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" definition applies to both adjectives and adverbs, as the only difference between the two in toki pona is if they apply to nouns or verbs. A noun word can always be used as an adjective 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. a particle: (emotional interjection, emphasis or confirmation) akesi noun: lizard, reptile The word "akesi" used to also mean "'non-cute' animal", but the second official toki pona book has removed this meaning. ala noun: nothing adjective: not, no, empty number: zero alasa verb: to hunt, to gather verb (unconventional): to search, to look for pre-verb (unconventional): to try (doing something) ale/ali noun: everything, universe adjective: every, all, abundant number: all/infinite (simple system), 100 (complex system) anpa 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 ante noun: difference, change, (unconventional) version adjective: different, other, changed verb: to change anu particle: or awen noun (unconventional): stability, safety, wait adjective: kept, safe, enduring, resilient, waiting, staying verb: keep, stay, endure, protect pre-verb: continue (doing something) e particle: (specifies an object) en particle: and (combines subjects) epiku (nimi ku suli) 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". esun noun: trade, transaction, exchange adjective: trade/exchange-related, commercial verb: to trade, to exchange ijo noun: thing, object, matter adjective: material, physical ike noun: evil adjective: bad, evil, complex, unnecessary verb (unconventional): make smth worse ilo noun: tool, machine, device adjective: useful, (unconventional) electronic, metallic insa noun: insides, contents, center, stomach adjective: central, inside, between jaki noun: dirt, waste adjective: dirty, disgusting, toxic, unclean, unsanitary verb: to make something dirty jan noun: person, people, humanity, somebody adjective: human-like, personal jasima (nimi ku suli) noun: mirror, reflection, echo adjective: opposite verb: to reflect, to reverse jelo noun/adjective: (the color) yellow (and its shades) verb: to color smth yellow jo noun: (unconventional) possessions, property verb: to have/carry/contain/hold kala noun: fish, marine animal, sea creature kalama noun: sound, noise adjective: loud, noisy, sound-making verb: to make noise, to recite, to play (an instrument) kama 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 kasi noun: plant, grass, herb, leaf ken noun: ability, possibility, (unconventional) right, liberty adjective (unconventional): able, possible pre-verb: can (do smth), may (do smth) kepeken 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. kili noun: fruit, vegetable, mushroom kin (nimi ku suli) 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. kipisi (nimi ku suli) 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". kiwen noun: hard object, metal, stone, solid adjective: hard, metallic, solid ko noun: powder, clay, paste, semi-solid kokosila (nimi ku suli) verb: to speak not in toki pona in an environment where others speak toki pona This word is taken from an Esperanto verb "krokodili", which in turn means to not speak Esperanto in an Esperanto environment. kon noun: air, essence, spirit, (unconventional) gas adjective: invisible, ephemeral, (unconventional) gaseous ku (nimi ku suli) 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 "ku". 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. kule noun: color, (rare) gender adjective: colorful, painted verb: to paint smth a color kulupu noun: group, community, company, society, nation, tribe adjective: communal, social kute noun: ear, hearing adjective: ...-sounding verb: to hear, to listen, to obey la particle: "if/when" (introduces context) lanpan (nimi ku suli) 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 "lanpan pan", the toki pona translation/summary of Peter Kropotkin's "The Conquest of Bread". lape noun: sleep, rest adjective: sleeping, restful verb: to sleep, to rest laso noun/adjective: (the color) blue, green (and its shades) verb: to color something blue/green lawa noun: head, mind adjective: main, primary, controlling, ruling verb: to head, to control, to direct, to guide, to lead, to own, to rule leko (nimi ku suli) 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. len noun: cloth, clothes, fabric, layer of privacy adjective: clothed, made of cloth/fabric verb: to clothe, to provide a layer of privacy lete noun: cold adjective: cold, cool, raw, uncooked verb: to cool down li particle: (between subj. and verb/adj.) lili noun: smallness adjective: small, few, young verb: to shrink linja noun: long flexible object, string, rope, hair lipu noun: flat object, book, document, paper, page, record, website adjective: flat, used as lipu, lipu-like, of lipu loje noun/adjective: (the color) red (and its shades) verb: to color smth red lon noun: truth, life, existence adjective: real, true, present, existing verb w/o object: is true, exists preposition: in, at, on luka noun: hand, arm number: 5 (complex system) lukin noun: eye, vision adjective: ...