ma

ma
Pronunciation	/ma/
Usage	2024: Core (100% → )2023: Core (100% → )2022: Core (100%)
Book and era	nimi pu
Part of speech	Content word
Codepoint	󱤰 U+F1930

ma is a core content word relating to land.

Etymology

The word ma is derived from Finnish maa ("ground, soil, country, land").

Semantic space

The semantic space of ma includes the ground and soil. It also includes places and environments as defined by the land they occupy. ma is a headnoun for continents, countries, regions, cities, towns, and villages. It is often extended to metaphorical and notional spaces, such as those online.

pu

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

NOUN  earth, land; outdoors, world; country, territory; soil

ku

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

territory⁵81–100% of respondents, country⁵81–100% of respondents, land⁵81–100% of respondents, realm⁵81–100% of respondents, area⁵81–100% of respondents, field⁴61–80% of respondents, region⁴61–80% of respondents, place⁴61–80% of respondents, soil⁴61–80% of respondents, earth⁴61–80% of respondents, province⁴61–80% of respondents, zone⁴61–80% of respondents, ground⁴61–80% of respondents, nation⁴61–80% of respondents, environmental³41–60% of respondents, environment³41–60% of respondents, site³41–60% of respondents, location³41–60% of respondents, domain³41–60% of respondents, world³41–60% of respondents, national³41–60% of respondents, nature³41–60% of respondents, setting²21–40% of respondents, landscape²21–40% of respondents, continent²21–40% of respondents, outdoors²21–40% of respondents, habitat²21–40% of respondents, dirt²21–40% of respondents, sector²21–40% of respondents, yard²21–40% of respondents, kingdom²21–40% of respondents, venue²21–40% of respondents, outside²21–40% of respondents, acre²21–40% of respondents

sitelen pona

The sitelen pona glyph for ma (󱤰) is derived from the astrological symbol for Earth (🜨︎).

sitelen sitelen

The sitelen sitelen glyph for ma (mama) represents a sandy landscape with a plant on top, possibly a desert with a cactus.

Like with any monosyllabic word, the word ma may also optionally be written as a syllable glyph (MAMA).