jo

jo
Pronunciation	/jo//j/ sounds like English 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 有 (yǒu, "to have").

Semantic space

The semantic space of jo includes ownership and possession, but varies heavily between speakers. The word is not equivalent to the English word have or similar words in European languages. In strict usage, some speakers limit the use of jo to direct physical possession, such as holding something in one's hands, and physical extensions of this idea, such as a container enclosing another thing.

jan li jo e pan

jan li jo e pan.

The person has a sandwich.

Other speakers are more broad with the definition of jo, extending it to more abstract and culturally specific concepts of possession. In pu, the word's semantic space encompasses any forms of having direct access to things, as in having connection, ownership, or any abstract relation.

mi jo e tomo

mi jo e tomo.

I have a house.

jo is not strictly needed to describe any of these concepts. A minority of speakers avoid the word jo altogether in 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

jo in linja 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 curve is taken as the body, it represents a person bending over to grasp something. The curve can also be interpreted as an arm extending at an angle at the shoulder, holding something out to the side or against the torso.

The glyph for jo is notably narrow in jan Sonja's handwriting in Toki Pona: The Language of Good. In the linja pona font and many fonts thereafter, it has circular proportions or wider, and a long horizontal bar that extends beyond the center.

sitelen sitelen

The sitelen sitelen word glyph for jo (jojo) represents a pair of clasped hands, with the thumbs pointing upwards. Similarly to other any monosyllabic word, the word jo may also be written with a syllable glyph (JOJO).

Further reading

• "jo" on lipu Linku
• "jo" on lipu Wikipesija
• "jo" on English Wiktionary