Toki Pona1. What is for
Toki Pona — the autonym means 'good language' or 'simple language' — is a constructed language of the philosophical or minimalist type. Unlike Esperanto or Interslavic, it was not designed as an international auxiliary language for broad practical communication. Its stated aim is to simplify thought and push attention toward the basic elements of experience.1
It is catalogued by Glottolog under toki1239 and holds ISO 639-3 code tok, adopted on 20 January 2022. The IETF/BCP-47 subtag tok follows the ISO assignment, so text can be marked lang="tok" for language detection, hyphenation and speech synthesis.231
That ISO code matters more than it might appear. It marks the point at which Toki Pona stopped being a private art project and became infrastructure other software has to accommodate — a rare trajectory for a con-lang designed around deliberate expressive limitation.
2. Sound system: fourteen phonemes
The inventory is deliberately tiny — nine consonants and five vowels — chosen for compatibility with the majority of the world's languages.41
| Labial | Coronal | Dorsal | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nasal | m | n | |
| Stop | p | t | k |
| Fricative | s | ||
| Approximant | w | l | j |
In IPA: /p t k s m n l j w/. The five vowels /a e i o u/ sit in the familiar i–u (close), e–o (mid), a () arrangement, with values close to Spanish, Modern Greek or Modern Hebrew.1
Syllable shape is (C)V(N) — an optional onset, a vowel, an optional final nasal. The first syllable of a word may drop its onset; later syllables require one.1
3. Grammar: isolating, uninflected, head-initial
There is no declension and no conjugation. Number, tense, mood and voice are carried by context or by extra words, never by morphology. Word order is subject–verb–object, and phrases are head-initial: a noun or verb is followed by its modifiers.1
Words split into grammatical particles and content words. Content words have no fixed part of speech — the same word does different jobs by position. is 'to eat' in verb position (after li), 'food' in noun position, and roughly 'edible' as a modifier.1
The core particles
| Particle | Function |
|---|---|
| li | introduces the predicate — omitted when the subject is mi 'I/we' or 'you' |
| e | introduces the direct object; repeating li / e adds further predicates or objects |
| pi | regroups modifiers so that what follows modifies as a unit |
| la | attaches a preceding context phrase or clause before the subject |
| o | marks the vocative and forms commands or wishes; in commands sina may be dropped |
Source for all five: the encyclopedic synthesis with its cited academic sources.1
pi is the one that trips people
Compare 'many good people' with pi pona mute 'a very good person'.1 In the second, pi bundles ('much goodness') into a single unit modifying jan. Without pi, each modifier attaches to the head independently. This is where most beginner errors live, and it is worth over-practising.
4. Modifier chains do the work of a lexicon
With a very small word stock, Toki Pona leans hard on stacking modifiers after the head. jan 'person' + 'fight' gives 'fighter, soldier, warrior'.1
Order carries meaning: is a 'fighting animal', while utala is an 'animal war'.1 Nouns do not mark number — jan covers 'person, people, humanity, somebody' — and , tu, mute specify singular, dual and plural when it matters.1
5. Attested core vocabulary
| Word | Attested gloss |
|---|---|
| language; to talk; hello (interjection) | |
| good; simple; to fix | |
| person, people, humanity, somebody | |
| to eat (verb); food (noun); edible (modifier) | |
| water, liquid | |
| cold | |
| fight, fighting | |
| animal, especially a land mammal | |
| no, not, zero | |
| many, much, plural marker | |
| one | |
| tu | two |
Glosses as attested in the reviewed sources.15
What is the difference between jan pona mute and jan pi pona mute?
Show answer
jan pona mute = 'many good people' — and mute each modify jan separately. jan pi pona mute = 'a very good person' — pi groups pona mute into one unit ('much goodness') modifying jan.
Why does mi moku need no li, while jan moku does?
Show answer
li introduces the predicate but is omitted when the subject is mi or . So mi moku 'I eat' takes no li, whereas a third-person subject requires it: jan li moku 'the person eats'.
soweli utala and utala soweli use the same two words. Why do they mean different things?
Show answer
Toki Pona is head-initial: the first word is the head and what follows modifies it. soweli utala is an animal (head) that fights; utala soweli is a war (head) that is animal-related.
