Idioms
Idioms are very rare in Toki Pona due to the focus on clear speech.
One early idiom is jo e luka mute (literally "to have many arms"), meaning "to be complicated". At the time of this idiom's coinage, luka was the highest-value number word, so big numbers would have many repetitions of luka.[1][2]
Another idiom is "o moku e kala pona", or omekapo (literally "eat a good fish") which is used as a farewell.[3] It comes from a message jan Sonja signed in a copy of Toki Pona: The Language of Good owned by jan Maliku which included the phrase.
References
- ↑ jan Sonja (21 May 2002). "Compounds". Toki Pona Forums. Retrieved 12 October 2023.
- ↑ jan Sonja [@sonjalang]. (16 November 2022). [Message posted in the
#sona-musichannel in the ma pona pi toki pona Discord server]. Discord. Retrieved 12 October 2023. "luka was the highest number at the time, so big numbers were like luka luka luka luka luka luka luka wan[.] hence the idiom, ona li jo e luka mute, it is complicated". - ↑ kala pona Tonyu (23 January 2021). omekapo. lipu kule. Retrieved 20 October 2023.