ni

ni is a core content word meaning "this" or "that".

ni
Pronunciation	/ni/
Usage	2023: Core (100% → )2022: Core (100%)
Book and era	nimi pu
Part of speech	Content word
Codepoint	󱥁 U+F1941

Etymology

The word ni is derived from Cantonese 呢 (Jyutping: ni¹), meaning "this".

Semantic space

ni is a demonstrative, used to indicate which entities are being referred to, analogous to English this, that, these, and those. It is not constrated by proximity, number, or gender. Speakers often distinguish these by pointing to a certain object or by context.

mi wile e moku ni

mi wile e moku ni

I want this/that food.

ni li lon

ni li lon.

That's true.

In the predicate, ni refers to a specificed action, meaning "to do this".

pu

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

ADJECTIVE  that, this

ku

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

this⁵81–100% of respondents, that⁵81–100% of respondents, these⁵81–100% of respondents, those⁴61–80% of respondents, particular²21–40% of respondents, specifically²21–40% of respondents, there²21–40% of respondents

Linking ni

ni can be used to link multiple sentences. The effect can be similar to the word "that", as used to start a relative clause. This is one of the main tools to describe ideas that are too complex to fit in a single sentence.

In the Latin script, the sentence with ni typically ends in a colon. In sitelen pona, the glyph for a linking ni is often rotated to point at the other sentence, usually to the right.

mi sona e ni2 　 sina sona e ni2 　 mi sona

mi sona e ni: sina sona e ni: mi sona.

I know that you know that I know.

The word ni does not need to be next to the following sentence to be linking to it.

kili ni2li pona 　 ona li loje li suwi a

kili ni li pona: ona li loje li suwi a.

These fruits are good: they're red and so sweet.

ona vs. ni

Main article: ona vs. ni

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sitelen pona

The sitelen pona glyph for ni (󱥁) is an arrow, pointing down by default. When used as a modifier in a stacked glyph, it points at the head word underneath. The glyph for ni may be turned to point in other directions, toward the words it is referencing.

soweli li toki e ni
　ni3 li nasa a

soweli li toki e ni
　ni li nasa a

The animal said: "this is silly!"

sitelen sitelen

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Further reading

• "ni" on lipu Linku
• "ni" on lipu Wikipesija
• "ni" on English Wiktionary