6. Numbers
Toki Pona counts with a handful of number words and builds every other value by adding them together. The bricks are 0, wan 1, tu 2, 5 (literally 'hand'), mute 20 and (also ali) 100 - which also means 'all'.7
| Value | How it is built | |
|---|---|---|
| 0 | - | |
| 1 | - | |
| 2 | tu | - |
| 3 | tu wan | 2 + 1 |
| 4 | tu tu | 2 + 2 |
| 5 | 'hand' | |
| 7 | luka tu | 5 + 2 |
| 9 | luka tu tu | 5 + 2 + 2 |
| 10 | luka luka | 5 + 5 |
| 20 | - | |
| 50 | mute mute luka luka | 20 + 20 + 5 + 5 |
| 100 | - |
Everything is pure addition - there is no multiplication shortcut, so larger numbers get long fast. For ordinals, turns a count into a rank: jan pi wan 'the first person', pi tu 'the second house'.7 In everyday use most speakers stay vague - wan, tu, mute often just mean 'one', 'a couple' and 'many' - because precise counting is rarely the point of the language.6
7. Building real sentences
With the five particles from §3 you can already say a great deal. A statement is subject + li + predicate, and li disappears after mi and : mi 'I eat', 'you are good', but li 'the person eats'. Add an object with e: mi e 'I eat fruit'. Stack predicates by repeating li ( li li 'it is big and good') and stack objects by repeating e (mi e e 'I eat fruit and bread').
A context phrase is set off with la: la mi 'at night, I sleep'. Questions come in three shapes — the -verb- frame ( moku? 'do you want to eat?'), the question word (? 'what is this?', ? 'who?'), and a rising a for confirmation. Commands and wishes use o: o ! 'come!', o ! 'enjoy your meal!'.
8. Preverbs: wanting, being able, becoming
A preverb is a content word placed before the main verb to colour it - expressing desire, ability, or a change of state. The main ones are 'want/need', 'can, be able', kama 'become, come to', 'keep, continue', 'know how to' and (or ) 'try to'.8
| Preverb | Sense | Example |
|---|---|---|
| want / need to | mi wile - I want to eat | |
| can / be able to | ken kama - you can come | |
| become / come to | li kama - it becomes big | |
| keep / continue to | mi awen - I keep sleeping | |
| know how to | mi sona - I know how to speak | |
| / alasa | try to | mi lukin kama - I try to come |
The preverb takes the li (when needed) and the following verb stays bare. Negate a preverb with ala just like any other word: mi wile ala moku 'I don't want to eat'.8
9. Prepositions: where, with what, from where
Five content words double as prepositions, introducing a location, instrument, direction, cause or comparison. A prepositional phrase comes after the direct object, or straight after the verb when there is none, and can even stand alone as the whole predicate.6
| Preposition | Sense | Example |
|---|---|---|
| in / at / on; to exist | mi lon - I am in the house | |
| to / toward; for | ma - I go to the land | |
| from; because of | mi tan tomo - I come from home | |
| using / with | mi kepeken - I eat using a tool | |
| like / same as | li sama mi - they are like me |
Several of these also work as ordinary content words: is 'moving', is 'same', and as a verb means 'to be present, to exist, to be true'.6
10. Saying no, and saying when
There is no negative verb form and no tense. To negate, put ala after the word being denied: mi moku ala 'I don't eat', ona li pona ala 'it isn't good'.6 To answer 'yes' or 'no', speakers echo the verb - moku! 'yes (eat)', moku ala 'no'.
Time is shown by context, never by the verb. A la-phrase sets the frame: la 'in the past', la 'right now', la 'in the future'. The verb itself never changes - mi moku can be 'I eat', 'I ate' or 'I will eat' depending on that frame.6 The preverbs kama and awen add aspect: kama for onset ('come to'), awen for continuation ('keep on').
Reader A1 — mi en mi (Me and my animal)
A first-day-of-learning reader: only the simplest predicates, one clause at a time. Read the Toki Pona column aloud, then check the subtitle.
