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 semi-lexicalizations do creep into common usage. This page aims to catalog them, and provide ideas for alternatives, and inspiration for your own phrasings.
Phrases featured in pu
| Lexicalized phrase | Meaning | Alternatives |
|---|---|---|
| toki pona[a] | the Language of Good by Sonja Lang | toki ni, toki lili, toki pi nimi lili, toki pi nimi mute ala, toki pi nimi ale mute (or more) toki pi jan Sonja, toki pu, toki tan lipu pu, toki ku Any above, replacing toki with nasin toki |
| tomo tawa[b] | car | ilo tawa, kiwen tawa, poki tawa, supa mute tawa Any above, replacing tawa with awen, pini (when parked, stopped, or braking) tomo nasin, poki jan, tomo pi noka sike, soweli ilo, mani kiwen, tomo pi weka ma, tomo pi pana kon ike, tomo pi sike kalama, ilo moli (critical) |
| telo nasa | alcoholic drink | telo pan, telo ike, telo pona, telo musi, telo pi ante lawa, telo pi lawa weka |
| jan pona | friend | jan poka, jan olin (for close friends), jan mi, jan kulupu, jan pi kulupu mi Any above, replacing jan (for non–human friends) |
| jan lili | child | jan kili, jan tan mama (as in offspring) jan sin, jan pi tenpo lili (as in youth) Any above, replacing jan (for nonhuman children) |
Time phrases
Other phrases
| Lexicalized phrase | Meaning | Alternatives |
|---|---|---|
| ma pona | the Discord server ma pona pi toki pona | ma ni, ma pi suli nanpa wan, ma pi akesi Jan |
| jan sin | newbie, especially in a toki pona context | jan pi kama sona, jan pi open sona, jan pi sona lili Any above, replacing jan (for non–human newcomers) |
| nimi sin[c] | word created after pu or ku word that would be new to someone who has only read pu or ku, even if created before |
nimi namako, nimi pi pu ala, nimi pi ku ala, nimi nasa, nimi pi kepeken lili |
| kasi nasa | marijuana and its derivatives, such as edibles, vapes, etc. | moku nasa, moku pi lawa weka, kasi pi pilin nasa, kasi pi wile moku, kasi sona |
| pana sona | to teach, teaching, education | mi pana e sona, sina kama sona tan mi |
| soweli tomo | pet | soweli pona, soweli poka, soweli mi, soweli jan, soweli olin, soweli awen Any above, replacing soweli (for non–land mammal pets) |
| ken la | maybe | lon ken, ni li ken |
| supa lape | bed | ilo lape, supa ko, supa unpa |
| kalama musi | music | musi kalama, musi kute, kalama nasin, nasin kalama, kalama kulupu, kulupu kalama, kalama pona |
| ilo sona | computer | ilo, ilo nanpa, poki nanpa, ilo pi sitelen soweli, ilo supa, ilo wawa |
| wile sona | question | alasa sona, kama sona, toki tawa sona sin, toki pi lon anu lon ala, toki sama a ala a, toki tan sona ona pi sona ala ona |
| tomo telo | bathroom | tomo jaki, tomo pi pana/weka jaki, tomo pi pona selo |
| soweli mani | cow | soweli suli, soweli walo pimeja, soweli pi telo walo |
Notes
- ↑ Same goes for sitelen pona and such.
- ↑ Ironically, pu uses this as an example of not lexicalizing, along with ilo tawa for the perspective of a driver and kiwen tawa for that of a hit pedestrian.
- ↑ Sometimes merged into nimisin, itself a nimi sin.