Examples
Particles & structure words
Words that define sentence structure and relationships
anu
ANU
description
connects phrases with “or”
e
E
description
direct object marker
en
EN
description
multiple subject marker (“and” for subjects)
kin
KIN
description
also, too; indeed
la
LA
description
context marker
li
LI
description
predicate marker
o
O
description
vocative / imperative particle
pi
PI
description
regroups modifiers
taso
TASO
description
but, however; only, just
seme
SEME
description
what? which?
Pronouns & people
Words referring to persons and identities
jan
JAN
description
person, somebody, human
kulupu
KULUPU
description
community, group, company, nation
meli
MELI
description
female, woman
mi
MI
description
first-person pronoun: I, me, we, us
mije
MIJE
description
male, man
mama
MAMA
description
parent; creator; caretaker
ona
ONA
description
third-person pronoun: he, she, it, they
sina
SINA
description
second-person pronoun: you
tonsi
TONSI
description
non-binary, trans
ni
NI
description
this, that
Time, numbers & amount
Words related to time, quantity, and measurement
ala
ALA
description
no, not, none, zero
ale
ALE (ALI)
description
all, everything, 100
kama
KAMA
description
arriving, coming, future; to become
mute
MUTE
description
many, a lot; very; quantity
nanpa
NANPA
description
-th; number, ordinal marker
open
OPEN
description
to begin, to start; opening
pini
PINI
description
finished, past; end
sike
SIKE
description
circular object, cycle; of one year
tenpo
TENPO
description
time, duration, moment, period
tu
TU
description
two
wan
WAN
description
one; single, unique, united
Living things
Words related to animals, plants, and life forms
akesi
AKESI
description
reptile, amphibian
kala
KALA
description
sea creature, fish
kasi
KASI
description
plant, vegetation; grass, leaf
kijetesantakalu
KIJETES-
ANTAKALU
ANTAKALU
description
musteloids, such as raccoon, weasel-like mammals
kili
KILI
description
fruit, vegetable
pipi
PIPI
description
bug, insect
soko
SOKO
description
mushroom, fungus
soweli
SOWELI
description
land animal, mammal
waso
WASO
description
flying creature, bird
Body & senses
Words related to body parts and sensory functions
insa
INSA
description
centre, inside, contents; organ, stomach
kute
KUTE
description
ear; to hear, listen
lape
LAPE
description
sleeping, resting
luka
LUKA
description
arm, hand; five
monsi
MONSI
description
back, behind, rear
nena
NENA
description
bump, hill, nose, protrusion
noka
NOKA
description
foot, leg; lower part
pilin
PILIN
description
heart, feeling; to feel, think emotionally
sijelo
SIJELO
description
body, torso; physical state
sinpin
SINPIN
description
face, front, wall
uta
UTA
description
mouth, lips; oral cavity
moku
MOKU
description
to eat, to drink; food
unpa
UNPA
description
sex; to have sexual relations
mu
MU
description
animal noise; onomatopoeia
Space, place & environment
Words related to locations, directions, and surroundings
anpa
ANPA
description
downward, humble, low, lowly
kon
KON
description
air; spirit, essence; unseen agent
lete
LETE
description
cool, cold; raw
lon
LON
description
located at, present at; true, real
lupa
LUPA
description
door, hole, opening, orifice
ma
MA
description
earth, land; outdoors; soil, territory
mun
MUN
description
night sky object, moon, star, planet
nasin
NASIN
description
way, road, doctrine, method
poka
POKA
description
hip, side; nearby, beside, with
sewi
SEWI
description
area above, highest part; divine, sacred
suno
SUNO
description
light source, sun; bright light
telo
TELO
description
liquid, water, beverage
tomo
TOMO
description
indoor space; building, home, room
Objects, tools & stuff
Words related to physical objects and materials
esun
ESUN
description
market, shop, fair
ijo
IJO
description
thing, object, phenomenon
ilo
ILO
description
tool, machine, device, instrument
kiwen
KIWEN
description
hard object, metal, stone, rock
ko
KO
description
clay, semi-solid, paste, powder
leko
LEKO
description
square, block
len
LEN
description
cloth, fabric; cover, layer of privacy
linja
LINJA
description
long and flexible thing; string, cord, hair, thread
lipu
LIPU
description
flat object; paper, card, document, website
mani
MANI
description
money, cash, currency item
nimi
NIMI
description
word, name
palisa
PALISA
description
long hard object; rod, stick
pan
PAN
description
grain, pasta, bread, rice
poki
POKI
description
container, bag, box, bowl, cup
supa
SUPA
description
horizontal surface; thing to put objects on
sitelen
SITELEN
description
image, picture, writing, symbol
Actions & qualities
Words related to actions, states, and characteristics
alasa
ALASA
description
to hunt, to forage
ante
ANTE
description
different, other, changed
awen
AWEN
description
enduring, kept, protected; to continue
ike
IKE
description
bad, negative; irrelevant
jaki
JAKI
description
disgusting, unclean, toxic
jo
JO
description
to have, carry, contain, hold
kalama
KALAMA
description
sound; to make a sound, utter
ken
KEN
description
to be able to, can, may; possible
kepeken
KEPEKEN
description
to use; with, by means of
