Nonstandard number words

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Caution: The subject of this article is nonstandard and will not be understood by most speakers.
If you are a learner, this information will not help you speak the language. It is recommended to familiarize yourself with the standard style, and to be informed and selective about which nonstandard styles you adopt.

Toki Pona speakers have coined many nonstandard number words. Some are archaic words from early in Toki Pona's history; others are part of alternative number systems. As a result, this list does not form a coherent number system in itself.

Archaic words[edit | edit source]

tuli[edit | edit source]

Pronunciation /ˈtu.li/
Usage 2024: N/ACaution: This word has not been surveyed for. Most speakers likely don't understand it.2023: Obscure (2% ↘︎ )2022: Obscure (4%)This word is deprecated.
Book and era nimi ku lili (pre-pu)
Part of speech Number, content word

tuli is an obscure early number word and nimi ku lili meaning 3. In the modern advanced counting system, it is equivalent to tu wan.[1] It is derived from English three.

In sitelen pona, tuli is usually written with the same glyph as san (tuli).

po[edit | edit source]

Pronunciation /po/
Usage 2024: Obscure (7% ↗︎ )Caution: Most speakers don't understand this word.2023: Obscure (5% → )2022: Obscure (5%)This word is deprecated.
Book and era nimi ku lili (pre-pu)
Part of speech Number, content word

po is an obscure early number word and nimi ku lili meaning 4. In the modern advanced counting system, it is equivalent to tu tu.[2] It is derived from English four.

A proposed sitelen pona glyph for po (po) is derived from the Western Arabic numeral 4.

The sitelen sitelen word glyph designed by jan Alonola

An experimental sitelen sitelen word glyph for po was designed by jan Alonola for a poem in lipu tenpo nanpa walo.[3] It is based on the word glyphs for wan (wan) and tu (tu). The standard way to write po in sitelen sitelen is with the syllable glyph for po (PO).

san[edit | edit source]

Pronunciation /san/
Usage 2024: Obscure (11% ↗︎ )Caution: Most speakers don't use this word.2023: Obscure (9% ↗︎ )2022: Obscure (7%)
Book and era nimi ku lili (post-pu)
Part of speech Number, content word

san is an obscure post-pu number word and nimi ku lili meaning 3. In the advanced counting system, it is equivalent to tu wan.[4] It is most likely derived from Japanese (さん) (san, "three") or Cantonese (saam1, "three"), and was coined by jan Lenoka and jan Wesu in 2019.

A proposed sitelen pona glyph for san (san) combines three mirrored wan glyphs (wan). The mirrored shapes disambiguate the glyph when located next to wan, tu (tu) or mute (mute). The same glyph is also used for the word tuli.

The sitelen sitelen word glyph designed by jan Alonola

An experimental sitelen sitelen word glyph for san was designed by jan Alonola for a poem in lipu tenpo nanpa walo.[5] It is based on the word glyphs for wan (wan) and tu (tu). The standard way to write san in sitelen sitelen is with the syllable glyph for san (SAN).

neja[edit | edit source]

Pronunciation /ˈne.ja//j/ sounds like English Y, as in "fjord" or "hallelujah".
Usage 2024: N/ACaution: This word has not been surveyed for. Most speakers likely don't understand it.2023: Not notable (1% ↘︎ )2022: Obscure (2%)
Book and era nimi ku lili (post-pu)
Part of speech Number, content word

neja is a marginal post-pu number word and nimi ku lili meaning 4. In the advanced counting system, it is equivalent to tu tu.[6] It is derived from Finnish neljä (/ˈneljæ/, "four"), and was coined by jan inwin in 2019.

A proposed sitelen pona glyph for neja (neja), designed by jan inwin,[when?][primary source needed] looks like three circles in a poki glyph (poki). Its origin is unclear.

kulu[edit | edit source]

Pronunciation /ˈku.lu/
Usage 2024: N/ACaution: This word has not been surveyed for. Most speakers likely don't understand it.2023: Obscure (2% ↗︎ )2022: Obscure (1%)
Book and era No book (post-pu)
Part of speech Number, content word

kulu is an obscure abbreviation of kulupu. It is also used as a number word meaning 6, especially in base 6 number systems. In the advanced counting system, it is equivalent to luka wan. It was coined by jan Kiwa and jan inwin in 2017.

