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toki[[Toki ponaPona]] is known for its low amount of vocabulary., Butbut how many words there are in toki pona depends on the userspeaker, timeframe, and /cutoff orpoint how generous one is withfor expanded orand controversial cases, and it can even depend on when this question is asked or about.
This article treats {{tp|[[ali]]}} as a spelling variant of {{tp|[[ale]]}}, not counting it as a separate word.
==By the books==
==Survey says==
Considering only the 2 books from Sonja Lang, [[pu|lipu pu]] and [[ku|lipu ku]], the count ranges from '''''120''''' to '''''190''''', depending on how generous you are with the controversial cases. '''''120 or 123''''' are the commonly used numbers for ''pu'', '''''137''''' for ''ku suli'', and anything in the range from '''''178''''' to '''''187''''' for ''ku lili''.
The 2023 {{tok|[[Linku]]}} survey results sort words into [[ijo Linku#Usage categories|usage categories]], making it convenient to choose a cutoff point by percentage of speakers.
{{tp|ale}} and {{tp|ali}} were polled for separately; {{tp|ali}} is counted as uncommon.
* '''''120''''' ''pu'' words, unless you include the synonyms (see below).
* '''''1''''' alternate pronunciation/spelling: ''ali''. Generally agreed not to be a word in its own right.
* '''''3''''' words which were considered synonyms in ''pu'': ''kin, namako, oko''. Now considered part of ''ku suli''.
* '''''14''''' other ''ku suli'' words, excluding the three above: ''kijetesantakalu, kipisi, leko, misikeke, monsuta, epiku, jasima, kokosila, lanpan, meso, n, soko, tonsi, ku.''
* '''''41''''' uncontroversially ''ku lili'' words: ''apeja, kan, kapesi, majuna, pake, pata, po, powe, tuli, ete, ewe, isipin, kamalawala, ke, kese, kiki, kulijo, kuntu, likujo, linluwi, loka, misa, mulapisu, neja, oke, peto, polinpin, pomotolo, samu, san, soto, taki, te, teje, to, umesu, unu, usawi, wa, waleja, wasoweli.''
* '''''4''''' words which break phonotactics or phonology: ''sutopatikuna, yupekosi, Pingo, kalamARR'', listed by how controversial their rule breaking is, and consequently by how many speakers accept them as ''ku lili''.
* '''''5''''' reserved words: ''ju, lu, nu, su, u''. It is unclear whether they count as ''ku lili''.
* '''''2''''' spelling mistakes made by jan Sonja while entering data into the book: ''toma'' (misspelling of tomo), ''suke'' (misspelling of sike). Generally agreed not to be words in their own right.
{|class="wikitable" style="text-align:right;"
Additionally, the German and Esperanto translation of lipu pu include a list of the nimi ku suli, and the also included [https://tokipona.org/Sonja_Lang_-_Toki_Pona_Dictionary.pdf notes on ''lipu pu''] from the second book make a note of ''tonsi'' (for the part that describes ''meli'' and ''mije''), only mentions and doesn't explain ''kijetesantakalu'' (when talking about the [[nasin_nanpa_ali_ike#%5Cseximal%5D_%5CNot_humorous%5D_%5Cku%5D_kijetesantakalu,_tan_soweli_nata|counting system]]), and points to the synonyms being used distinctively. Some users say they count ''tonsi'' as an honorary pu word.
!Category
!{{abbr|Min.|Minimum}}<br />users
==pre-pu==
!Words
Before the first official book, the count of words fluctuated a bit. For a long while, it stayed stable at 118 words.
!rowspan="2"|Running<br />total
===2001===
Early on, toki pona went through a lot of changes. Much of this era is lost. When speaking to outsiders about the language, Sonja early on said that toki pona had 150 words, and less than 200. It's not unlikely that 150 words was higher than the count of the actual word list as it was first published.
===2002===
On 2002-05-15 a poll vote of 6 to 2 decides in favour of Sonja's proposal for a new word kiwen to mean "rock, stone, metal, material".
On 2002-05-31 ''iki'' changes to ''ona''.
{| class="wikitable"
|+Word list 2002-06-07 (retrieval date)
|-
!Core
|style="text-align: center;" colspan=2|''described as "98% complete"''
|90%
|118
|-
!Widespread
|Word count||120
|70%
|10
|128
|-
!Common
|non-pu words||iki (listed as "archaic" and not counted), kan, kin, leko, oko
|50%
|7
|135
|-
!Uncommon
|pu words not in list||alasa, ali (not counted), esun, pan, pu
|20%
|14
|149
|-
!Rare
|10%
|11
|160
|-
!Obscure
|2%
|66
|226
|}
==Historical==
{| class="wikitable"
===By the books===
|+Word origins 2002-08-09 (retrieval date)
{{pu|en}}, published in 2014, advertises "120 words", but has 123 including the "[[synonym]]s" that it unsuccessfully tried to merge. Later editions include more words to better reflect contemporary usage. See {{tp|[[nimi pu]]}}.
{{ku|en}}, published in 2021, advertises "137 essential words", and includes up to 187 words overall. See {{tp|[[nimi ku]]}}.
===pre-{{tp|pu}}===
[[pre-pu|Before the first official book]], the count of words fluctuated a bit. For a long while, it stayed stable at 118 words.
====2001====
Early on, Toki Pona went through a lot of changes. Much of this era is lost. When speaking to outsiders about the language, {{tok|[[jan Sonja]]}} early on said that Toki Pona had 150 words, and less than 200. It's not unlikely that 150 words was higher than the count of the actual word list as it was first published.
====2002====
On 2002-05-15, a poll vote of 6 to 2 decides in favour of Sonja's proposal for a new word {{tp|kiwen}} to mean "rock, stone, metal, material".