kipisi
KIPISI
description
to cut, to divide; part, division
lawa
LAWA
description
head, mind; ruler; to lead, to regulate
lili
LILI
description
small, little; few, a bit; young
lukin
LUKIN
description
to see, look at, examine
moli
MOLI
description
dead, dying
monsuta
MONSUTA
description
fear; monster; scary thing
musi
MUSI
description
entertaining, fun, recreational; play
namako
NAMAKO
description
spice, garnish; additional, extra
nasa
NASA
description
strange, unusual; foolish, silly
olin
OLIN
description
to love, to respect
pakala
PAKALA
description
broken, damaged; to mess up
pali
PALI
description
to do, to work on; make, create
pana
PANA
description
to give, to emit, to send
pona
PONA
description
good, useful, simple, positive; to fix, improve
sama
SAMA
description
similar, same; as, equal
seli
SELI
description
fire; heat source
selo
SELO
description
outer form, outmost layer; skin, peel, shell
sin
SIN
description
new, fresh; another, additional
sona
SONA
description
to know; wisdom, knowledge, information
suli
SULI
description
big, heavy, large, important
suwi
SUWI
description
sweet; cute, adorable
tan
TAN
description
from, by, because of
tawa
TAWA
description
going to; for; moving; toward
toki
TOKI
description
to say, speak; language
utala
UTALA
description
to battle, fight; challenge
wawa
WAWA
description
strong, powerful; confident, energetic
weka
WEKA
description
absent, away; removed
wile
WILE
description
must, need, want
Colors
Words related to colors and hues
jelo
JELO
description
yellow, yellowish
kule
KULE
description
color, colorful
laso
LASO
description
blue, green
loje
LOJE
description
red, reddish
pimeja
PIMEJA
description
black, dark, unlit
walo
WALO
description
white; light-colored, pale
Book & dictionary words
Words specifically related to the Toki Pona book and dictionary
ku
KU
description
to interact with the Toki Pona Dictionary (ku)
pu
PU
description
interacting with “Toki Pona: The Language of Good”
marked words are used by less than 90% of speakers
Grammar and Sentence Structure
Basic sentences
Subject and predicate connected by li
Every Toki Pona sentence follows the pattern [subject] li [predicate]. The predicate can express an action, a state, or an identity. There is no separate word for "to be." li simply separates the subject from what it does or is.
Exception: when the subject is exactly mi (I) or sina (you) alone, li is dropped. With a compound subject like mi en sina, li is required.
mi moku
mi moku
I eat. / I am eating.
sina pona
sina pona
You are good. / You are well.
ona li tomo
ona li tomo
It is a house. / They are home.
ona li tawa
ona li tawa
They move. / They go.
Direct objects with e
Marking what the action is done to
e marks the direct object, the thing the verb is done to. It always comes after the predicate. Without e, a second word after the verb becomes a modifier of the verb, not an object. The difference matters: mi moku kili means "I eat in a fruit-like way," while mi moku e kili means "I eat fruit."
You can chain multiple objects by repeating e.
mi moku e kili
mi moku e kili
I eat fruit.
sina lukin e sitelen
sina lukin e sitelen
You look at the picture.
mi moku e kili e telo
mi moku e kili e telo
I eat fruit and drink water.
ona li pana e moku tawa mi
ona li pana e moku tawa mi
They give food to me.
Modifiers
How words describe and narrow each other
In Toki Pona, most words have no fixed part of speech. The same word can be a noun, verb, adjective, or adverb. Its role is determined by position. Modifiers always come after the word they describe, which is the opposite of English.
When modifiers stack, each one narrows the entire phrase before it. So jan pona mute = [jan pona] mute = many [good people], not "good [many-person]."
tomo telo
tomo telo
bathroom: water-house (tomo + telo)
jan pona
jan pona
friend: a good person
jan pona mute
jan pona mute
many friends
mi moku mute
mi moku mute
I eat a lot. (mute modifies the verb)
Rebracketing with pi
Grouping multi-word modifiers
Without pi, every modifier applies directly to the head noun one by one. pi creates a grouped modifier where everything after pi (up to the next pi or end of phrase) acts as a single unit modifying the head.
Think of it as adding parentheses: tomo [telo nasa] vs [tomo telo] nasa. Use pi when you need two or more words to describe a concept together. pi must always be followed by at least two words, never just one.
tomo telo nasa
tomo telo nasa
crazy bathroom (crazy + water-house)
tomo pi telo nasa
tomo pi telo nasa
house of crazy water, a bar
jan pi toki pona
jan pi toki pona
Toki Pona speaker (person of Toki Pona)
jan lawa pi ma tomo
jan lawa pi ma tomo
city leader (head-person of city-land)
Prepositions
Location, direction, origin, and means
Prepositional phrases follow the predicate (or the e-phrase). There are five core prepositions. Importantly, these same words are also ordinary content words. lon as a verb means "to exist" or "to be present," tawa means "to go" or "movement." They become prepositions by position, not by being a special class of word.
