o

o
Pronunciation	/o/ 🔊 🔊
Usage	2023: Core (100% → )2022: Core (100%)
Book and era	nimi pu
Part of speech	Particle
Codepoint	󱥄 U+F1944

o is a particle used to express desires and wishes, as well as to call out to a listener.

Functions

Imperative and optative

o is used to indicate an imperative, expressing a command or instruction. In this case, the particle li is replaced by o and the subject may optionally be ommited. Unlike li, the particle o can be used following mi or sina.

o kama sona e toki-pona

o kama sona e toki pona!

Learn Toki Pona!

o pakala ala e ijo mi

o pakala ala e ijo mi!

Do not break my things!

o is also used to indicate an optative mood, expressing a wish or hope. In many cases, it can be translated with "should" or with sentences starting with "may". In some cases it is used to express "must" or "have to", a meaning that is traditionally covered by wile.

mi o lape　

mi o lape.

I should sleep. (i.e. It would be better if I went to sleep)

sijelo sina o kama pona　

sijelo sina o kama pona.

May your body become good/healthy. (i.e. I wish for your body to become healthy)
I hope you get better!

Vocative

o, following a word or phrase, indicates a vocative phrase, expressing that the speaker is addressing that person, place, or thing. The phrase may either go before or after the rest of the sentence.

toki 　 jan-ale o

toki, jan ale o!

Hi, everybody!

soweli mi o 　 sina moku e lipu mi tan seme

soweli mi o, sina moku e lipu mi tan seme?

Doggo, why did you eat my homework?

If o comes before the addressee instead, it becomes a command to be or personify them. For example, o jan ale! means "Be everyone!" and o soweli mi! means "Be my pet!"

Combining both imperative and vocative phrases together can be expressed with a single o:

jan [ale luka uta] o kama

jan Alu o kama!

Come, Alu!

Alternatively, they may be separated:

^{[citation needed…]}This claim needs references to reliable sources:

Unsure if this is an alternative method or a ungrammatical method.

jan [ale luka uta] o 　 o kama

jan Alu o, o kama!

Come, Alu!

Definitions

ku

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

hey³41–60% of respondents, shall³41–60% of respondents, should²21–40% of respondents, ought²21–40% of respondents, must²21–40% of respondents, please¹11–20% of respondents, let^½1–10% of respondents, dare^½1–10% of respondents, mandate^½1–10% of respondents, dear^½1–10% of respondents

History

The subject of this section is historical information that is presented for completeness, and might not reflect current usage.

Some speakers, such as jan Kipo (John Clifford), preferred using the particle o as sentence-initial particle instead of it substituting li or another similar particle. Nowadays this is considered nonstandard.

o ona li lape pona　

o ona li lape pona.

Let her rest well.

sitelen pona

The sitelen pona glyph for o (󱥄) is composed of the punctuation stem and the lowercase Latin letter O. The punctuation stem can be drawn upright (oo) or at a diagonal (oo). Compare the glyphs for a, kin, and n.

sitelen sitelen

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Further reading

Resources

• Toki Pona: The Language of Good: Lesson 10
• jan Kekan San: Instructions with o
• jan Lentan: Lesson 7
• jan Misali: tokiponization (toki pona lesson three)
• soweli Tesa: Lesson 13
• nasin toki pona: the particle o
• Jonathal Gabel: Interjections and Commands

Dictionaries

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