li

License info 

This page is not available under the usual license because it was copied from ma pona pi toki pona. If you want to reuse content from it, ask the relevant author(s) for permission first.

li is a particle in toki pona that separates the subject from the rest of the sentence.

Function of li

li separates the subject from the predicate.

ona li moku = "They eat"

Common mistakes/misconceptions

li is not a copula. It does not mean "to be."

It isn't used when the subject is mi or sina, with no modifiers.

mi pona = "I'm fine"

The exception to this is when there are multiple predicates, or the subject is modified.

sina wile e ijo li kama jo e ona = "You want something, and get it"

mi mute li wawa = "We are strong"

External sources

• pu Lessons 2 through 5.
• jan Lentan Lessons 1-4
• sitelen sitelen Basic Sentences
• soweli Tesa Lesson 2
• jan Lope
• nasin toki pona