| English | |
|---|---|
| mi . mi lon tomo mi. | I am a person. I am in my house. |
| mi li lili li pona. | My house is small and nice. |
| li open. | The day is beginning. |
| mi e kili suwi. | I eat sweet fruit. |
| mi moku e . | I eat bread. |
| li lon poki mi. | There is water in my cup. |
| mi . | I feel good. |
| li lon tomo mi. | A small animal is in my house. |
| ni li jelo. | This animal is yellow. |
| mi e soweli ni. | I love this animal. |
| soweli li moku e telo. | The animal drinks water. |
| soweli li lon supa. | The animal sleeps on the couch. |
| la mi tawa ma kasi. | Today I go to the forest. |
| soweli mi li poka mi. | My animal goes beside me. |
| li suli. ma kasi li laso. | The forest is big. The forest is green. |
| mi e waso mute. | I see many birds. |
| li kalama. kalama li pona. | The birds make sound. The sound is good. |
| mi pilin pona . | I feel very good. |
| li lon poka mi. | A big body of water is beside me. |
| mi telo e mi. | I wash my hands. |
| telo li . | The water is cold. |
| soweli mi li tawa telo . | My animal does not go into the water. |
| li monsuta e telo. | It is afraid of the water. |
| mi tawa soweli mi. | I talk to my animal. |
| : ona li kama. | I want it to come. |
| ona li tawa mi. | It comes to me. |
| mi e moku tawa ona. | I give food to it. |
| ona li moku. ona li pilin pona. | It eats. It feels good. |
| li kama. | Night is coming. |
| li lon sewi. | The moon is in the sky. |
| mi en soweli mi li tawa tomo. | My animal and I go home. |
| tomo mi li li pona. | My house is warm and nice. |
| mi moku e . | I drink hot water (tea). |
| mi pana e moku tawa soweli mi. | I give food to my animal. |
| soweli mi li moku. ona li pilin pona. | My animal eats. It feels good. |
| mi lukin e . | I look at a book. |
| lipu li jo e mute. | The book has many pictures. |
| mi pilin pona lipu ni. | I feel good because of this book. |
| mi lape. soweli mi li lape . | I sleep. My animal sleeps too. |
| mi lape . soweli li poka mi. | I sleep on the couch. The animal is beside me. |
| la mi wile pali. | Tomorrow I want to work. |
| tenpo ni la mi lape taso. | But right now I only want to sleep. |
| tenpo suno ni li tawa mi. | This day was good for me. |
| soweli mi li pona. mi olin e ona. | My animal is good. I love it. |
| tomo mi li . taso ona li pona tawa mi. | My house is small. But it is good for me. |
| mi jo e moku. mi jo e telo. mi jo e soweli. | I have food. I have water. I have my animal. |
| mi pilin pona. mi olin e . | I feel good. I love this time. |
Practice A1: li, e and the mi/sina rule
Practice: li introduces the predicate but is dropped after mi and sina; e marks the direct object; content words take no endings.. Type the missing word — accents are optional.
- 1. . (the person eats)
Hint: third-person subject needs the predicate particle
- 2.mi moku. (I eat)
Hint: li is dropped after mi — leave it blank
- 3.mi moku . (I eat fruit)
Hint: the object marker
- 4. . (you are good)
Hint: li is dropped after sina too
- 5. . (the animal sleeps)
Hint: soweli is third person
- 6.mi mi. (I wash my hands)
Hint: luka mi is the object
- 7. . (the bird makes sound)
Hint: waso needs li
- 8. moku ___ telo. (it drinks water)
Hint: predicate particle then object particle
- 9.mi sina. (I love you)
Hint: sina is the object here
- 10. . (the child feels good)
Hint: jan lili is third person
10 questions
Grammar reference: Original teaching sentences built only from the official Toki Pona lexicon (nimi pu + nimi ku suli) and the grammar in Sonja Lang, Toki Pona: The Language of Good (2014) and the Toki Pona Dictionary (2021); cross-checked against §1-§5 of this guide.. Sentences are original to LinguaCommons.
Reader A2 — mi (My friend visits)
The same grammar, now with quoted speech ( e ni: "…"), yes/no questions, and the connective sama 'at the same time'. Notice how o works as 'goodbye'.
| English | |
|---|---|
| mi li kama tawa tomo mi. | My friend comes to my house. |
| li e ni: "toki! sina pilin seme?" | They say: "Hi! How do you feel?" |
| mi toki e ni: "mi . sina pona anu ike?" | I say: "I feel good. Are you well or not?" |
| ona li pilin pona . | They feel good too. |
| mi e moku tawa jan pona mi. | I want to give food to my friend. |
| mi toki e ni: " moku?" | I say: "Do you want to eat?" |
| ona li toki e ni: "wile. mi wile e ." | They say: "Yes. I want to eat fruit." |
| mi pana e tawa ona. | I give red fruit to them. |
| ona li moku. ona li toki e ni: "! ni li suwi." | They eat and say: "Thank you! This is sweet." |
| mi tu li moku tenpo . | The two of us eat at the same time. |
