Colors
| Part of a series on |
| kule |
Core tones
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| Nonstandard color words |
This is a description of colors in Toki Pona. The color words featured in the book Toki Pona: The Language of Good can roughly be compared to the CMYK color model. The words for hue—loje, jelo, laso—describe a red–yellow–"grue" system. pimeja and walo are often used as modifiers to describe shades and tints, respectively.
Core words[edit | edit source]
kule[edit | edit source]
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| Pronunciation | /ˈku |
|---|---|
| Usage | 2023: Core (99% → )2022: Core (99%) |
| Book and era | nimi pu |
| Part of speech | Content word |
| Codepoint | U+F191E |
The word kule is a core word relating to colors, hue, pigments, and paint.[1]
kasi ni li kule semekasi ni li kule seme?
What color is this plant?
loje[edit | edit source]
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| Pronunciation | /ˈlo |
|---|---|
| Usage | 2023: Core (99% ↗︎ )2022: Core (98%) |
| Book and era | nimi pu |
| Part of speech | Content word |
| Codepoint | U+F192B |
loje is used for red and red–adjacent colors, including pinks and magentas.[2] It usually ranges from reddish shades of purple to reddish shades of orange and brown. Other colors that can be described as loje include burgundy, crimson, fuchsia, maroon, rust, salmon, scarlet, and vermilion.
jelo[edit | edit source]
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| Pronunciation | /ˈje |
|---|---|
| Usage | 2023: Core (100% ↗︎ )2022: Core (98%) |
| Book and era | nimi pu |
| Part of speech | Content word |
| Codepoint | U+F1912 |
jelo is used for yellow and yellow–adjacent colors.[3] It usually ranges from yellowish shades of orange and brown to very yellowish shades of green. Other colors that can be described as jelo include amber, gold, and lime.
laso[edit | edit source]
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| Pronunciation | /ˈla |
|---|---|
| Usage | 2023: Core (99% ↗︎ )2022: Core (98%) |
| Book and era | nimi pu |
| Part of speech | Content word |
| Codepoint | U+F1923 |
laso is used for turquoise and turquoise–adjacent colors, including blues and greens.[4] It usually ranges from greens to bluish shades of violet. Toki Pona lacks the distinction between blue and green, linguists call this umbrella color term "grue". Other colors that can be described as laso include aquamarine, azure, cobalt, cyan, indigo, lime, mint, navy, olive, and teal.
walo[edit | edit source]
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| Pronunciation | /ˈwa |
|---|---|
| Usage | 2023: Core (100% ↗︎ )2022: Core (98%) |
| Book and era | nimi pu |
| Part of speech | Content word |
| Codepoint | U+F1972 |
walo is used for any pale or light color, especially those approaching white.[5] While walo and suno can both be translated as "light", they mean different things. suno refers to light itself, and may modify and describe objects that emit light. On the other hand, walo refers to the lightness of a color alone.
pimeja[edit | edit source]
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| Pronunciation | /ˈpi |
|---|---|
| Usage | 2023: Core (100% ↗︎ )2022: Core (99%) |
| Book and era | nimi pu |
| Part of speech | Content word |
| Codepoint | U+F194F |
pimeja is used for any dark color, especially those approaching black.[6] pimeja is also used for "darkness", as an antonym of suno ("light"), and can be used to describe shadows, unlit spaces, and the night.
Colors in context[edit | edit source]
The name for a specific hue may differ in context, lime may be referred to as either jelo or laso, depending on context, as shown in the illustration above.
Color mixing[edit | edit source]
Color words can be combined into phrases to "mix" their respective colors and describe more specific colors more closely. It is usually thought of in a subtractive color space, which works like mixing ink or paints (whereas an additive color space works like shining colored spotlights).
For example, the phrases laso loje ("reddish blue") and loje laso ("bluish red") are common ways to say purple. They may refer to somewhat different hues, leaning in the direction of the head (first) noun. In this case, laso loje would describe more bluish purples, and loje laso would describe more reddish purples.
See also[edit | edit source]
References[edit | edit source]
- ↑ Lang, Sonja. (18 July 2021). Toki Pona Dictionary. Illustrated by Vacon Sartirani. Tawhid. ISBN 978-0978292362. p. 256.
- ↑ Lang, Sonja. (18 July 2021). Toki Pona Dictionary. Illustrated by Vacon Sartirani. Tawhid. ISBN 978-0978292362. p. 271.
- ↑ Lang, Sonja. (18 July 2021). Toki Pona Dictionary. Illustrated by Vacon Sartirani. Tawhid. ISBN 978-0978292362. p. 234.
- ↑ Lang, Sonja. (18 July 2021). Toki Pona Dictionary. Illustrated by Vacon Sartirani. Tawhid. ISBN 978-0978292362. p. 261.
- ↑ Lang, Sonja. (18 July 2021). Toki Pona Dictionary. Illustrated by Vacon Sartirani. Tawhid. ISBN 978-0978292362. p. 283.
- ↑ Lang, Sonja. (18 July 2021). Toki Pona Dictionary. Illustrated by Vacon Sartirani. Tawhid. ISBN 978-0978292362. p. 328.