Comparisons
Comparisons can be divided into two types: comparatives, which pit two things against each other, and superlatives, which describe one thing as beyond everything else.
Comparatives
toki pona doesn't have a specific grammatical construction for comparatives, but there are nonetheless multiple ways to express them:
- Separate the claim into two sentences with an implied connection:
- poki mi li lili. poki sina li suli.
- My bag is small. Your bag is big.
- poki mi li suli (lili). poki sina li suli mute.
- My bag is (a bit) big. Your bag is very big.
- You can also make the connection explicit with taso:
- poki mi li lili, taso poki sina li suli.
- My bag is small, but your bag is big.
- Use la to make the magnitude of one claim relative to the other subject:
- poki mi la poki sina li suli.
- Given my bag, your bag is big.
- Similarly, use tawa to put the claim "in the perspective" of another:
- poki sina li suli tawa poki mi.
- Your bag is big to my bag.
Superlatives
Superlatives are even simpler:
- Use nanpa wan:
- poki sina li suli nanpa wan.
- Your bag is number one in bigness.
- Intensify the claim:
- poki sina li suli mute a.
- Your bag is extremely big.