| ona li wile e ma mi. | They want to know about my land. |
| mi toki e ni: "ma mi li . ona li jo e ." | I say: "My land is big. It has many plants." |
| mi tu li ma kasi lon tenpo suno. | The two of us go to the forest during the day. |
| jan pona mi li e kasi suli. | My friend looks at a big plant (tree). |
| ona li toki e ni: "kasi ni li !" | They say: "This plant is awesome!" |
| mi toki e ni: "lon. mi e ma ni." | I say: "True. I love this place." |
| laso li lon kasi. | A blue bird is in the tree. |
| waso li . | The bird sings (makes fun sound). |
| jan pona mi li pilin pona waso. | My friend feels good because of the bird-sound. |
| li tawa. suno li tawa anpa. | Time passes. The sun goes down. |
| mi toki e ni: " li kama. o tawa pona." | I say: "Night is coming. Goodbye (travel well)." |
| jan pona mi li toki e ni: " tomo mi." | My friend says: "Thanks! I'm going to my house." |
| ona li tawa . | They go away. |
| mi tawa mi. mi pilin pona tan tenpo ni. | I go to my house. I feel good because of this time. |
| mi e poki moku. | I wash the food-bowls (dishes). |
| mi lukin e . | I watch a movie. |
| sitelen tawa li . mi musi. | The movie is fun. I feel amused. |
| tenpo pimeja la li lon . | At night the moon is in the sky. |
| mi lukin e mun. mun li . | I look at the moon. The moon shines faintly. |
| mi pilin pona. mi pilin kalama . | I feel good. I feel quiet (no noise). |
| tenpo pimeja la mi . | At night I sleep well. |
| mi . mi jo e sona pona lon . | I sleep. I have good dreams (good knowledge in sleep). |
| la mi wile lukin e jan pona mi. | Tomorrow I want to see my friend. |
| mi wile toki mute tawa ona. | I want to talk a lot to them. |
| jan pona li lon sijelo mi. | A friend is a good thing in my life. |
Practice A2: questions, la and modifier order
Practice: seme asks 'what/which'; the ala-verb-ala frame makes yes/no questions; la attaches a context phrase; modifiers follow the head.. Type the missing word — accents are optional.
- 1. wile ? (do you want to eat?)
Hint: verb + ___ + verb makes a yes/no question
- 2.ni li ? (what is this?)
Hint: the question word for 'what'
- 3. li ? (who is coming?)
Hint: jan + question word = 'which person'
- 4. ma. (today I go outside)
Hint: the context-phrase particle
- 5. = a good . (person)
Hint: the head noun comes first; pona modifies it
- 6. = kitchen/eating place. (food)
Hint: modifier for 'food'
- 7.sina ? (how do you feel?)
Hint: 'feel what?' = how do you feel
- 8. li . (the red fruit is sweet)
Hint: colour word modifying kili
- 9.mi wile ni: li kama. (I want it to come)
Hint: e marks the whole ni-clause as object
- 10.ona li . (they go away)
Hint: the word for 'away/absent'
10 questions
Grammar reference: Original teaching sentences built only from the official Toki Pona lexicon (nimi pu + nimi ku suli) and the grammar in Sonja Lang, Toki Pona: The Language of Good (2014) and the Toki Pona Dictionary (2021); cross-checked against §1-§5 of this guide.. Sentences are original to LinguaCommons.
11. Culture, community and media
Toki Pona is unusual among constructed languages for having a lively culture. It was created by Sonja (Sonja Lang) and first shared online in 2001, with the canonical book Toki Pona: The Language of Good published in 2014 and the Toki Pona Dictionary in 2021. The community calls itself the ma pi toki pona 'the good land of Toki Pona' and gathers on Discord, forums and social media, mostly writing — fittingly — in Toki Pona.
There are two writing systems beyond the Latin alphabet: , a logographic script where each word has its own glyph, and , an elaborate Mesoamerican-inspired script by Jonathan Gabel. Music, poetry and even video games exist in the language, and there is a small-press magazine, , written entirely in Toki Pona.
Learning and reading material
- Toki Pona: The Language of Good (2014) — Sonja LangCore — The canonical 'pu' book: the 120 official words and the grammar. The single most important reference.
- Toki Pona Dictionary (2021) — Sonja LangCore — The 'ku' dictionary: community usage ratings that define the nimi ku suli set used in this guide's deck.
- o kama sona e toki pona! (jan Misali) — video courseBeginner — A widely used free 12-part video course introducing the whole language.
- lipu tenpo — magazine written in Toki PonaIntermediate — Short essays, fiction and comics entirely in Toki Pona — real reading practice.
- lipu Wikipesija — the Toki Pona wiki/encyclopediaIntermediate — A community encyclopedia written in Toki Pona; good graded reading.
- nasin sitelen pona — the logographic scriptReference — The one-glyph-per-word writing system used across the community.
