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In Toki Pona, there is no single word for "yes" as in English. This is similar to many natural languages, such as Chinese, Irish, Latin, Thai, and Welsh.^[1]

Answering questions[edit | edit source]

For answering yes–no questions, the respondent repeats the word in question, the word surrounding ala. Alternatively, one can form a full sentence as a response:

te akesi li suwi ala suwi to 　 te suwi to

"akesi li suwi ala suwi?" — "suwi."

"Are frogs cute?" — "Cute."

te akesi li suwi ala suwi to 　 te akesi li suwi to

"akesi li suwi ala suwi?" — "akesi li suwi."

"Are frogs cute?" — "Frogs are cute."

General affirmation[edit | edit source]

Outside of answering yes–no questions, there are different possibilities to express general affirmation or agreement.

"akesi li suwi"
— lon! / ni li lon.
— ni a!
— suwi a!
— mi pilin sama.
— [...]

Other interjections might also work as "yes" or "yeah", as in to express a positive emotion. For example, when scoring a goal at sport, one may say pona!, wawa a!, or simply, a!

References[edit | edit source]

English Wikipedia has an article on
yes and no.

↑ Holmberg, Anders (2016). The syntax of yes and no. Oxford University Press. pp. 64–72. ISBN 9780198701859.

[1] Holmberg, Anders (2016). The syntax of yes and no. Oxford University Press. pp. 64–72. ISBN 9780198701859.

[1]

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+In Toki Pona, there is no single word for "'''yes'''" as in English. This is similar to many natural languages, such as {{w|Chinese language|Chinese}}, {{w|Irish language|Irish}}, {{w|Latin}}, {{w|Thai language|Thai}}, and {{w|Welsh language|Welsh}}.<ref>Holmberg, Anders (2016). [https://academic.oup.com/book/9258 ''The syntax of yes and no'']. Oxford University Press. pp. 64–72. ISBN 9780198701859.</ref>
-yes
+==Answering questions==
+For answering {{w|yes–no questions}}, the respondent repeats the word in question, the word surrounding ''ala''. Alternatively, one can form a full sentence as a response:
+{{Example
-'''T<s>here is no word for "yes" in toki pona!</s>'''
+|"akesi li suwi ala suwi?" — "suwi."
-* <s>To reply to a [[Questions|yes/no question]], repeat the verb:</s>
+|"Are frogs cute?" — "Cute."
-<blockquote><s>akesi li suwi ala suwi?<br>
+|te akesi li suwi ala suwi to {{idsp}} te suwi to
-- suwi.</s></blockquote>
+}}
-* <s>Alternatively, you can form a full sentence:</s>
-<blockquote><s>akesi li suwi anu seme?<br>
-- akesi li suwi!</s></blockquote>
+{{Example
-* <s>Outside of answering to yes/no questions, there are different possibilities to express general affirmation or agreement.</s>
-<blockquote><s>akesi li suwi.<br></s>
+|"akesi li suwi ala suwi?" — "akesi li suwi."
+|"Are frogs cute?" — "Frogs are cute."
-<s>- lon. / ni li lon!<br>
+|te akesi li suwi ala suwi to {{idsp}} te akesi li suwi to
-- ni a!<br>
+}}
-- suwi a!<br>
-- mi pilin sama.<br></s>
+==General affirmation==
-<s>(and many more)</s></blockquote>
+Outside of answering yes–no questions, there are different possibilities to express general affirmation or agreement.
-* <s>More interjections might also work as "yes" or "yeah"</s>
-<blockquote><s>[scoring a goal at sportsball]<br></s>
-<s>- pona!<br>
-- wawa a!<br></s>
-<s>- aa!</s></blockquote>
+<blockquote>
+<poem lang="tok">
+"akesi li suwi"
+— lon! / ni li lon.
+— ni a!
+— suwi a!
+— mi pilin sama.
+— [...]
+</poem>
+</blockquote>
+Other [[interjections]] might also work as "yes" or "yeah", as in to express a positive emotion. For example, when scoring a goal at sport, one may say {{tp|pona!}}, {{tp|wawa a!}}, or simply, {{tp|a!}}
+==References==
+{{Wikipedia|yes and no}}
+<references />
+[[Category:English translations]]