kin
  | |
| Pronunciation | /kin/ |
|---|---|
| Usage | 2023: Common4, Widespread6 (83% ↘︎ )2022: Widespread (89%) |
| Book and era | nimi ku suli ("synonym" in pu) |
| Part of speech | Semiparticle, content word |
| Codepoint | U+F1979 |
kin is a common semiparticle meaning "also".
Etymology
The word kin is derived from the Finnish suffix -kin, meaning "also".[1]
Function
kin is used to modify a preceding content word to add the sense of "also, too". The word that is modified is important:
ona li pana e lipu mi kin li pana e lipuona li pana e lipu. mi kin li pana e lipu.
They handed out the papers. We too handed out the papers.
mi lukin e lipu mi pana kin e lipumi lukin e lipu. mi pana kin e lipu.
We read the papers. We also handed out the papers.
kin can also be used to reciprocate a statement.
te mi olin e sina to te mi olin e sinakinto"mi olin e sina." — "mi olin e sina kin."[2]
"I love you." — "I love you too."
Conjunction
kin can be used at the start of a sentence.
kiwen li open e tomo li lon anpa len kinkili-suwi li lon poki-letekiwen li open e tomo li lon anpa len. kin, kili suwi li lon poki lete.
The keys to the building are under the rug. Also, the plums are in the icebox.
There is some debate over whether to follow sentence-initial kin with la, treating it as a context phrase. Some speakers argue that kin la would be ungrammatical as kin has no content word meaning in this position, while others resist the use of kin without la as a conjunction. The same arguments apply to taso.
pu
In the "Official Toki Pona Dictionary" section, the book Toki Pona: The Language of Good defines kin as a "synonym" of a. This sense is generally not understood. It largely does not reflect earlier use of kin either.
PARTICLE (emphasis, emotion or confirmation)
ku
For Toki Pona Dictionary, respondents in ma pona pi toki pona translated these English words as kin:[3]
also4, too4, indeed2, especially2
sitelen pona
The sitelen pona glyph for kin () is derived from an exclamation mark with an asterisk in place of the dot. The rotation and number of spokes on the asterisk is unimportant. The glyph is likely directly derived from the glyph for a, and both are considered to share a punctuation stem radical with o and n.
References
- ↑ "Word Origins". tokipona.org. Archived from the original on 8 August 2002.
- ↑ "nimi:kin". lipu Wikipesija. Retrieved 3 December 2023.
- ↑ Lang, Sonja. (18 July 2021). Toki Pona Dictionary. Illustrated by Vacon Sartirani. Tawhid. ISBN 978-0978292362. p. 249.
Further reading
- "kin" on lipu Linku
- "kin" on lipu Wikipesija
- "kin" on English Wiktionary