A proposed sitelen pona glyph for kulu (kulu) looks like a vertical loop. Its origin is unclear.

likujo[edit | edit source]

Pronunciation /ˈli.ku.jo//j/ sounds like English Y, as in "fjord" or "hallelujah".
Usage 2024: N/ACaution: This word has not been surveyed for. Most speakers likely don't understand it.2023: Obscure (4% ↗︎ )2022: Obscure (3%)
Book and era nimi ku lili (post-pu)
Part of speech Number, content word

likujo is an obscure post-pu number word and nimi ku lili relating to collections and assortments of things, with a numeric sense of 7. In the advanced counting system, it is equivalent to luka tu.[7] It is derived from Acadian French recueil ("compendium, anthology, collection"), and was coined by jan Kawa and jan inwin in 2018.

A proposed sitelen pona glyph for likujo (likujo) combines seven dots in a regular pattern.

jaku[edit | edit source]

Pronunciation /ˈja.ku//j/ sounds like English Y, as in "fjord" or "hallelujah".
Usage 2024: N/ACaution: This word has not been surveyed for. Most speakers likely don't understand it.2023: Not notable (1% → )2022: Obscure (1%)
Book and era No book (post-pu)
Part of speech Number, content word

jaku is a marginal post-pu number word meaning "a hundred". In the advanced counting system, it is equivalent to ale. It is derived from Japanese (ひゃく) (hyaku, "hundred"), and was coined in 2018 by jan Wesu.[8]

A proposed sitelen pona glyph for jaku (jaku) is derived from the Roman numeral Ⅽ (100), with a serif on the top curve. It was designed by nimi Elemenopi in July 2020[9][10]

References[edit | edit source]

  1. Lang, Sonja. (18 July 2021). Toki Pona Dictionary. Illustrated by Vacon Sartirani. Tawhid. ISBN 978-0978292362. p. 381.

    Data not found

  2. Lang, Sonja. (18 July 2021). Toki Pona Dictionary. Illustrated by Vacon Sartirani. Tawhid. ISBN 978-0978292362. p. 330.

    four½

  3. kulupu pi lipu tenpo (1 February 2022). lipu tenpo nanpa walo (in Toki Pona). lipu tenpo.
  4. Lang, Sonja. (18 July 2021). Toki Pona Dictionary. Illustrated by Vacon Sartirani. Tawhid. ISBN 978-0978292362.

    Data not found

  5. kulupu pi lipu tenpo (1 February 2022). lipu tenpo nanpa walo (in Toki Pona). lipu tenpo.
  6. Lang, Sonja. (18 July 2021). Toki Pona Dictionary. Illustrated by Vacon Sartirani. Tawhid. ISBN 978-0978292362.

    Data not found

  7. Lang, Sonja. (18 July 2021). Toki Pona Dictionary. Illustrated by Vacon Sartirani. Tawhid. ISBN 978-0978292362.

    seven½, gathering½, collection½

  8. jan Wesu. (9 June 2018). Message in #toki-pona. ma pona pi toki pona. Discord. Retrieved 14 January 2024.

    Here are the basic numbers:

    0 - ala
    1 - wan
    2 - tu
    3 - san
    4 - jon
    5 - lu
    6 - sun
    7 - pen
    8 - no
    9 - wi
    10 - ten
    100 - jaku
    1,000 - mili
    1,000,000 - kika

  9. nimi Elemenopi [u/ElemenopiTheSequel]. (26 July 2020). "I made a sitelen pona glyph for every non-pu word in the "nimi ale pona" dictionary". r/tokipona. Reddit. Retrieved 15 August 2024.
  10. nimi Elemenopi [u/ElemenopiTheSequel]. (15 August 2020). "Here are the official glyphs for the 1b words in the NA". r/OffThePu. Reddit. Retrieved 15 August 2024. "[Key: black] = original, made by me".