Concrete vs. abstract meanings

This subject is nonstandard and may not be understood by most speakers.

This page describes one way of how toki pona is or could be analysed. This is likely very experimental, plus the description of what meanings are "abstract" or "concrete" may be disputed. Therefore, this article should not be read as being authoritative in any meaningful way!

In toki pona, words have a broad meaning. When translating into English, this manifests into having multiple translations for the same word. While some translations seem close in concept, others seem further apart (e.g. compare "high, above, sky" to "deity, supernatural", as translations for sewi). This may contribute to the impression that toki pona words are "ambiguous", when in reality, content words only have one broad meaning.

One lense through which the seeming separation of meanings within the same word can be analysed, is displaying the broadness of a word on a spectrum of concrete meanings and abstract meanings. This is likely not the only spectrum that can be applied to toki pona words, and over-relying on the concrete/abstract analysis may result in shifting the meanings of words in an unintended way.

Part of the spectrum laid out in this article may also be physical meaning, being close to concreteness, and metaphorical meaning, being close to abstractness.

Word list

Warning: Some of these meanings are uncommon.

content word	concrete meaning	abstract meaning
akesi	herptile	(deprecated: non-cute, monstrous, ugly)
ala	vacuum, space	nothingness
alasa	hunt, gather, forage	search, try
ale	life, universe	everything, all
anpa	down, below-area	humble, lowly, dependent
ante	change, difference	other
awen	protection, maintenance, safe	enduring, waiting, staying
esun	market, trade, business transaction	swap, exchange
ijo	thing, object, matter	phenomenon, concept
ike	evil, bad	non-essential, irrelevant, unwanted
ilo	tool, machine, device	?
insa	stomach, internal organ	inside, between
jaki	disease, toxin	disgusting
jan	person	someone
jelo	yellow	?
jo	physically hold, carry, contain	have access to, own
kala	fish, underwater creature	object submerged in water
kalama	sound, noise	?
kama	arriving, coming	related to the future
kasi	plant	become unmoving, be in a vegetative state
ken	be able to	be allowed to, possible
kepeken	use	?
kili	fruit, vegetable	?
kiwen	rock, metal, hard material	rigid, inflexible
ko	powder, clay, paste, semi-solid	flexible, malleable, sticky
kon	gas, breath, air	essence, spirit; hidden reality, unseen agent
kule	color	spectrum or expression of a spectrum, type, gender
kulupu	group, tribe, family	collection
kute	hear, listen	obey
lape	sleep	rest, pause an activity
laso	blue, green	?
lawa	head	control, direct, guide, own, rule
len	clothing, fabric	hiding, layer of privacy
lete	uncooked, raw	cold, cool
lili	little, small	young
linja	long and flexible thing, rope, hair	link, boundedness, connection
lipu	document	flat object, thing carrying information
loje	red	?
lon	reality	exist, true
luka	arm, hand	touch, grab, punch
lukin	eye	see, watch
lupa	door, hole, orifice, window	?
ma	earth, land, outdoors area	place
mama	parent, ancestor, caretaker
mani	cattle, currency	valueable
meli	woman, female, feminine	?
mi	I, me, we, us	?
mije	man, male, masculine	?
moku	consume	?
moli	dead, dying	inert
monsi	back, buttocks	rear, behind
mu	(animal noise or communication)	(onomatopoeia)
mun	moon, night sky object, star	glitter, glimmer, glow
musi	art, entertainment, game	fun, funny
mute	many, quantity	very
nanpa	number, count	?
nasa	drunk, intoxicated	strange, unusual
nasin	path, road	custom, doctrine, method
nena	nose, button, mountain	uneven
ni	this, that	doing so
nimi	name, word	?
noka	foot, leg	bottom, lower part, kick, foundation
olin	love, respect	like strongly
ona	he, she, it, they	?
open	turn on, open	beginning
pakala	broken, damaged	?
pali	work	action, do
palisa	long hard thing; branch, rod, stick	?
pan	starchy food	?
pana	give, send, emit	?
pilin	heart	feel, experience
pimeja	dark	?
pini	finished, completed, end tip	related to the past
pipi	bug	annoying
poka	hip, side	next to, nearby
poki	box, container	category
pona	positive, elegant, friendly	simple
pu	the official toki pona book	interaction with the official toki pona book
sama	sibling, peer, equal	similar
seli	fire, heat	chemical reaction
selo	outer layer, boundary	touch, brush against
sewi	area above, highest part, something elevated	awe-inspiring, divine, sacred, supernatural
sijelo	body, torso, physical object	physical state
sike	round or circular thing, ball, circle	related to one year, repetition
sin	new, fresh	again
sina	you	?
sinpin	face, wall	front
sitelen	image, writing	dream, imagination, symbolic, representation
sona	knowledge	?
soweli	land mammal	animal
suli	big, heavy, large, long, tall	important, adult
suno	sun, light, bright	?
supa	horizontal surface to put things on	flat, even
suwi	sugar, fragrance	cute, adorable
tan	origin	reason
taso	isolated, lonely	only, exception
tawa	movement, motion	?
telo	liquid	easy to navigate through, going with the flow
tenpo	time, situation	?
toki	communication, language	think
tomo	indoor space, building, room	living area, home
tu	2	division, segmentation, pair
unpa	to have sexual relations with	connect, unite, insert
uta	mouth	kiss
utala	war, physical conflict	struggle, compete
walo	bright	?
wan	1	unique, united
waso	bird, winged animal, flying creature	object moving in the air
wawa	strength, power, electricity	confident, sure
weka	distance, absence	ignored
wile	wish, desire	requirement