Synonyms
Synonyms are words with the same meaning. They are the opposite of antonyms.
pu "synonyms"
pu lists the following 3 words as "synonyms", not counted among the 120 nimi pu:
| Word | Definition in practice | "Synonym" | Merged definition |
|---|---|---|---|
| kin | also | a | emotion particle, emphasis marker |
| namako | spice, extra | sin | new, extra |
| oko | eye | lukin | see, eye, (pre-verb) try |
Those words have been in use before and since the publication of pu, but with different meanings from their supposed relatives. Calling them "synonyms" was a deliberate attempt to merge them.[1] ku acknowledges that the words have retained their separate meanings among those who use them.
The merger of these words was mostly successful with lukin/oko, and mostly unsuccessful with sin/namako and a/kin. However, kin's original role as an emphasis marker moved completely to a, which was previously only a sentence-final particle to indicate emotion.[2] Here is an overview of how meanings changed over time:
| Word | Pre-pu usage | Usage in pu | Post-pu usage |
|---|---|---|---|
| a | emotion particle | emotion particle, emphasis marker | emotion particle, emphasis marker |
| kin | also, (uncommon: emphasis marker) | also | |
| sin | new, another, more | new, another, more, extra, additional | new, another, more |
| namako | spice, embellishment, extra, additional | spice, embellishment, extra, additional | |
| lukin | see, look, visual | see, look, visual, eye, try | see, look, visual, eye, try |
| oko | eye | eye, (uncommon: see, look) |
ali
ali is generally considered a pronunciation variant of ale, rather than a separate, synonymous word.
References
- ↑ Messages from jan Sonja in ma pona pi toki pona: kin, namako, oko.
- ↑ The 2007 definitions in Classic Word List define a as an "emotion word" and kin as a word that "emphasizes the word(s) before it".
nimi sin
Some nimi sin happen to be coined with the same meaning:
- cross: aka, eki, natu
- dream: jume, oni
- 3: san, tuli