Recommended words

Learners are recommended to learn the nimi pu (words in Toki Pona: The Language of Good) and any other words categorized as "core" or "widespread" on Linku. These are the most widely understood words, and practicing expressing yourself with a limited set of words will provide familiarity with how Toki Pona works, such as the semantic space of each word, and how speakers use circumlocution when they need to explain concepts beyond these.

Word	sitelen-ponasitelen-pona	sitelen sitelen	Toki Pona: The Language of Good definition (corrected if applicable)
a	aa		PARTICLE  (emphasis, emotion or confirmation)
akesi	akesiakesi		NOUN  reptile, amphibian
ala	alaala		ADJECTIVE  no, not, zero
alasa	alasaalasa		VERB  to hunt, forage
ale	aleale		ADJECTIVE  all; abundant, countless, bountiful, every, plentiful NOUN  abundance, everything, life, universe NUMBER  100
anpa	anpaanpa		ADJECTIVE  bowing down, downward, humble, lowly, dependent
ante	anteante		ADJECTIVE  different, altered, changed, other
anu	anuanu		PARTICLE  or
awen	awenawen		ADJECTIVE  enduring, kept, protected, safe, waiting, staying PRE-VERB  to continue to
e	ee		PARTICLE  (before the direct object)
en	enen		PARTICLE  (between multiple subjects)
esun	esunesun		NOUN  market, shop, fair, bazaar, business transaction
ijo	ijoijo		NOUN  thing, phenomenon, object, matter
ike	ikeike		ADJECTIVE  bad, negative; non-essential, irrelevant
ilo	iloilo		NOUN  tool, implement, machine, device
insa	insainsa		NOUN  centre, content, inside, between; internal organ, stomach
jaki	jakijaki		ADJECTIVE  disgusting, obscene, sickly, toxic, unclean, unsanitary
jan	janjan		NOUN  human being, person, somebody
jelo	jelojelo		ADJECTIVE  yellow, yellowish
jo	jojo		VERB  to have, carry, contain, hold
kala	kalakala		NOUN  fish, marine animal, sea creature
kalama	kalamakalama		VERB  to produce a sound; recite, utter aloud
kama	kamakama		ADJECTIVE  arriving, coming, future, summoned PRE-VERB  to become, manage to, succeed in
kasi	kasikasi		NOUN  plant, vegetation; herb, leaf
ken	kenken		PRE-VERB  to be able to, be allowed to, can, may ADJECTIVE  possible
kepeken	kepekenkepeken		PREPOSITION  to use, with, by means of
kijetesantakalu	kijetesantakalukijetesantakalu		—
kili	kilikili		NOUN  fruit, vegetable, mushroom
kin	kinkin		—
kiwen	kiwenkiwen		NOUN  hard object, metal, rock, stone
ko	koko		NOUN  clay, clinging form, dough, semi-solid, paste, powder
kon	konkon		NOUN  air, breath; essence, spirit; hidden reality, unseen agent
ku	kuku		—
kule	kulekule		ADJECTIVE  colourful, pigmented, painted
kulupu	kulupukulupu		NOUN  community, company, group, nation, society, tribe
kute	kutekute		NOUN  ear VERB  to hear, listen; pay attention to, obey
la	lala		PARTICLE  (between the context phrase and the main sentence)
lape	lapelape		ADJECTIVE  sleeping, resting
laso	lasolaso		ADJECTIVE  blue, green
lawa	lawalawa		NOUN  head, mind VERB  to control, direct, guide, lead, own, plan, regulate, rule
leko	lekoleko		—
len	lenlen		NOUN  cloth, clothing, fabric, textile; cover, layer of privacy
lete	letelete		ADJECTIVE  cold, cool; uncooked, raw
li	lili		PARTICLE  (between any subject except mi alone or sina alone and its verb; also to introduce a new verb for the same subject)
lili	lililili		ADJECTIVE  little, small, short; few; a bit; young
linja	linjalinja		NOUN  long and flexible thing; cord, hair, rope, thread, yarn
lipu	lipulipu		NOUN  flat object; book, document, card, paper, record, website
loje	lojeloje		ADJECTIVE  red, reddish
lon	lonlon		PREPOSITION  located at, present at, real, true, existing
luka	lukaluka		NOUN  arm, hand, tactile organ NUMBER  five
lukin	lukinlukin		NOUN  eye VERB  to look at, see, examine, observe, read, watch PRE-VERB  to seek, look for, try to
lupa	lupalupa		NOUN  door, hole, orifice, window
ma	mama		NOUN  earth, land; outdoors, world; country, territory; soil
mama	mamamama		NOUN  parent, ancestor; creator, originator; caretaker, sustainer
mani	manimani		NOUN  money, cash, savings, wealth; large domesticated animal
meli	melimeli		NOUN  woman, female, feminine person; wife
mi	mimi		NOUN  I, me, we, us
mije	mijemije		NOUN  man, male, masculine person; husband
moku	mokumoku		VERB  to eat, drink, consume, swallow, ingest
moli	molimoli		ADJECTIVE  dead, dying
