Toki Pona: Vocabulary
Every Toki Pona word from my old one-word cards, gathered on one page and grouped by theme. Word classes: n. noun, mod. modifier (adjective/adverb), vi./vt. intransitive/transitive verb. One word can do all of these jobs: moku is “food” and “to eat”.
Living things
jan
- n. person, people, human, being, somebody, anybody
- mod. human, somebody’s, personal, of people
- vt. personify, humanize, personalize
soweli
- animal, especially land mammal, lovable animal
waso
- bird, winged animal
kala
- fish, sea creature
akesi
- n. non-cute animal, reptile, amphibian
- n. creeping animal, a scaly or slimy animal that creeps on land
- n. reptile, any air-breathing cold-blooded animal that crawls on land and has scales and bones; reptile
- n. amphibian, any cold-blooded animal with bones that lives on both land and in water; amphibian
- n. large arthropod, a large arthropod that lives on land; scorpion
pipi
- bug, insect, spider
Plants and food
kasi
- plant, leaf, herb, tree, wood
kili
- fruit, pulpy vegetable, mushroom
pan
- grain, cereal
Doing and making
alasa
- vt. to gather, to collect food, resources or material needed for daily life and survival; to gather, harvest
- vt. to hunt, to pursue and kill animals to use as food and clothing; to hunt
musi
- n. fun, playing, game, recreation, art, entertainment
- mod. artful, fun, recreational
- vi. play, have fun
- vt. amuse, entertain
sitelen
- n. picture, image
- vt. draw, write
- n. representation, a visual or tactile work that serves to show, describe, explain or remind us of something else; representation, model
- n. picture, specific lines and shapes marked on a surface; drawing, print, painting, image, sign, sketch, outline, blueprint, etching, picture,
- n. diagram, chart, graph
- n. sculpture , an object made into the shape of something; carving, sculpture, figurine, replica
Senses, mind and feelings
| Word | Meaning |
|---|---|
| lukin | n. eye, sight · vt. see, look at, watch, read · pre-verb: try to (mi lukin sona, I try to learn) |
| oko | n. eye (an older synonym of lukin in the official book) |
| kute | n. ear · vt. hear, listen; obey |
| sona | n. knowledge, wisdom · vt. know, understand; know how to (mi sona toki, I know how to talk) |
| pilin | n. heart, feeling, emotion · vt. feel, think, sense, touch |
| olin | n. love, compassion, affection · vt. love, respect (a person or animal) |
| nasa | mod. unusual, strange, silly, crazy, drunk |
Life, food and talk
| Word | Meaning |
|---|---|
| moku | n. food, meal · vt. eat, drink, consume |
| toki | n. language, talking, speech · vt./vi. talk, say, speak · interj. hello! |
| moli | n. death · vi. die, be dead · vt. kill |
| unpa | n. sex, sexuality · vt./vi. have sex with |
Words from the tutorial
| Word | Meaning | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| ijo | thing | ni | this, that |
| lipu | document, page, book | tomo | house, building |
| telo | water, liquid | meli | woman, female |
| mije | man, male | mi | I, me, we |
| sina | you | kulupu | group, community |
| sin | new | wawa | strong, powerful |
| lili | small | suli | big, important |
| pona | good, simple | ike | bad, complicated |
| jo | have | pali | do, make, work |
| ala | no, not | mute | many, much |
| sewi | above, sacred | wan | one, united |
Examples
| toki pona | English |
|---|---|
| soweli li moku e kili. | The animal eats fruit. |
| mi lukin e waso. | I see a bird. |
| jan pona mi li olin e musi. | My friend loves games. |
| mi sona ala. | I don’t know. |
| sina toki pona! | You speak well / You speak Toki Pona! |
More: Alejandro Rojo’s vocabulary page.
Core vocabulary by theme
High-frequency words, added October 2026: all the official pu words plus the ku suli words. Words already in my notes above aren’t repeated. Practise them on the Toki Pona practice page.
