Numbers

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The way Toki Pona treats numbers is unusual among languages, even constructed ones. Instead of something akin to positional notation, where the "three" in "twenty three" is treated differently than in "three thousand", Toki Pona number words are simply added together (sign-value notation).

Number system

As modifiers, the words wan and tu can mean 1 and 2 respectively. However, they can still mean other things in context.

mi wile e ilo tu e linja wan　

mi wile e ilo tu e linja wan.

I want two tools and one string.
I want a cutting tool (scissors) and a unifying sheet (tape).

Any numbers above 2 can be expressed with mute.

soweli mute li mu　

soweli mute li mu.

Many animals are making noises.

Alternatively, number words can be strung together in descending order to form larger numbers by addition. (This is often compared to Roman numerals, but unlike those, Toki Pona numbers aren't subtracted when a larger one is placed after a smaller one.)

akesi tu wan li tawa　

akesi tu wan li tawa.

Three lizards are moving.

Outside of wan and tu, the words luka, mute, and ale can mean 5, 20, and 100 respectively.

mi sitelen e kala luka tu　

mi sitelen e kala luka tu.

I drew seven (5+2) fish.
I drew two hand-fish (perhaps octopuses).

Ordinals

nanpa
Pronunciation	/ˈnan.pa/
Usage	2023: Core (100% ↗︎ )2022: Core (99%)
Book and era	nimi pu
Part of speech	Semiparticle, content word
Codepoint	󱤽 U+F193D

As a particle, nanpa goes before a number phrase to mark it as an ordinal. (This can sound similar to English, e.g. nanpa wan corresponds to "number one".)

waso nanpa tu wan li kute e nimi　

waso nanpa tu wan li kute e nimi.

The third bird heard a word.

(As a content word, nanpa refers to the concept of numbers.)

ilo nanpa li ken nanpa e tenpo　

ilo nanpa li ken nanpa e tenpo.

The number tool can count time.

Philosophy

Large numbers being inconvenient to express is an intentional choice by jan Sonja, as she considered exact numbers to rarely be truly necessary.

Alternative number systems

See also the Number systems category.

A common project among tokiponists is creating other ways to express numbers in the language. Some of them are made as serious proposals, whether to "improve" the language or for personal writings. Others are explicitly intended to be humorous, such as nasin nanpa kijetesantakalu.