Reader B1 — (The stars)
A longer, connected narrative using pi (jan pi ), for cause, + verb for 'keep doing', and reported speech across several turns. This is roughly the level of everyday community writing.
| English | |
|---|---|
| li lon ma tomo suli. | A child lives in a big city. |
| li jo e jan mute. li tawa mute nasin. | The city has many people. People move a lot on the roads. |
| jan lili ni li e ijo mute. | This child wants to know many things. |
| li e ni ona: "seme li lon sewi lon tenpo pimeja?" | They say to their parent: "What is in the sky at night?" |
| mama li toki e ni: " li lon . lili li suno." | The parent says: "The moon is in the sky. Many little moons (stars) shine." |
| jan lili li wile e mun. ma tomo li mute. | The child wants to see the stars. But the city is very bright. |
| ni la ona li lukin e mun taso. | Because of this, they can see only few stars. |
| mama li toki e ni: "o . mi tu li tawa ma pi jan ." | The parent says: "Come. The two of us will go to a place with no people." |
| mi tu li kama tawa lon tenpo pimeja. | The two of them come to the forest at night. |
| ma ni li mute. suno ala li lon. | This place is very dark. There is no light. |
| jan lili li lukin e sewi. ona li lukin e mun ! | The child looks at the sky. They see so many stars! |
| ona li toki e ni: "ni li ! ni li pona mute!" | They say: "This is huge! This is wonderful!" |
| mama li toki e ni: "lon. sewi li suli. mi lili lon sewi." | The parent says: "True. The sky is vast. We are small beneath it." |
| jan lili li e ni: sewi li suli. taso ona li ala. | The child feels that the sky is vast, but they are not afraid. |
| ona li . ona li pilin olin tawa ma ale. | They feel good. They feel love toward the whole world. |
| jan lili li toki e ni: "mi wile sona e mun ." | The child says: "I want to know all the stars." |
| mama li toki e ni: " ken. o kama sona lon ." | The parent says: "You can. Keep learning over much time." |
| " pi tenpo pini li lukin e mun sina." | "Many people of the past looked at the stars like you." |
| "ona li e sona tawa . sina jan sin ni." | "They gave knowledge to new people. You are that new person." |
| jan lili li e mama. ona li lukin e mun. | The child listens to the parent. They keep watching the stars. |
| li tawa. jan lili li kama lon noka mama. | Time passes. The child falls asleep at the parent's feet. |
| mama li tawa e jan lili tawa . | The parent carries the child home. |
| la jan lili li toki e mun tawa jan pona ona. | The next day the child talks about the stars to their friends. |
| ona li toki mute. ona li wile e ni: li lukin e mun. | They talk a lot. They want everyone to see the stars. |
| tan ni la jan lili li kama jan pi sona sewi. | Because of that night, the child becomes a person of cosmic knowledge. |
| ona li awen e sewi lon tenpo ale. | They keep loving the sky for all time. |
Practice B1: pi, o and connected discourse
Practice: pi regroups a multi-word modifier; o marks commands and the vocative; tan gives cause; awen + verb expresses 'keep doing'.. Type the missing word — accents are optional.
- 1. = a very good person. (regrouper)
Hint: bundles 'pona mute' into one modifier of jan
- 2.jan pi = an expert (person of much knowledge). (much)
Hint: 'sona mute' = much knowledge, grouped by pi
- 3. ! (come!)
Hint: the command / vocative particle
- 4. ! (goodbye — travel well!)
Hint: wishes use the same particle as commands
- 5.mi . (because of this time)
Hint: the cause / origin word
- 6. li e . (they keep watching the stars)
Hint: awen + verb = 'continue to…'
- 7.jan pi li lukin e mun. (people of the past)
Hint: tenpo pini = finished time = the past
- 8. li e tomo. (carries/moves the child home)
Hint: as a verb this word means 'move (something)'
- 9.ma = the whole world. (all)
Hint: the word for 'all / everything'
- 10.o kama tenpo mute. (keep learning over much time)
Hint: kama sona = 'come to know' = to learn
10 questions
Grammar reference: Original teaching sentences built only from the official Toki Pona lexicon (nimi pu + nimi ku suli) and the grammar in Sonja Lang, Toki Pona: The Language of Good (2014) and the Toki Pona Dictionary (2021); cross-checked against §1-§5 of this guide.. Sentences are original to LinguaCommons.