On 2002-05-31, {{tp|iki}} changes to {{tp|ona}}.
{|class="wikitable"
|+Word list 2002-06-07 (retrieval date)<div style="font-weight:normal;">Described as "98% complete"</div>
|-
!Word count
|style="text-align: center;" colspan=2|''etymology list, reflects an older usage''
|120
|-
!non-{{tp|pu}} words
|Word count||121
|{{tp|iki}} (listed as "archaic" and not counted), {{tp|kan}}, {{tp|kin}}, {{tp|leko}}, {{tp|oko}}
|-
!{{tp|non-pu}} words||iki, kan, kin,not leko,in okolist
|{{tp|alasa}}, {{tp|ali}} (not counted), {{tp|esun}}, {{tp|pan}}, {{tp|pu}}
|-
|pu words not in list||alasa, ali (not counted), esun, ona, pan, pu
|}
On 2002-11-01 ''ali'' becomes an alternative to ''ale'', ''en'' is used between head nouns instead of modifiers, ''kan'' no longer exists, and ''kin'' is used for emphasis of any word
{|class="wikitable"
===2003===
|+Word origins 2002-08-09 (retrieval date)<div style="font-weight:normal;">Etymology list, reflects an older usage</div>
{| class="wikitable"
|+Word list 2003-03-04 (retrieval date)
|-
!Word count
|style="text-align: center;" colspan=2|''described as "98% complete"''
|121
|-
!non-{{tp|pu}} words
|Word count||119
|{{tp|iki}}, {{tp|kan}}, {{tp|kin}}, {{tp|leko}}, {{tp|oko}}
|-
!{{tp|pu}} words not in list
|non-pu words||iki (listed as "archaic" and not counted), kan, kin, leko, oko, pata
|{{tp|alasa}}, {{tp|ali}} (not counted), {{tp|esun}}, {{tp|ona}}, {{tp|pan}}, {{tp|pu}}
|}
On 2002-11-01, {{tp|ali}} becomes an alternative to {{tp|ale}}, {{tp|en}} is used between head nouns instead of modifiers, {{tp|kan}} no longer exists, and {{tp|kin}} is used for emphasis of any word.
====2003====
{|class="wikitable"
|+Word list 2003-03-04 (retrieval date)<div style="font-weight:normal;">Described as "98% complete"</div>
|-
!Word count
|119
|-
!non-{{tp|pu}} words
|{{tp|iki}} (listed as "archaic" and not counted), {{tp|kan}}, {{tp|kin}}, {{tp|leko}}, {{tp|oko}}, {{tp|pata}}
|-
!{{tp|pu}} words not in list||alasa, anu, esun, pan, pu
|{{tp|alasa}}, {{tp|anu}}, {{tp|esun}}, {{tp|pan}}, {{tp|pu}}
|}
===2007===
====2007====
{| class="wikitable"
{|class="wikitable"
|+Word list 2007-09-27 (retrieval date)
|-
|!Word count||118
|118
|-
|!non-{{tp|pu}} words||kin, oko
|{{tp|kin}}, {{tp|oko}}
|-
!{{tp|pu}} words not in list||alasa, esun, pan, pu
|{{tp|alasa}}, {{tp|esun}}, {{tp|pan}}, {{tp|pu}}
|}
===2009===
On 2009-04-01 the word ''kijetesantakalu'' got introduced as an April Fool's joke.
==Beyond the books==
Many, many, ''many'' other words have been created, most of which never have been used beyond its creation. It is impossible to find them all.
====2009====
Nevertheless, an attempt was made in the form of [https://theepicosity.github.io/lipu-pi-ijo-pi-toki-pona/ kule epiku Atawan's ''nimi ale'']. It is an extremely indiscriminate collection, seeking to contain anything that anyone ever declared to be a ''toki pona'' word. As of the last edit<ref>The Table of Contents claims it was last updated in 2020-02-24, but section 2a contains a link to a Discord message posted in '''2021'''-02-13.</ref>, the grand total (across sections 1 through 4) is 1165 words (some with multiple independent definitions). Over half of those are from [https://theepicosity.github.io/lipu-pi-ijo-pi-toki-pona/nimi-ale/NA%20-%202a.txt section 2a], "words in ''[[ma pona pi toki pona]]''", which catalogued every message containing the custom :[[nimisin]]: emote.
On 2009-04-01, the word {{tp|kijetesantakalu}} is introduced as an April Fool's joke.
===Beyond the books===
Many, many, <em>many</em> other words have been created, most of which never have been used beyond their creation. It is impossible to find them all.
Nevertheless, an attempt was made in the form of [https://theepicosity.github.io/lipu-pi-ijo-pi-toki-pona/ {{tok|kule epiku Atawan}}'s {{tp|nimi ale}}]. It is an extremely indiscriminate collection, seeking to contain anything that anyone ever declared to be a Toki Pona word. As of the last edit<ref group="note">The Table of Contents claims it was last updated in 2020-02-24, but section 2a contains a link to a Discord message posted in <strong>2021</strong>-02-13.</ref>, the grand total (across sections 1 through 4) is 1165 words (some with multiple independent definitions). Over half of those are from [https://theepicosity.github.io/lipu-pi-ijo-pi-toki-pona/nimi-ale/NA%20-%202a.txt section 2a], "words in {{tok|[[ma pona pi toki pona]]}}", which catalogued every message containing the custom <code>:[[nimisin]]:</code> emote.
A somewhat more conservative list is ''{{tok|[[lipu Linku]]''}}, which as of the August 2022 update contains 256 words. Even so, many of them are obscure, with 12 of them scoring 0% in a usage survey.
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<references group="note" />
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