monsi	monsimonsi		NOUN  back, behind, rear
monsuta	monsutamonsuta		—
mu	mumu		PARTICLE  (animal noise or communication)
mun	munmun		NOUN  moon, night sky object, star
musi	musimusi		ADJECTIVE  artistic, entertaining, frivolous, playful, recreational
mute	mutemute		ADJECTIVE  many, a lot, more, much, several, very NOUN  quantity
n	nn		—
namako	namakonamako		—
nanpa	nanpananpa		PARTICLE  -th (ordinal number) NOUN  numbers
nasa	nasanasa		ADJECTIVE  unusual, strange; silly; drunk, intoxicated
nasin	nasinnasin		NOUN  way, custom, doctrine, method, path, road
nena	nenanena		NOUN  bump, button, hill, mountain, nose, protuberance
ni	nini		ADJECTIVE  that, this
nimi	niminimi		NOUN  name, word
noka	nokanoka		NOUN  foot, leg, organ of locomotion; bottom, lower part
o	oo		PARTICLE  hey! O! (vocative or imperative)
olin	olinolin		VERB  to love, have compassion for, respect, show affection to
ona	onaona		NOUN  he, she, it, they
open	openopen		VERB  to begin, start; open; turn on
pakala	pakalapakala		ADJECTIVE  botched, broken, damaged, harmed, messed up
pali	palipali		VERB  to do, take action on, work on; build, make, prepare
palisa	palisapalisa		NOUN  long hard thing; branch, rod, stick
pan	panpan		NOUN  cereal, grain; barley, corn, oat, rice, wheat; bread, pasta
pana	panapana		VERB  to give, send, emit, provide, put, release
pi	pipi		PARTICLE  of
pilin	pilinpilin		NOUN  heart (physical or emotional) ADJECTIVE  feeling (an emotion, a direct experience)
pimeja	pimejapimeja		ADJECTIVE  black, dark, unlit
pini	pinipini		ADJECTIVE  ago, completed, ended, finished, past
pipi	pipipipi		NOUN  bug, insect, ant, spider
poka	pokapoka		NOUN  hip, side; next to, nearby, vicinity
poki	pokipoki		NOUN  container, bag, bowl, box, cup, cupboard, drawer, vessel
pona	ponapona		ADJECTIVE  good, positive, useful; friendly, peaceful; simple
pu	pupu		ADJECTIVE  interacting with the official Toki Pona book
sama	samasama		ADJECTIVE  same, similar; each other; sibling, peer, fellow PREPOSITION  as, like
seli	seliseli		NOUN  fire; cooking element, chemical reaction, heat source
selo	seloselo		NOUN  outer form, outer layer; bark, peel, shell, skin; boundary
seme	semeseme		PARTICLE  what? which?
sewi	sewisewi		NOUN  area above, highest part, something elevated ADJECTIVE  awe-inspiring, divine, sacred, supernatural
sijelo	sijelosijelo		NOUN  body (of person or animal), physical state, torso
sike	sikesike		NOUN  round or circular thing; ball, circle, cycle, sphere, wheel ADJECTIVE  of one year
sin	sinsin		ADJECTIVE  new, fresh; additional, another, extra
sina	sinasina		NOUN  you
sinpin	sinpinsinpin		NOUN  face, foremost, front, wall
sitelen	sitelensitelen		NOUN  image, picture, representation, symbol, mark, writing
sona	sonasona		VERB  to know, be skilled in, be wise about, have information on PRE-VERB  to know how to
soweli	sowelisoweli		NOUN  animal, beast, land mammal
suli	sulisuli		ADJECTIVE  big, heavy, large, long, tall; important; adult
suno	sunosuno		NOUN  sun; light, brightness, glow, radiance, shine; light source
supa	supasupa		NOUN  horizontal surface, thing to put or rest something on
suwi	suwisuwi		ADJECTIVE  sweet, fragrant; cute, innocent, adorable
tan	tantan		PREPOSITION  by, from, because of
taso	tasotaso		PARTICLE  but, however ADJECTIVE  only
tawa	tawatawa		PREPOSITION  going to, toward; for; from the perspective of ADJECTIVE  moving
telo	telotelo		NOUN  water, liquid, fluid, wet substance; beverage
tenpo	tenpotenpo		NOUN  time, duration, moment, occasion, period, situation
toki	tokitoki		VERB  to communicate, say, speak, say, talk, use language, think
tomo	tomotomo		NOUN  indoor space; building, home, house, room
tonsi	tonsitonsi		—
tu	tutu		NUMBER  two
unpa	unpaunpa		VERB  to have sexual or marital relations with
uta	utauta		NOUN  mouth, lips, oral cavity, jaw
utala	utalautala		VERB  to battle, challenge, compete against, struggle against
walo	walowalo		ADJECTIVE  white, whitish; light-coloured, pale
wan	wanwan		ADJECTIVE  unique, united NUMBER  one
waso	wasowaso		NOUN  bird, flying creature, winged animal
wawa	wawawawa		ADJECTIVE  strong, powerful; confident, sure; energetic, intense
weka	wekaweka		ADJECTIVE  absent, away, ignored
wile	wilewile		PRE-VERB  must, need, require, should, want, wish