12. Advanced phrasing: pi, ni-clauses and names
Longer thoughts are built by nesting the same few tools. pi regroups any multi-word modifier and can even stack: pi pi 'a group of people of cosmic knowledge'. A subject or object can itself be a whole clause introduced by ni: : 'I want you to come' (literally 'I want this: you come').6
Proper names are handled two ways. Most are '-ponised' - reshaped to fit the nine-consonant sound system and used as a modifier after a head noun that says what kind of name it is: ma Kanata 'Canada', jan Manko 'Mark', Inli 'English'. The head noun (ma 'country', jan 'person', 'language') is never dropped.6
13. The full word list
's whole point is its tiny vocabulary. The core set fixed by the 2014 book - the pu - is about 120 words, listed in full below with concise glosses. Everything else in the language is made by combining these.56
| Word | Meaning |
|---|---|
| a | (interjection) ah, oh, ha, um; (particle) emphasis or emotion |
| reptile, amphibian, scaly or crawling creature | |
| no, not, nothing, zero; (particle) negates; forms yes/no questions | |
| hunt, forage, gather, search; (preverb) try to | |
| / ali | all, everything, universe; (number) 100 |
| bottom, underside, below; humble, defeated, lowly | |
| different, other; change, alter; difference | |
| (particle) or - separates alternatives | |
| stay, remain, wait, keep safe; (preverb) continue to | |
| e | (particle) marks the direct object |
| en | (particle) joins multiple subjects |
| trade, buy, sell, exchange; market, shop | |
| thing, object, entity, matter, phenomenon | |
| bad, negative, harmful, unpleasant, complex | |
| tool, machine, device, implement | |
| inside, centre, middle; internal organs | |
| dirty, gross, unclean, toxic, disgusting | |
| human being, person, somebody | |
| yellow, golden, yellowish | |
| jo | have, hold, carry, possess, contain |
| fish, marine animal, swimming creature | |
| sound, noise; make sound - sing, shout, beep | |
| come, arrive, future; (preverb) become, manage to | |
| plant, vegetation, herb, leaf, tree | |
| can, may, be able; possibility; (preverb) to be able to | |
| (preposition) using, by means of | |
| fruit, vegetable, mushroom | |
| hard solid object - stone, metal, wood | |
| ko | semi-solid - paste, powder, clay, goo; squishy |
| air, breath, wind; spirit, essence, unseen presence | |
| colour, pigment; colourful; category, flavour | |
| group, community, society, nation, team | |
| ear; hear, listen, pay attention, obey | |
| la | (particle) marks a context phrase before the main clause |
| sleep, rest, take a break | |
| blue, green, cyan, turquoise | |
| head, mind; control, lead, guide; law, government | |
| cloth, clothing, fabric; hidden, covered | |
| cold, cool; raw, uncooked | |
| li | (particle) between subject and verb (dropped after mi / ) |
| small, little, few, young; a bit | |
| long flexible thing - string, rope, hair, cord | |
| flat object - paper, page, book, card, document | |
| red, reddish | |
| (preposition) at, in, on; to exist, be present, be true | |
| hand, arm; (number) five | |
| eye; look, see, watch, read; (preverb) try to | |
| hole, opening, door, window, orifice | |
| ma | land, earth, country, region; outdoors |
| parent, ancestor, caretaker; origin, creator | |
| money, currency; large domesticated animal (cattle) | |
| woman, female, feminine; wife | |
| mi | I, me, we, us |
| man, male, masculine; husband | |
| food; to eat, drink, consume | |
| death; dead, dying; to kill | |
| back, rear, behind, backside | |
| mu | (animal noise) any nonsense or animal sound |
| moon, star, night-sky object; glowing thing | |
| fun, play, amusement, art, game; entertaining | |
| many, much, very; (number) twenty; amount | |
| number; (ordinal marker) -th | |
| strange, unusual, silly, foolish; intoxicated | |
| way, path, road, method, doctrine, custom | |
| bump, hill, mountain, protrusion; nose; button | |
| ni | this, that |
| word, name | |
| leg, foot; lower part, bottom | |
| o | (particle) vocative, command, or wish |
| love, affection, respect, compassion | |
| he, she, it, they | |
| open, begin, start; turn on | |
| mistake, breakage, damage; (interjection) damn! | |
| do, make, work, build; activity | |
| long hard thing - rod, stick, branch | |
| grain; bread, rice, pasta, cereal | |
| give, send, emit, provide, release | |
| heart; feeling, emotion; to feel, touch | |
| dark, black, unlit; shadow | |
| end, finish; past, completed; ago | |
| bug, insect, spider, ant | |
| side, hip; next to, near, vicinity | |
| container - box, bowl, cup, bag, drawer | |
| good, positive, useful, simple, friendly; to fix | |
| pu | interacting with the official book : The Language of Good (2014) |
| same, similar; sibling, peer; (preposition) like, as | |
