Homographs

The subject of this article is just for fun. It might not be meant or appropriate for serious use.

These widespread Toki Pona words are homographs with English words. Some are cognates; most have unrelated meanings.

Common words

• a (article)
• ala (à la)
• ale (beer)
• ante (stake)
• e (pronoun)
• en (unit)
• jan (jinn)
• kin (family)
• la (music note)
• li (unit)
• ma (mother)
• mama (mother)
• mi (unit)
• mu (Greek letter)
• mute (silent)
• o (oh)
• open (ajar)
• pan (container)
• pi (Greek letter)
• sike (psych!)
• sin (wrongdoing)
• soko (ape)
• sona (self-insert)
• tan (brown)
• tu (to)
• wan (pale)
• wile (trick)

Names

• Ike
• Jo
• Ken
• Luka
• NASA

In other languages

Polish

• a (and, while)
• Ala (feminine name)
• ale (but)
• jaki (what, which)
• Jan (masculine name)
• lawa (lava)
• len (flax)
• luka (gap)
• lupa (magnifying glass)
• kin (cinemas, genitive)
• ku (toward)
• ma (has, mine)
• mama (mother)
• mi (to me)
• mu (to him)
• ni (neither)
• nimi (using them)
• o (about)
• oko (eye)
• ona (she)
• pali (is smoking/burning)
• pan (sir)
• pana (sir's)
• sama (alone, feminine)
• tan (dance, archaic)
• toki (goings-on)
• tu (here)
• wan (van)

Portuguese

• a (to)
• ala (flank)
• ale (give wings!)
• ante (in front of)
• e (and)
• li (I read)
• loje (store)
• lupa (magnifying glass)
• mama (breast)
• mi (music note)
• mije (piss!)
• mu (Greek letter)
• mute (mutate!)
• nena (rag doll)
• o (the)
• pana (to bread)
• pi (Greek letter)
• pipi (pee-pee)
• pu (interjection)
• selo (postage stamp)
• sina (destiny)
• tomo (I take)
• uta (they winnow)

Spanish

• a (to)
• ala (wing)
• ante (before)
• e (and)
• en (in)
• la (the)
• laso (weary)
• lupa (magnifying glass)
• meso (I tear out)
• mi (my)
• mute (mutate!)
• nasa (weir)
• nena (girl)
• ni (nor)
• o (or)
• pan (bread)
• pana (velour)
• pi (Greek letter)
• sama (sea bream)
• sin (without)
• tan (so)
• taso (I valuate)
• tomo (tome)
• tu (your)
• uta (leishmaniasis)

See also

• Phonotactic matches