Toki Pona Word Reference (pu)

a - (emotional emphasis/confirmation particle)
akesi - lizard, reptile
ala - nothing; not, no, empty; zero
alasa - hunt, gather; (pre-verb) try to
ale/ali - everything, universe; all, every; 100/infinite
anpa - downward, lowly, humble; bow down; defeat
ante - difference, change; different, other
anu - (or)
awen - stay, keep, endure, protect; (pre-verb) continue
e - (object marker)
en - (and, for subjects)
esun - trade, exchange, commercial
ijo - thing, object, matter
ike - bad, evil, complex, unnecessary
ilo - tool, machine, device
insa - inside, center, stomach; between
jaki - dirty, disgusting, toxic, waste
jan - person, people, somebody
jelo - yellow
jo - have, carry, contain, hold
kala - fish, sea creature
kalama - sound, noise; make sound, play instrument
kama - arrive, come, future; (pre-verb) become, manage to
kasi - plant, grass, herb, leaf
ken - ability, possibility; (pre-verb) can, may
kepeken - use; (prep) using, with
kili - fruit, vegetable, mushroom
kiwen - hard object, metal, stone, solid
ko - powder, clay, paste, semi-solid
kon - air, spirit, essence; invisible, ephemeral
kule - color; colorful; paint
kulupu - group, community, society, nation
kute - ear, hearing; hear, listen, obey
la - (context separator: if/when)
lape - sleep, rest
laso - blue, green
lawa - head, mind; main, controlling; lead, rule, own
len - cloth, clothes, fabric; privacy layer
lete - cold, cool, raw, uncooked
li - (predicate marker)
lili - small, few, young; shrink
linja - long flexible thing, string, rope, hair
lipu - flat object, book, document, paper, page, website
loje - red
lon - true, real, existing; (prep) in, at, on
luka - hand, arm; five
lukin - eye, vision; look, see, read; (pre-verb) seek to
lupa - hole, door, window, orifice
ma - earth, land, territory, country, outdoors
mama - parent, ancestor, creator, caretaker
mani - money; large domesticated animal
meli - woman, female, wife; feminine
mi - I, me, we, us; my, our
mije - man, male, husband; masculine
moku - food; eat, drink, swallow
moli - death, dead; kill
monsi - back, behind, rear
mu - (animal sound)
mun - moon, star, night sky object
musi - game, art; fun, entertaining; play, amuse
mute - many, more, quantity; 20/3+
nanpa - number; -th (ordinal)
nasa - weird, unusual, strange, drunk
nasin - path, road, way, method, custom
nena - hill, mountain, bump, button, nose
ni - this, that
nimi - word, name
noka - foot, leg, bottom, lower part
o - (vocative/imperative marker)
olin - love, respect, affection
ona - he, she, they, it; his, her, their, its
open - start, begin, open, turn on; (pre-verb) begin to
pakala - damage, mistake, broken; break; (curse)
pali - work, labor; make, do
palisa - long solid object, stick, branch
pan - bread, grain, corn, rice
pana - give, send, emit, release
pi - (regroups modifiers: "of")
pilin - heart, feeling; touch, think, feel
pimeja - black, dark, shadow
pini - end, finish, past; stop; (pre-verb) stop doing
pipi - insect, bug
poka - hip, side, nearby; neighboring
poki - box, container, bowl, cup
pona - good, simple, friendly; improve, fix
pu - the official toki pona book; interact with pu
sama - similar, same, sibling; (prep) like, as
seli - heat, warmth; hot, warm
selo - outer layer, shell, skin, boundary
seme - what? which? (question word)
sewi - above, top, sky, divine, sacred, god
sijelo - body, torso, physical state
sike - circle, ball, cycle, wheel; round; year
sin - new, additional, fresh, extra
sina - you, your
sinpin - face, front, wall
sitelen - symbol, image, writing; write, draw, record
sona - knowledge; know; (pre-verb) know how to
soweli - land mammal, animal
suli - big, heavy, tall, important, adult; size
suno - sun, light, brightness; bright, shine
supa - horizontal surface
suwi - sweet, cute, adorable, fragrant
tan - cause, reason, origin; (prep) from, because of
taso - but, however; only
tawa - move, movement; (prep) to, for, from perspective of
telo - water, liquid, fluid; wet; wash, clean
tenpo - time, moment, occasion
toki - speech, language; speak, talk, think
tomo - home, building, room, indoor space
tu - two; divide
unpa - sex, sexual; have sex
uta - mouth, lips; oral
utala - fight, battle, war; aggressive; challenge
walo - white, light/bright
wan - one; unite, marry
waso - bird, flying creature
wawa - strong, powerful, energetic; strength, energy
weka - absent, away, remote; remove
wile - want, need, desire; (pre-verb) want to

Toki Pona Grammar Reference

Sentence Structure

li separates subject from verb/adjective:

soweli li moku. = The cat is eating.
jan li lape. = The person is sleeping.

If subject is mi or sina alone, omit li:

mi moku. = I eat.
sina pona. = You are good.

There is no verb "to be" — the part after li can be noun or adjective:

kili li moku. = Fruits are food.
telo li pona. = Water is good.

Direct Objects

e separates verb from direct object:

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

Modifiers

Words are modified by appending other words:

jan lili = small human = child
tomo mi = my house
pilin pona = good feeling = happiness

pi (Regrouping Modifiers)

pi regroups a multi-word modifier (think "of"):

tomo telo nasa = crazy water house
tomo pi telo nasa = house of crazy water = pub
jan wawa ala = no strong people
jan pi wawa ala = people of no-strength = weak people

Negation

Append ala to negate:

mi lape ala. = I'm not sleeping.
jan ala li toki. = Nobody is talking.

Questions

Yes/no questions: Replace verb with "(verb) ala (verb)":

sina ken ala ken lape? = Can you sleep?
soweli li wile ala wile moku? = Is the cat hungry?

Or append anu seme to sentence:

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

Answer with "(verb)" for yes or "(verb) ala" for no.

Open questions: Replace the unknown word with seme:

sina moku e seme? = What are you eating?
seme li moku e kili mi? = Who ate my fruit?

Context with la

la adds context (if/when): "context la sentence"

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

Time expressions:

tenpo ni la mi lape. = I am sleeping right now.
tenpo kama la mi lape. = I will be sleeping.
tenpo pini la mi lape. = I slept.

Compound Sentences

en joins multiple subjects:

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

Multiple li-clauses for multiple predicates:

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

Multiple e-clauses for multiple objects:

mi moku e kili e telo. = I consume fruit and water.

Prepositions

lon, kepeken, tawa, tan can end sentences as prepositions:

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

o marks commands/vocatives:

o lukin e ni! = Look at this!
jan Ken o, sina pona lukin. = Ken, you are pretty.
jan San o tawa tomo sina. = Sam, go home.

Numbers

Combine number words additively:

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

Unofficial Words (Proper Nouns)

Names of countries, languages, people are capitalized adjectives attached to a noun:

mi jan Pita. = I'm Peter.
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.

Key Principles

No singular/plural distinction
No definite/indefinite articles
No tense (context determines time)
Words can be noun, adjective, or verb depending on position
High ambiguity by design — context determines meaning

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