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This is a list of all official words in toki pona as described on the pages from 1 to 12, arranged alphabetically. You can click on the words to get to the lesson they get introduced in. Each word is listed with different meanings depending on which parts of speech it can be used as.
The "adjective" definitionapplies to both adjetives and adverbs, as the only difference between the two in toki poka is if they apply to nouns or verbs.
A noun word can always be used as an adjecive with the meaning "of [noun]". For example, "moku soweli" can mean "animal food" or "meat", depending on context.
This is not a copy of the dictionary as defined in the official book or any other course. Some words may be used as parts of speech other than those listed here. It also lists some unconventional uses of words, some of which are only useful in combination with other words.
In toki pona, you’re welcome to come up with your own phrases and alternative meanings of words depending on context. The most important rule is to make yourself understood.
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particle: (emotional interjection, emphasis or confirmation)
noun: lizard, reptile
The word "akesi" used to also mean "'non-cute' animal", but the second official toki pona book has removed this meaning.
noun: nothing
adjective: not, no, empty
number: zero
verb: to hunt, to gather
verb (unconventional): to search, to look for
pre-verb (unconventional): to try (doing something)
noun: everything, universe
adjective: every, all, abundant
number: all/infinite (simple system), 100 (complex system)
noun (old/non-pu): lower part
adjective: bowing down, downward, lowly, humble, dependent
verb w/o obj: to bow down
verb w/ obj: to conquer, to defeat
noun: difference, change, (unconventional) wisdom
adjective: different, other, changed
verb: to change
particle: or
noun (unconventional): stability, safety, wait
adjective: kept, safe, enduring, resilient, waiting, staying
verb: keep, stay, endure, protect
pre-verb: continue (doing something)
particle: (specifies an object)
particle: and (combines subjects)
adjective: epic, awesome
This word is typically used as a form of slang, and has also found common use in "ma pona pi toki pona"'s "acro" games, as the only other non-particle word starting with "e" is "esun".
noun: trade, transaction, exchange
adjective: trade/exchange-related, commercial
verb: to trade, to exchange
noun: thing, object, matter
adjective: material, physical
noun: evil
adjective: bad, evil, complex, unnecessary
verb (unconventional): make smth worse
noun: tool, machine, device
adjective: useful, (unconventional) electronic, metallic
noun: insides, contents, center, stomach
adjective: central, inside, between
noun: dirt, waste
adjective: dirty, disgusting, toxic, unclean, unsanitary
verb: to make something dirty
noun: person, people, humanity, somebody
adjective: human-like, personal
noun: mirror, reflection, echo
adjective: opposite
verb: to reflect, to reverse
noun/adjective: (the color) yellow (and its shades)
verb: to color smth yellow
noun: (unconventional) possessions, property
verb: to have/carry/contain/hold
noun: fish, marine animal, sea creature
noun: sound, noise
adjective: loud, noisy, sound-making
verb: to make noise, to recite, to play (an instrument)
noun: event, arrival
adjective: arriving, coming, future, summoned
pre-verb: to become, to be in the process of (doing smth), to manage to, to succeed in
noun: plant, grass, herb, leaf
noun: ability, possibility, (unconventional) right, liberty
adjective (unconventional): able, possible
pre-verb: can (do smth), may (do smth)
noun: use, (unconventional) practice
verb w/ obj: to use smth
preposition: (do smth) using, with the help of
kijetesantakalu (nimi ku suli)
noun: raccoon or other musteloid
This is one of the "joke words" created by Sonja Lang. It has become very popular among tokiponists, as has the sitelen pona character for it.
noun: fruit, vegetable, mushroom
particle: very, really, also
In the first official book, this word was merged with 'a". However, many people use it separately from "a". They would only use "a" to emphasize someone's feelings.
verb: to cut, to divide
This is an old word that was not included in the first official book, but which many people still use. Those who want to only use lipu pu vocabulary might want to use "tu", which can also be used as a verb to mean "to divide", the same way "wan" means "to unite".
noun: hard object, metal, stone, solid
adjective: hard, metallic, solid
noun: powder, clay, paste, semi-solid
verb: to speak not in toki pona in an environment where others speak in toki pona
This word is taken from an Esperanto word "krokodili", which in turn means to not speak Esperanto in an Esperanto environment.
noun: air, essence, spirit, (unconventional) gas
adjective: invisible, ephemeral, (unconventional) gaseous
noun: the Toki Pona Dictionary by Sonja Lang
verb: to interact with ku
Much like interacting with the first official toki pona book was given the word "pu", so does the second book with "lu". In fact, in lipu ku, words "ju", "lu", "nu", "su" and "u" are all listed as "(word reserved for future use by Sonja Lang)", presumably to be given to the next five official toki pona books that (in my opinion) should be created in the future.