| fire; heat, warmth; to cook; chemical reaction | |
| outer form - skin, shell, bark, boundary | |
| what, which (question word) | |
| high, up, above; sky; divine, sacred, awe-inspiring | |
| body, physical state; torso | |
| circle, ball, wheel, round thing; cycle, year | |
| new, fresh; another, additional; to renew | |
| sina | you |
| front, face; vertical surface, wall | |
| image, picture, symbol, writing; to draw, write | |
| knowledge; to know; (preverb) know how to | |
| animal, especially a land mammal | |
| big, large, tall, long; important; adult | |
| sun, light, brightness; to shine; day | |
| horizontal surface - table, chair, bed, floor | |
| sweet, fragrant; cute, adorable | |
| (preposition) from, because of; cause, origin, reason | |
| only, just; but, however | |
| (preposition) to, toward; for; to move, go | |
| water, liquid, fluid; to wash, clean | |
| time, duration, moment, occasion, period | |
| talk, speak, language, message; (interjection) hello | |
| room, house, building, indoor space; home | |
| tu | two; (number) 2; to divide, split |
| sex, sexual activity; to mate | |
| mouth, lips, oral cavity | |
| fight, battle, conflict, struggle; to attack, compete | |
| white, pale, light-coloured | |
| one; (number) 1; unit; to unite, combine | |
| bird, flying creature, winged animal | |
| power, strength, energy; strong, intense, confident | |
| away, absent, far; to remove, get rid of | |
| want, need, wish; (preverb) want to, must |
nimi ku - the common additions
The 2021 Toki Pona Dictionary (ku) surveyed real usage and recorded words beyond the book; the most widely used of these are the nimi ku suli. They are common enough that you will meet them quickly.9
| Word | Meaning |
|---|---|
| (particle) also, too, as well, additionally | |
| to cut, split, slice; piece, part; sharp | |
| square, cube, block; stairs, blocky object | |
| fear; monster, threat; scary, frightening | |
| medicine, cure, remedy; to heal | |
| non-binary or gender-nonconforming person | |
| to reflect, echo; mirror, opposite | |
| mushroom, fungus | |
| raccoon or any procyonid / musteloid (a famously playful word) | |
| medium, middle, average; neither extreme | |
| epic, awesome, amazing, cool | |
| to speak a non-- language where Toki Pona would be expected | |
| to take, seize, grab, steal | |
| n | (interjection/particle) hmm, umm - hesitation or thought |
| extra, additional, spice; to embellish | |
| eye (variant of as the noun 'eye') | |
| ku | interacting with the Dictionary (2021) |
Beyond these, Linku tracks a long tail of rarer words (nimi ku and experimental 'sandbox' words) by how often the community actually uses them. They are best learned by reading, not memorised - the living edge of a deliberately small language.9
Practice B2: numbers and ordinals
Practice: Numbers are additive from ala/wan/tu/luka/mute/ale; nanpa turns a number into an ordinal rank.. Type the missing word — accents are optional.
- 1.3 = tu . (2 + 1)
Hint: 2 + 1
- 2.5 = . ('hand')
Hint: the word literally meaning 'hand'
- 3.7 = luka . (5 + 2)
Hint: 5 + 2
- 4.10 = luka . (5 + 5)
Hint: 5 + 5
- 5.20 = . (one word)
Hint: also means 'many'
- 6.100 = . (also 'all')
Hint: the word that also means 'everything'
- 7.0 = . (also 'not')
Hint: the negation word
- 8.'the first person' = pi .
Hint: nanpa + 1
- 9.'the second house' = pi nanpa .
Hint: nanpa + 2
- 10.The marker that makes an ordinal ('-th') is .
Hint: 'number'
10 questions
Grammar reference: Built from the additive number system and nanpa ordinals on sona pona (the community wiki) and the pu book; cross-checked against the Numbers section of this guide.. Sentences are original to LinguaCommons.
Practice B2: preverbs and prepositions
Practice: Preverbs (wile, ken, kama, awen, sona) sit before the verb; prepositions (lon, tawa, tan, kepeken, sama) introduce place, direction, cause, instrument and comparison.. Type the missing word — accents are optional.
- 1.mi . (I want to eat)
Hint: the preverb 'want'
- 2. . (you can come)
Hint: the preverb 'be able'
- 3. li . (it becomes big)
Hint: the preverb 'become'
- 4.mi . (I keep sleeping)
Hint: the preverb 'continue'
- 5.mi moku . (I eat using a tool)
Hint: the preposition 'using'
- 6.mi . (I am in the house)
Hint: the preposition 'at/in'
- 7.'to the land' (direction) = ma.
Hint: the preposition 'to/toward'
- 8.mi kama tomo. (I come from home)
Hint: the preposition 'from / because of'
- 9.ona li mi. (they are like me)
Hint: the preposition 'like / same as'
- 10.mi wile moku. (I do NOT want to eat)
Hint: negate the preverb with this word
10 questions
Grammar reference: Built from the Preverbs and preposition pages of sona pona (the community wiki); cross-checked against the Preverbs and Prepositions sections of this guide.. Sentences are original to LinguaCommons.
