kala

kala
Pronunciation	/ˈka.la/ (listen)
Usage	2023: Core (99% → ) 2022: Core (99%)
Book and era	nimi pu
Part of speech	Content word
Codepoint	󱤔 U+F1914

kala is a core content word relating to aquatic animals.

Etymology

The word kala is derived from Finnish kala, meaning "fish".

Semantic space

This section needs work:

include edge cases: whales/dolphins, frogs and other semiaquatic amphibians and reptiles

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The semantic space of kala includes aquatic and semiaquatic animals, including but not limited to fish. It can refer to any type of animal that habitually swims.

mi alasa e kala　
mi alasa e kala.

We went fishing.

Some speakers humorously extend kala to refer to anything that is in the water at a given moment. For example, someone bathing or showering can be described as kala, and leaving to do so may prompt the interjection kala pona ("enjoy your swim"). By extension, kala may be used as a verb meaning "to swim". waso has a similar humorous use to refer to anything airborne.

pu

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

NOUN  fish, marine animal, sea creature

ku

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

fish⁵81–100% of respondents, sea creature⁵81–100% of respondents, salmon⁴61–80% of respondents

sitelen pona

The sitelen pona glyph for kala represents a fish. It is written in one stroke as a self-intersecting loop, drawn facing either direction; the shape is comparable to the Greek letter alpha or an ichthys (which instead usually consists of 2 arcs). The glyph is sometimes drawn with two eye dots inside (kalakala) to make it consistent with other animal words (akesi, pipi, soweli, and waso).