- lon at / in / on: location, time, or existence
- tawa to / for / towards: direction or recipient
- tan from / because of: origin or cause
- kepeken using / with: instrument or means
- sama like / as / similar to: comparison
mi lon tomo
mi lon tomo
I am in the house.
mi tawa tomo
mi tawa tomo
I go to the house.
mi pali kepeken ilo
mi pali kepeken ilo
I work using a tool.
mi pona tan ni
mi pona tan ni
I am well because of this.
Numbers
Additive counting with five number words
Toki Pona has five number words. They follow the noun they count and can be stacked additively to express larger values. Many speakers treat numbers loosely. The word mute often means "several" or "a lot" rather than exactly twenty, and exact counting is generally avoided in favor of vaguer quantities.
- wan one (also: united, single)
- tu two (also: split, divided)
- luka five (also: hand, arm)
- mute many / twenty (also: very, a lot)
- ale all / one hundred (also: everything, infinite)
jan tu
jan tu
two people
kili luka tu wan
kili luka tu wan
eight fruits (5 + 2 + 1)
ale li pona
ale li pona
Everything is good.
soweli mute li lon
soweli mute li lon
There are many animals.
Context clauses with la
Setting time, conditions, and topics
la sets up a context for the sentence that follows it. The structure is [context] la [main sentence], read as "in the context of X, Y." The context before la can be a noun phrase (expressing time or topic) or a full sentence (expressing a condition or cause).
Three common uses: temporal (at time X), conditional (if X then Y), and topical (regarding X, as for X).
tenpo pimeja la mi lape
tenpo pimeja la mi lape
At night, I sleep. (temporal)
sina moku la mi pona
sina moku la mi pona
If you eat, I am happy. (conditional)
mi la ni li pona
mi la ni li pona
In my opinion, this is good. (topical)
ona la mi sona ala
ona la mi sona ala
As for them, I don't know. (topical)
Questions
seme for content questions, X ala X for yes or no
seme is a placeholder word that stands in for whatever you're asking about. Put it in the slot of the unknown: in subject position to ask "who/what," after e to ask "what (object)," after a preposition to ask "where/when/how."
For yes/no questions, use the X ala X pattern: repeat the main verb with ala between the two copies. Answer by saying the verb alone (yes) or the verb + ala (no).
sina moku e seme
sina moku e seme?
What are you eating?
seme li lon
seme li lon?
What is here? / What exists?
sina lon seme
sina lon seme?
Where are you? (lon + seme = where)
sina moku ala moku
sina moku ala moku?
Do you eat? → "moku" (yes) / "moku ala" (no)
Negation with ala
Placing negation directly after the word it negates
ala immediately follows the word it negates. It can negate a verb ("don't do"), an adjective ("not good"), or even a noun ("no house"). As a standalone word, ala means "nothing," "none," or "zero."
Place ala right after the specific word you want to negate. Position changes the meaning. mi moku ala (I don't eat) is different from mi ala li moku (it is not I who eats).
mi moku ala
mi moku ala
I don't eat.
ona li pona ala
ona li pona ala
They are not good.
mi tawa ala tomo
mi tawa ala tomo
I don't go to the house.
jan ala li lon
jan ala li lon
Nobody is here. (no person exists)
Commands and wishes with o
Imperatives, direct address, and expressing wishes
o has two related uses. As an imperative, it comes before a verb to make a command or express a wish ("let there be," "may X happen"). As a vocative, it follows a noun to address someone, like a comma after a name.
Combine both: [addressee] o [command]. When the subject is mi, o expresses "I should" or "I want to."
o moku
o moku!
Eat! (command)
jan pona o moku
jan pona o moku!
Hey friend, eat! (vocative + command)
sina o tawa
sina o tawa
You should go. / Please go.
mi o lape
mi o lape
I should sleep. / I want to sleep.
Proper names
Adapting foreign names to Toki Pona sounds
Toki Pona has no built-in words for specific people, places, or languages. Instead, you use a head noun followed by a capitalized name. The name is phonetically adapted to fit Toki Pona's sound system: syllables are consonant + vowel (CV), and only the sounds m, n, p, t, k, s, w, l, j and vowels a, e, i, o, u are used.
Common head nouns: jan (person), ma (land/country), toki (language), ma tomo (city).
jan Sonja
jan Sonja
person Sonja, creator of Toki Pona
ma Kanata
ma Kanata
land Canada (Kanata)
toki Inli
toki Inli
language English (Inli)
ma tomo Lantan
ma tomo Lantan
city London (Lantan)
Multiple subjects and predicates
Joining with en, repeating li, and chaining e
en joins multiple subjects into one compound subject. When the subject is compound, li is always required, even if one part is mi or sina.
To give a subject multiple predicates, repeat li for each one. To give a verb multiple objects, repeat e. These can be combined freely.
mi en sina li moku
mi en sina li moku
You and I eat. (li required for compound subject)
ona li moku li lape
ona li moku li lape
They eat and sleep. (two predicates)
mi pona e tomo li pana e moku
mi pona e tomo li pana e moku
I fix the house and give food.
mi moku e kili e telo
mi moku e kili e telo
I eat fruit and drink water. (two objects)
Writing Tool
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