Practice B2: pi, ni-clauses and names
Practice: pi regroups a multi-word modifier; ni introduces a whole clause as subject or object; proper names are toki-ponised modifiers after a head noun (ma, jan, toki).. Type the missing word — accents are optional.
- 1. = a person of cosmic knowledge. (regrouper)
Hint: bundles 'sona sewi' into one modifier
- 2. pi jan sona sewi = a group of people of cosmic knowledge.
Hint: pi can stack for nested grouping
- 3.mi e : . (I want you to come)
Hint: the word introducing the clause
- 4.'Canada' = ma . (-ponised)
Hint: reshaped to Toki Pona sounds, after ma 'country'
- 5.'English (language)' = toki .
Hint: a name after toki 'language'
- 6.The head noun before a country name is .
Hint: 'land'
- 7.The head noun before a person's name is .
Hint: 'person'
- 8.jan pi = a very knowledgeable person (person of much knowledge).
Hint: 'knowledge', grouped with mute by pi
- 9.ni li ? (what is this?)
Hint: the question word
- 10.Names are reshaped to fit 's consonants and used as modifiers.
Hint: how many consonants Toki Pona has
10 questions
Grammar reference: Built from the grammar of pi, ni-clauses and proper names on sona pona (the community wiki); cross-checked against the Advanced phrasing section of this guide.. Sentences are original to LinguaCommons.
14. Where to go next
- tokipona.org — Sonja Lang's official siteAll levels — Home of Toki Pona: The Language of Good (2014) and the Toki Pona Dictionary (2021), the canonical references
- Toki Pona — reference overviewBeginner — Orientation to phonology, particles and modifier syntax; the source for most of this page
- Glottolog: Toki Pona (toki1239)Reference — Catalogue entry
- ISO 639-3: tokReference — Code assignment of 20 January 2022 — the basis for the BCP-47 subtag
Honest limitations
This is an orientation with a full reference dictionary, not a complete course. The grammar and vocabulary follow Sonja Lang's pu book (2014) and ku dictionary (2021) together with the community wiki and the lipu Linku usage data. The word list gives the fixed nimi pu core plus the widely-used nimi ku suli; the entries from a to were taken from the live Linku dataset and the remainder from the fixed pu word set, so a few glosses are condensed rather than exhaustive. Rarer nimi ku lili and experimental sandbox words are noted but not listed here, since their usage is unstable. The example and reader sentences are constructed from attested words and attested rules for teaching, not quoted from a canonical corpus.
Notes & Bibliography
- Toki Pona as a minimalist philosophical constructed language aiming to simplify thought; the autonym 'good/simple language'; nine consonants and five vowels with IPA values and (C)V(N) syllable structure; isolating, uninflected, SVO, head-initial typology; the particles li, e, pi, la and o; the jan pona mute vs jan pi pona mute contrast; modifier chains (jan utala, soweli utala vs utala soweli); absence of number marking with wan/tu/mute; and the attested core vocabulary glosses. See “Toki Pona.” [source] ↩
- Glottolog catalogue entry for Toki Pona, Glottocode toki1239. [source] ↩
- ISO 639-3 code tok for Toki Pona, adopted 20 January 2022; basis for the IETF/BCP-47 subtag. [source] ↩
- Peer-reviewed discussion of Toki Pona's minimal phoneme inventory and its selection for cross-linguistic compatibility, in the context of communication-strategy research. [source] ↩
- Sonja Lang, Toki Pona: The Language of Good (2014) and Toki Pona Dictionary (2021) — the canonical references, reported via the reviewed sources rather than consulted directly for this page. [source] ↩
- sona pona, the official Toki Pona community wiki - prepositions (lon, tawa, tan, kepeken, sama) and their placement; negation with ala; tense and aspect expressed by context and la-phrases; ni-clauses; and toki-ponised proper names. [source] ↩
- sona pona - Numbers: the additive system built from ala, wan, tu, luka, mute and ale, and nanpa for ordinals. [source] ↩
- sona pona - Preverbs: wile, ken, kama, awen, sona and lukin/alasa placed before the main verb to mark mood and aspect. [source] ↩
- lipu Linku (usage dictionary) and the Toki Pona Dictionary (ku, 2021) by Sonja Lang - the nimi pu core set, the nimi ku suli common additions, and live community usage data. The a-leko dictionary entries in this guide were drawn from the Linku dataset. [source] ↩