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TOKI PONA VOCABULARY v1
What is toki pona?
toki pona is a constructed language with a vocabulary of just over 120 words. It was
created by Sonja Lang in 2001 and as of late 2022, has over two thousand speakers.
I've included the most essential words here that are not grammatical particles.
What is sitelen pona?
sitelen pona is the most used writing system for toki pona besides the latin
alphabet. It's a logography, so each word gets one symbol. It's helpful to learn
toki pona and sitelen pona at the same time, which is what this resource is for!
a
ah! huh.
hm? ehh...
ha! wow. oh!
akesi
lizard, reptile,
amphibian; ex:
snake, frog, lizard
ala
no, not,
nothing
alasa
hunt, forage,
search for;
try
ale/ali
all, everything
anpa
under, beneath;
shame, defeat, beat
ante
different, alter,
changed, other
awen
stay, remain,
protected; continue
esun
buy, sell, trade,
swap, shop, market
ijo
thing, something,
being, action
ike
bad, worsen, negative
quality; ex: too hard,
oversimplified, useless
ilo
tool, instrument,
machine, utensil; ex: AI,
computer, plough,
engine, spoon
insa
interior, contents,
internal organ or component
ex: lungs, motherboard
jaki
yucky, dirty,
filth, shit, sick,
disease
jan
person, being; ex: Marsha
P Johnson, chief,
Sonja Lang,
worker, friend
jelo
yellowy colors
jo
hold, carry, bring;
have, own
kala
fish, swimming creature;
ex: whale, submarine,
angler fish
kalama
make noise,
sound, music;
ex: humm, whir, static,
pop, ripping paper
kama
arrive; become
kasi
plant; ex: tree, bush,
orchid, vine, root, cactus
ken
ability, permission,
allow, possibility;
be able
kepeken
using
kili
edible plant;
fruit, veggie
kiwen
hard substance, ex:
rock, wood, glass,
ice, metal, hard plastic
ko
semisolid, paste, powder,
sticky, fluffy, squishy; ex:
slug, sponge, halva, glue,
stuffing, clay, sand
kon
unseen agent; air,
gas, essense, spirit,
meaning
kule
color; sensory
quality: pitch,
flavor pallet,
texture
kulupu
group, community,
society, plural system
kute
ear; hear, listen
lape
sleep, rest,
break, hiatus
laso
blueish, greenish,
blueish purpleish
lawa
head, mind, leader,
control, guide, regulate
len
woven, fabric, cloth,
clothing, cover,
hide, hidden
lete
cold
lili
small, young,
few
linja
line, string, rope,
flexible long thing,
hair, worm
lipu
paper, book, document,
collection of writing,
website, file
loje
reddish, orangeish
lon
exist, reality, truth,
in the context of,
at, during
luka
hand, arm, fingers,
prehensile organ,
touch with hand
lukin
eye, look, see,
read, watch; try
lupa
hole, trench,
divot, window,
passageway;
ex: bagel hole
ma
earth, ground,
place, location;
ex: country, city, campus
mama
parent, caretaker,
ancestor, familial
mani
currency, large
domesticated land
animals used for trade
ex: goats, wampum, pennies
meli
woman(ish),
feminine
mi
I, we, me,
us, my, our
mije
man(ish),
masculine
moku
eat, consume,
food, nutrients
moli
die, kill
monsi
back, ass,
space behind
mu
animal noise;
ex: woof, meow,
awoo, ribbit, plate
shattering, baa
mun
stars, moon, celestial
body; ex: saturn,
alpha centuri, the
andromeda galaxy
musi
fun, entertaining,
game, play; ex:
Minecraft, tennis,
music, the Mona Lisa
mute
many, amount,
very
nanpa
number, mathematical,
code; marks ordinal
numbers
nasa
weird quality,
intoxicated, unexpected;
ex: neurodivergent,
queer, kink, eccentric,
drunk, high
nasin
road, path, way,
method, doctrine,
religion; ex: highway 48,
communism, Taoism
nena
mountain, bump,
protrusion, nose;
ex: spike, button, nob,
hook, hill, cyst
ni
this; that, yonder
(demonstrative)
nimi
name, word,
sentence
noka
leg, foot, organ
of locomotion;
ex: table legs, wheels,
music stand, mobility aid
olin
respect, appreciate,
love, admire
ona
they, it, any third
person pronoun
open
beginning, start,
activate, turn on
pakala
damaged, mistake,
fuck up, break
pali
work, make
palisa
stick, pole, rod,
long unflexible object
pan
grain, starchy,
bread
pana
emit, give, set
in motion; ex:
teach, throw
pilin
emotion, feel,
touching, opinion
pimeja
shadow, darkness,
night, blackness
pini
finished, completed,
passed, over, deactivate
turn off, close
pipi
bug-like creature,
worm, creepy crawly;
ex: crab, butterfly, ant, spider
poka
hip, side, nearby,
riverbank, vicinity;
contextual
poki
box, container,
grouping, label
ex: chest, pocket,
coathook
pona
good, positive
quality; ex: useful,
soothing, easy, challenging
pu
to interact with Toki
Pona: the Language of
Good (by Sonja Lang)
sama
similar, same,
sibling, peer
seli
fire, heat, cook,
chemical reaction
selo
skin, bark, outer
layer, protective
barrier
seme
what? which?
who?
sewi
above, up, high,
divine, sacred, god
sijelo
body, form,
shape, material
sike
circle, round,
cycle; yearly
sin
new, anew, again,
young, fresh
sina
you, y'all,
your, y'all's
sinpin
face, front, in front,
foremost; wall
sitelen
picture, movie, image,
symbols; draw, write;
ex: semicolon;
sona
know, information;
know how
soweli
land mammal,
fluffy animal,
animal that runs;
ex: ostrich, deer, cat
suli
big, important,
long, tall, adult
suno
sun, light source,
brightness, day,
light; ex: lamp
supa
table, chair, bed,
flat furniture, surface
for putting things on
suwi
sweet, cute,
fragrant, innocent
tan
from, because;
origin, reason
taso
but, however;
alone, only, sole
tawa
towards, for, from
the perspective of;
moving, motion
telo
liquid water, fluid,
changing shape
like a liquid
tenpo
situation, era, time,
duration, moment
toki
talking, communicating,
giving information,
language; ex: french,
scold, tell
tomo
home, house, room,
shelter, living space
tu
cut, double,
separated; two
unpa
to have sex with,
sex, erotic
uta
mouth, oral opening,
feeding organ
utala
war, battle, fight,
vigorous practice,
rigorous test taking
walo
whiteish,
light color
wan
united, married;
one
waso
bird, flying creature;
ex: airplane, eagle, bat
wawa
strong, powerful,
energetic, intense,
electricity, confident
weka
away, beyond, far,
remove, steal,
leave, ignored
wile
want, desire, wish,
tendancy, intention;
ex: hunger, sleepiness,
greed
tonsi
trans person, nonbinary,
gender non-conforming,
not cisgender, etc
namako
spice, herb, extra, garnish,
additional, ornamental,
the cherry on top; ex:
paprika, the word "namako"
kin
also, in addition
monsuta
spooky, scary,
monster; ex: Mike
Wazowski, arachnophobia
lipamanka
the creator of this resource
https://lipamanka.github.io
linja lipamanka
the font for sitelen pona used
in this resource
Licenced under CC BY-SA 4.0
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/