anu
anu is a Toki Pona particle used to show alternatives, corresponding with the English conjunction "or".
  | |
| Pronunciation | /ˈa |
|---|---|
| Usage | 2023: Core (99% ↗︎ )2022: Core (98%) |
| Book and era | nimi pu |
| Part of speech | Semiparticle, content word |
| Codepoint | U+F1907 |
pu usage
In Toki Pona: The Language of Good, the word anu is defined, but not explained, outside of its role in anu seme tag questions.
anu remains a debatable subject when it comes to it being able to form questions on its own, without the seme or the [predicate] ala [predicate] format. pu only gives 2 sentences containing anu without anu seme:
mi kute e mije anu meli.
(answers to Lesson 7) as a translation to: "I hear a man or a woman."
wile sona nanpa wan li ni: ale li pona anu ike?
(famous quotations) as a translation to the quote attributed to Albert Einstein: "The most fundamental question we can ever ask ourselves is whether or not the universe we live in is friendly or hostile"
Possible analyses
- While the first use of anu is presented as a statement, anu might still act as a kind of choice, and could in some way still work as a disguised question
- While the second use of anu is presented as a question, it's not clear if anu is responsible - or solely responsible - for forming a question. The wile sona might do some heavy lifting
- The second use of anu is also not a question in the English sentence (although a question format arises out of the reformulation in toki pona)
As a content word
Some speakers use anu as a content word meaning "choose, decide".