pi

    From sona pona
    pi in sitelen pona
    pi in sitelen sitelen
    [[File:{{{image}}}|center|240x240px]]
    Usage 2023: Core (99% ↗ )
    2022: Core (98%)
    Book and era nimi pu
    Part of speech Particle
    Codepoint 󱥍 U+F194D

    pi is a particle used for grouping modifiers together. The resulting phrase that follows it is called a pi phrase, by analogy to prepositional phrases.

    How it works[edit | edit source]

    By default, each modifier applies to the whole phrase before it[a]:

    jan pona
    jan pona

    good person

    jan pona mute
    jan pona mute

    many good people

    pi marks the next word as a new head, which takes its own modifiers.

    jan pi pona mute
    jan pi pona mute

    very good person

    The effect can be similar to hyphenating an adjective phrase in English:

    tomo telo nasa
    tomo telo nasa

    strange water room (the room, perhaps a washroom, is weird)

    tomo pi telo nasa
    tomo pi telo nasa

    strange-water room (the liquid is weird; perhaps a pub)

    pi needs to be followed by at least two content words: the new head and a modifier applying to it. If there would only be one word after it, you don't need the pi.

    There is no way to "close" a pi phrase, beyond using a higher-priority particle or preposition, or ending the sentence. Instead, modifiers that apply to the first word should be moved before the pi:

    jan pi pana sona
    jan pi pana sona

    knowledge-giving person (teacher)

    jan ike pi pana sona
    jan ike pi pana sona

    knowledge-giving bad person (bad teacher)

    Notes[edit | edit source]

    1. Some speakers analyze all modifiers as applying to the first word instead, but the distinction often doesn't matter.

    Multiple pi[edit | edit source]

    While not defined in pu, some speakers do use multiple pi in a single phrase. However, this carries a risk of ambiguity as to whether the second pi is contained within the first or not:

    lipu pi sona mute pi toki [ijo ni li ike]
    lipu pi sona mute pi toki Inli

    English much-knowledge book (is the book in English or is the knowledge about English?)

    The possible structures are:

    Flat pi
    lipu pi sona mute pi toki Inli
    Nested pi
    lipu pi sona mute pi toki Inli

    jan Lope argues that, like li and e, both pi phrases apply equally to the first noun in the phrase, rather than nesting.[1] As an example, he gives:

    kulupu pi kalama musi pi ma [ijo ni li ike] li pona
    kulupu pi kalama musi pi ma Inli li pona.

    The English rock band is good.

    The ambiguity is whether it's an English band that plays some sort of music, or a band from somewhere that plays English music. There is no consensus on this matter, and in practice both interpretations are possible. In fact, many speakers want it to be ambiguous so that clearer phrasing is used instead.

    Using a single word between the pi does prevent the ambiguity, as the flat structure would contain an invalid single-word pi phrase. However, if you feel the need to stack this many modifiers, you might be better off rephrasing the phrase into a sentence:

    kiwen pi soweli pi kute suli
    kiwen pi soweli pi kute suli

    big-eared animal rock

    kiwen ni li sama soweli pi kute suli.
    kiwen ni li sama soweli pi kute suli.

    This rock is like a big-eared animal.

    soweli pi kute suli li lawa e kiwen ni.
    soweli pi kute suli li lawa e kiwen ni.

    A big-eared animal rules over this rock.

    pi is not "of"[edit | edit source]

    Some dictionaries, most notably the one in pu, define pi as the English word "of". This is misleading, as most senses of "of" don't translate into pi:

    toki pi pona
    toki pi pona

    the language of good

    It may be more helpful to think of every modifier as having an implied "of" before it:

    kala utala suli
    kala utala suli

    fish of fighting of bigness

    Possession[edit | edit source]

    A related misconception is that pi marks possession. In reality, adjectives can be interpreted as possessive with or without pi. It is just about whether the possessor is referred to with more than one word.

    tomo ona
    tomo ona

    their house

    tomo pi ona ale
    tomo pi ona ale

    all of theirs' house

    tomo pi ona wan
    tomo pi ona wan

    one of them's house

    Controversy[edit | edit source]

    pi is controversial. To many speakers, it feels too engineered for Toki Pona's natural design, it creates more complexity and misconceptions than it is worth, and it encourages learners to find "the phrase" for any given word. Avoiding pi is a common nasin called pin't.

    External resources[edit | edit source]

    References[edit | edit source]

    1. [1] jan Lope, "Are multiple pi phrases possible?