jo

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jo
Pronunciation	/jo/ (listen)/j/ sounds like Y, as in "fjord" or "hallelujah".
Usage	2023: Core (99% ↗ ) 2022: Core (98%)
Book and era	nimi pu
Part of speech	Content word
Codepoint	󱤓 U+F1913

jo is a core content word relating to ownership and possession.

Etymology

The word jo is derived from Mandarin Chinese 有 (pinyin: yǒu), meaning "to have".

Semantic space

The semantic space of jo includes ownership and possession, but varies heavily between speakers.

jo cannot be used to calque every sense of the English word "have".

Some proficient speakers limit the use of jo to direct physical possession, such as holding or carrying something in one's hands, or a container enclosing another being. Such a container is often poki or tomo, but this is not always the case; lipu tenpo translates "(table of) contents" as jo.

Other speakers are more lenient with the definition of jo, extending it to more abstract cultural concepts of possession.

Some speakers avoid the word jo altogether, a style of speech called jon't.

pu

In the "Official Toki Pona Dictionary" section, the book Toki Pona: The Language of Good defines jo as:

VERB  to have, carry, contain, hold

ku

For Toki Pona Dictionary, respondents in ma pona pi toki pona translated these English words as jo:

have⁵81–100% of respondents, possess⁵81–100% of respondents, carry⁵81–100% of respondents, contain⁴61–80% of respondents, own⁴61–80% of respondents, hold⁴61–80% of respondents, possession⁴61–80% of respondents, ownership⁴61–80% of respondents, include³41–60% of respondents, consist³41–60% of respondents, comprise³41–60% of respondents, grasp²21–40% of respondents, equip²21–40% of respondents, bring²21–40% of respondents, grip²21–40% of respondents

sitelen pona

The sitelen pona glyph for jo includes a circle for a person's head, connected to a G-shaped line with a horizontal stroke representing a hand. If the line is taken as the body, it represents a person bending over to grasp something. The line can also be interpreted as an arm extending at an angle at the shoulder.