-looking, visual verb: to look, to see, to read pre-verb: to seek (to do something) lupa noun: hole, door, orifice, window ma noun: earth, land, outdoors, territory, country mama noun: parent, ancestor, creator, origin, caretaker verb: to create, to parent, to take care of mani noun: money, large domesticated animal adjective: (unconventional) wealthy meli noun: woman, female, wife adjective: feminine meso (nimi ku suli) 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". mi noun: i, me, we, us adjective: my, our mije noun: man, male, husband adjective: masculine misikeke (nimi ku suli) 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.) moku noun: food adjective: edible, of food verb: to eat, to drink, to swallow moli noun: death adjective: dead, dying verb: to kill monsi noun: back, behind, rear, butt adjective: back, rear monsuta (nimi ku suli) 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". mu (any animal sound) mun noun: moon, star, night sky object adjective: lunar, stellar musi noun: game, art adjective: entertaining, artistic, amusing verb: to amuse, to play, to have fun mute noun: quantity adjective: many, more number: 3 or more (simple system), 20 (complex system) n (nimi ku suli) 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 functions 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 also used as an interjection... namako (nimi ku suli) 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". nanpa noun: number adjective: -th (ordinal indicator), mathematical, numeric, (unconventional) digital nasa adjective: weird, unusual, strange, drunk nasin noun: path, road, street, directive, way, custom adjective: street-, true to the directive/way/custom verb (unconventional): to guide, to show the path nena noun: hill, mountain, button, bump, nose adjective: hilly, mountainous, bumpy ni noun/adjective: this, that nimi noun: word, name noka noun: foot, leg, bottom, lower part, under (smth) o particle: (addressing people, commands) oko (nimi ku suli) noun: eye In the first official book, this word was merged into "lukin". People who use this word separately from "lukin" typically use "oko" to mean "eye" and "lukin" to mean "sight" or "vision". olin noun: love, compassion, affection, respect adjective: loved, favorite, respected verb: to love, to respect ona noun: he, she, they, it adjective: his, her, their, its open noun: start, beginning adjective: initial, starting verb: to start, to open, to turn on pre-verb: to begin (doing something) pakala noun: damage, mistake adjective: broken, wrong verb: to break, to make mistakes particle: (generic curse) pali noun: work, labor adjective: working verb: to work (on), to make palisa noun: long solid object, branch, stick, (unconventional) length adjective: long pan noun: bread, grain, corn, rice, pizza pana adjective: (unconventional) given, sent, released verb: to give, to send, to emit, to release pi particle: "of" (regroups two or more modifiers) pilin noun: heart, feeling, touch, sense adjective: feeling, touch-based verb: to touch, to think, to feel pimeja noun: (the color) black (and its shades), shadow adjective: black, dark verb: to color smth black, to cast a shadow pini noun: end, finish adjective: final, completed, finished, past (with tenpo) verb: to end, to finish, to close pre-verb: to end/stop doing something pipi noun: insect, bug poka noun: hip, side, nearby area adjective: neighboring, nearby, at one's side poki noun: box, container, bowl, cup, drawer verb (unconventional): to put in a box pona noun: good, simplicity adjective: good, simple, friendly, peaceful verb: to improve, to fix pu 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 use it in the verb meaning, while others use it in others as well. sama noun: similarity, (someone's) sibling adjective: similar, like, sibling preposition: as, like seli noun: heat, warmth, chemical reaction, heat source adjective: warm, hot verb: to heat selo noun: outer form, outer layer, shell, skin, boundary adjective: outer seme particle: what? which? (for questions) sewi noun: area above, top, highest part, sky, god adjective: high, above, divine, sacred sijelo noun: body, physical state, torso adjective: physical, of sijelo sike noun: circle, ball, cycle, wheel, (with tenpo) year adjective: round, circular, spherical, of one year verb: to make a circle around, to surround sin noun: novelty, addition, (unconventional) update, spice adjective: new, additional, fresh, extra verb: to add, to update sina noun: you adjective: your sinpin noun: face, foremost part, front, wall adjective: of face, foremost sitelen noun: symbol, image, writing adjective: symbolic, written, recorded verb: to write, to draw, to record soko (nimi ku suli) 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. sona noun: knowledge, information adjective: known verb: to know pre-verb: to know (how to do something) soweli noun: land mammal, animal suli noun: size, greatness adjective: big, heavy, tall, great, important, adult verb: to grow suno noun: sun, light, brightness, light source adjective: solar, bright verb: to light, to shine supa noun: horizontal surface suwi noun: (unconventional) sweets, fragrances adjective: sweet, fragrant, cute, adorable tan noun: cause, reason, origin adjective: original verb w/ object (unconventional): to cause preposition: from, because of taso particle (at beginning of sentence): but, however adjective: only tawa noun: movement adjective: moving verb: to move preposition: to, for, from perspective of telo noun/adjective: water, fluid, liquid adjective: wet, fluid, liquid verb: to water, to clean tenpo noun: time, moment, occasion adjective: temporal toki noun: speech, conversation, language adjective: verbal, conversational verb: to speak, to talk, to use language, to think tomo noun: home, building, structure, indoor space, room adjective: indoor tonsi (nimi ku suli) 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. tu 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. unpa noun: sex adjective: sexual verb: to have sex with uta noun: mouth, lips adjective: oral utala noun: fight, battle, challenge, war adjective: aggressive, warlike verb: to fight, to battle, to challenge walo noun: the color white (and its shades) adjective: white, bright/light verb: to color something white wan number: 1 noun: part (of smth) adjective: united, married 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. waso noun: bird, flying creature wawa noun: strength, power, energy adjective: strong, powerful, energetic weka noun: absence, remoteness adjective: absent, away, remote verb: remove, get rid of wile noun: want, need, desire adjective: desired, needed, required verb: to want smth pre-verb: to want to do smth Top page