noun: color, (rare) gender
adjective: colorful, painted
verb: to paint smth a color
noun: group, community, company, society, nation, tribe
adjective: communal, social
noun: ear, hearing
adjective: ...-sounding
verb: to hear, to listen, to obey
particle: "if/when" (introduces context)
verb: to get, to take, to steal
Without this word, the typical way to express getting or taking something would be "kama jo e..." (to come into possession of ...), possibly with additional adjectives like "ike" or "utala". The word is famously used in the title of "lnapna pan", the toki pona translation/summary of Peter Kropotkin's "The Conquest of Bread".
noun: sleep, rest
adjective: sleeping, restful
verb: to sleep, to rest
noun/adjective: (the color) blue, green (and its shades)
verb: to color something blue/green
noun: head, mind
adjective: main, primary, controlling, ruling
verb: to head, to control, to direct, to guide, to lead, to own, to rule
noun: square, block (sometimes) stairs
This is an old word that was not included in the first official book, but which is actively used by people, as it’s considered hard to express the meaning of "square" without it.
noun: cloth, clothes, fabric, layer of privacy
adjective: clothed, made of cloth/fabric
verb: to clothe, to provide a layer of privacy
noun: cold
adjective: cold, cool, raw, uncooked
verb: to cool down
particle: (between subj. and verb/adj.)
noun: smallness
adjective: small, few, young
verb: to shrink
noun: long flexible object, string, rope, hair
noun: flat object, book, document, paper, page, record, website
adjective: flat, used as lipu, lipu-like, of lipu
noun/adjective: (the color) red (and its shades)
verb: to color smth red
noun: truth, life, existence
adjective: real, true, present, existing
verb w/o object: is true, exists
preposition: in, at, on
noun: hand, arm
number: 5 (complex system)
noun: eye, vision
adjective: ...-looking, visual
verb: to look, to see, to read
pre-verb: to seek (to do something)
noun: hole, door, orifice, window
noun: earth, land, outdoors, territory, country
noun: paent, ancestor, creator, origin, caretaker
noun: money, large domesticated animal
adjective: (unconventional) wealthy
noun: woman, female, wife
adjective: feminine
noun: middle, center
adjective: average, moderate, mediocre
In some ways, this word is similar to "insa", but it also lets people say that a thing is moderately X without having to use phrases like "ona li wawa mute ala, li wawa lili ala".
noun: i, me, we, us
adjective: my, our
noun: man, male, husband
adjective: masculine
noun: medicine, cure
adjective: medicinal
verb: to cure
This word was invented by Sonja Lang, but was not included as part of lipu pu. (My personal guess is because "ijo pi pona sijelo" is a rather simple way to say "medicine" without it.)
noun: food
adjective: edible, of food
verb: to eart, to drink, to swallow
noun: death
adjective: dead, dying
verb: to kill
noun: back, behind, rear, butt
adjective: back, rear
noun: fear, monster
adjective: scary, monstrous
verb: to scare, to be afraid of, (sometimes) to turn into a monster
The usage of this word can be especially confusing without extra context. Some people refer to this confusion as "monsutatesu".
(any animal sound)
noun: moon, star, night sky object
adjective: lunar, stellar
noun: game, art
adjective: entertaining, artistic, amusing
verb: to amuse, to play, to have fun
noun: quantity
adjective: many, more
number: 3 or more (simple system), 20 (complex system)
interjection: um..., hm... ("thinking noise")
Technically, the word "n" breaks the rules of toki pona by using a non-allowed syllable, but as it basically functoins as a word on its own, it's allowed. Or one can interpret syllable-final "n" as a separate mora, like in japanese, where "n" on its own is apparently used as an interjection...
noun: spice, addition
adjective: additional, extra
verb: to add, to spice up
In the first official book, this word was merged with "sin". However, many people keep using it separately from "sin". "sin" is interpreted to mean "new" and "namako" to mean "additional".
noun: number
adjective: -th (ordinal indicator), mathematical, numeric, (unconventional) digital
adjective: weird, unusual, strange, drunk
noun: path, road, street, directive, way, custom
adjective: street-, true to the directive/way/custom
verb (unconventional): to guide, to show the path
noun: hill, mountain, button, bump, nose
adjective: hilly, mountainous, bumpy
noun/adjective: this, that
noun: word, name
noun: foot, leg, bottom, lower part, under (smth)
particle: (addressing people, commands)
noun: eye
In the first official book, this word was merged into "lukin". People who use this word separately from "lukin" typically use "oko" ot mean "eye" and "lukin" to mean "sight" or "vision".