Particles and grammar words
| Toki Pona | English | Note |
|---|---|---|
| a | ah, oh (emotion) | particle |
| anu | or (in questions) | particle |
| e | marks the direct object | particle |
| en | and (joins subjects) | particle |
| la | marks context: if, when | particle |
| li | separates subject from verb | not after mi or sina alone |
| o | hey!; marks a command or wish | particle |
| pi | of (regroups modifiers) | particle |
| taso | but; only | |
| kin | also, indeed, too | ku suli |
| n | hmm (thinking) | ku suli |
Pronouns and people
| Toki Pona | English | Note |
|---|---|---|
| ona | he, she, it, they | |
| mama | parent, mother, father, caretaker |
Numbers and quantity
| Toki Pona | English | Note |
|---|---|---|
| tu | two; to divide | |
| ale | all, every; life, universe | also written ali |
| nanpa | number; -th (ordinal) |
Time and place
| Toki Pona | English | Note |
|---|---|---|
| tenpo | time, moment, period | |
| pini | finished, past; end | |
| open | to begin, to open | |
| awen | to stay, to wait; still | |
| lon | at, in, on; to exist, true | |
| tawa | to, towards; for; to go, to move | |
| tan | from, because of | |
| poka | side, hip; nearby, with | |
| insa | inside, centre, middle | |
| monsi | back, rear | |
| sinpin | front, face, wall | |
| anpa | down, below; humble | |
| weka | away, absent | |
| ma | land, country, earth, outdoors | |
| nasin | way, road, method |
Nature
| Toki Pona | English | Note |
|---|---|---|
| suno | sun, light | |
| mun | moon, star, night sky object | |
| kon | air, spirit, essence | |
| seli | fire, heat; warm | |
| lete | cold; raw | |
| kiwen | stone, hard thing, metal | |
| ko | paste, powder, semi-solid | |
| lupa | hole, door, window | |
| nena | bump, hill, nose |
Animals
| Toki Pona | English | Note |
|---|---|---|
| mu | animal noise (moo, woof) | |
| kijetesantakalu | raccoon (and related animals) | ku suli, a joke word |
| monsuta | fear; monster | ku suli |
Body
| Toki Pona | English | Note |
|---|---|---|
| sijelo | body; physical state | |
| lawa | head, mind; to lead | |
| uta | mouth, lips | |
| luka | hand, arm; five | |
| noka | foot, leg; bottom | |
| selo | skin, outer layer, shell | |
| linja | long flexible thing: hair, rope |
Things and tools
| Toki Pona | English | Note |
|---|---|---|
| ilo | tool, device, machine | |
| len | cloth, clothing; hidden | |
| poki | container, box, bag | |
| supa | flat surface: table, bed, floor | |
| palisa | stick, rod, long hard thing | |
| sike | circle, ball, cycle | tenpo sike = year |
| mani | money; thing of value, e.g. livestock | |
| esun | market, shop, trade | |
| kipisi | to cut; a piece | ku suli |
| leko | square, block, stairs | ku suli |
Actions
| Toki Pona | English | Note |
|---|---|---|
| lape | to sleep, to rest | |
| pana | to give, to send, to emit | |
| kama | to come, to become; future | |
| ken | can, may; possibility | |
| wile | to want, to need, must | |
| nimi | name, word | |
| kalama | sound, noise; to make a sound | |
| kepeken | to use; with (a tool) | |
| utala | to fight, conflict, to compete | |
| pakala | broken, damaged; oops! | |
| jaki | dirty, gross, toxic |
Qualities
| Toki Pona | English | Note |
|---|---|---|
| sama | same, similar; like, as | |
| ante | different, other; to change | |
| suwi | sweet, cute | |
| pimeja | black, dark | |
| walo | white, light-coloured | |
| loje | red | |
| jelo | yellow | |
| laso | blue, green | |
| kule | colour; colourful | |
| seme | what? which? | question word |
| jasima | to reflect, to mirror | ku suli |
| tonsi | non-binary, gender-nonconforming | ku suli |
| namako | spice; extra | ku suli |
| soko | mushroom, fungus | ku suli |
| meso | middle, medium, average | ku suli |
| epiku | epic, cool | ku suli |
| lanpan | to take, to seize | ku suli |
| misikeke | medicine | ku suli |
| kokosila | to speak a non-Toki Pona language where Toki Pona would be more appropriate | ku suli |
| pu | the official Toki Pona book; to interact with it | |
| ku | the Toki Pona dictionary book | ku suli |