Common lexicalizations
An important part of toki pona philosophy is that the speaker must think about what something is at its core before they can talk about it. Fixed phrases for specific things (also known as lexicalizations) are frowned upon, as they sidestep that aspect, while also forcing other speakers to memorize such combinations and making it difficult to use them to refer to other things. Nonetheless, some lexicalizations do creep into common usage. This page aims to catalog them and provide ideas for alternatives (which doesn't mean you shouldn't try to think of your own).
Featured in pu
toki pona
Meaning: the language of good by Sonja Lang
Alternatives: toki ni, toki pi jan Sonja, toki Tokipona
Notes: Same goes for sitelen pona and such.
tomo tawa
Meaning: car
Alternatives: ilo tawa, poki tawa, soweli ilo
Notes: Funnily enough, pu uses this as part of a call not to lexicalize, proposing ilo tawa from the perspective of a driver and kiwen tawa for a near-hit pedestrian.
telo nasa
Meaning: alcoholic drink
Alternatives: telo pan, telo ike, telo pona
jan pona
Meaning: friend
Alternatives: jan poka, jan olin (for close friends), jan mi
jan lili
Meaning: child
Alternatives: jan kili (if as in offspring), jan sin (if as in young)
tenpo [suno/esun/mun/sike]
Meaning: day/week/month/year
Alternatives: sike []
Other
ma pona
Meaning: the Discord server ma pona pi toki pona
Alternatives: ma ni, ma pi suli nanpa wan, ma pi akesi Jan
jan sin
Meaning: newbie, especially in a toki pona context
Alternatives: jan pi kama sona, jan pi sona lili
nimi sin
Meaning: word created after pu/ku, or worse: any word not in a given official set (including ones created before it)
Alternatives: nimi namako, nimi pi [pu/ku] ala, nimi nasa
kasi nasa
Meaning: marijuana and its derivatives such as edibles, vapes
Alternatives: moku nasa, moku pi lawa weka, kasi pi pilin nasa, kasi pi wile moku
pana sona
Meaning: to teach, teaching, education
Alternatives: "mi pana e sona," "sina kama sona tan mi"