noun: love, compassoin, affection, respect
adjective: loved, favorite, respected
verb: to love, to respect
noun: he, she, they, it
adjective: his, her, their, its
noun: start, beginning
adjective: initial, starting
verb: to start, to open, to turn on
pre-verb: to begin (doing something)
noun: damage, mistake
adjective: broken, wrong
verb: to break, to make mistakes
particle: (generic curse)
noun: work, labor
adjective: working
verb: to work (on), to make
noun: long solid object, branch, stick, (unconventional) length
adjective: long
noun: bread, grain, corn, rice, pizza
adjective: (unconventional) given, sent, released
verb: to give, to send, to emit, to release
particle: "of" (regroups two or more modifiers)
noun: heart, feeling, touch, sense
adjective: feeling, touch-based
verb: to touch, to think, to feel
noun: (the color) black (and its shades), shadow
adjective: black, dark
verb: to color smth black, to cast a shadow
noun: end, finish
adjective: final, completed, finished, past (with tenpo)
verb: to end, to finish, to close
pre-verb: to end/stop doing something
noun: insect, bug
noun: hip, side, nearby area
adjective: neighboring, nearby, at one's side
noun: box, container, bowl, cup, drawer
verb (unconventional): to put in a box
noun: good, simplicity
adjective: good, simple, friendly, peaceful
verb: to improve, to fix
noun: the official toki pona book
adjective: as told in the official toki pona book
verb: interacting with the official toki pona book
The official toki pona book only defines the verb meaning of the word "pu". (Although the phrase "pu la" is used in it to mean "in this book".) Some people in the toki pona community prefer to only ues it in the verb meaning, while others use it in others as well.
noun: similarity, (someone's) sibling
adjective: similar, like, sibling
preposition: as, like
noun: heat, warmth, chemical reaction, heat source
adjective: warm, hot
verb: to heat
noun: outer form, outer layer, shell, skin, boundary
adjective: outer
particle: what? which? (for questions)
noun: area above, top, highest part, sky, god
adjective: high, above, divine, sacred
noun: body, physical state, torso
adjective: physical, of sijelo
noun: circle, ball, cycle, wheel, (with tenpo) year
adjective: round, circular, spherical, of one year
verb: to make a circle around, to surround
noun: novelty, addition, (unconventional) update, spice
adjective: new, additional, fresh, extra
verb: to add, to update
noun: you
adjective: your
noun: face, foremost part, front, wall
adjective: of face, foremost
noun: symbol, image, writing
adjective: symbolic, written, recorded
verb: to write, to draw, to record
noun: mushroom, fungus
People who want to only use lipu pu vocabulary sometimes also use "kili ma" to refer to mushrooms. Alternatively, "kili pi kasi ala" is also possible, since "kili" also refers to mushrooms.
noun: knowledge, information
adjective: known
verb: to know
pre-verb: to know (how to do something)
noun: land mammal, animal
noun: size, greatness
adjective: big, heavy, tall, great, important, adult
verb: to grow
noun: sun, light, brightness, light source
adjective: solar, bright
verb: to light, to shine
noun: horizontal surface
noun: (unconventional) sweets, fragrances
adjective: sweet, fragrant, cute, adorable
noun: cause, reason, origin
adjective: original
verb w/ object (unconventional): to cause
preposition: from, because of
particle (at beginning of sentence): but, however
adjective: only
noun: movement
adjective: moving
verb: to move
preposition: to, for, from perspective of
noun/adjective: water, fluid, liquid
adjective: wet, fluid, liquid
verb: to water, to clean
noun: time, moment, occasion
adjective: temporal
noun: speech, conversation, language
adjective: verbal, conversational
verb: to speak, to talk, to use language, to think
noun: home, building, structure, indoor space, room
adjective: indoor
noun: non-binary person, trans person
adjective: gender-nonconforming, trans
The word "tonsi" was created by the community after the official book was released and, according to a poll in October of 2021, is the most accepted "new" non-official word.
number: 2
noun: divide
adjective: divided
verb: to divide
Using "tu" at the end of a noun phrase is generally associated with the number 2. The meaning "divided" is usually specified by using a "li" particle:
kulupu tu - two communities
kulupu li tu - the community is divided.
noun: sex
adjective: sexual
verb: to have sex with
noun: mouth, lips
adjective: oral
noun: fight, battle, challenge, war
adjective: aggressive, warlike
verb: to fight, to btatle, to challenge
noun: the color white (and its shades)
adjective: white, bright/light
verb: to color something white
number: 1
noun: part (of smth)
adjective: united, marries
verb: to unite, to marry
Using "wan" at the end of a noun phrase is generally associated with the number 1. The meaning "united" is usually specified by using a "li" particle:
kulupu wan - one community
kulupu li wan - the community is united.
kulupu mute wan - 21 communities (complex numbering system)
kulupu mute li wan - many (or 20) communities are united.
noun: bird, flying creature
noun: strength, power, energy
adjecive: strong, powerful, energetic
noun: absence, remoteness
adjective: absent, away, remote
verb: remove, get rid of
noun: want, need, desire
adjective: desired, needed, required
verb: to want smth
pre-verb: to want to do smth