Colors
This page needs work, namely: it needs explanations of expressions like "laso loje", "loje walo", "pimeja laso", "waso pimeja walo" vs. "waso pi pimeja walo", maybe "jelo wawa" vs. "jelo pi wawa ala", etc.. If you know about this topic, you can help us by editing it. (See all)  | |
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| Usage | 2023: Core (99% → ) 2022: Core (99%) |
|---|---|
| Book and era | nimi pu |
| Part of speech | Content word |
| Codepoint | U+F191E |
Toki Pona has several words for colors.
The color words included in Toki Pona: The Language of Good can roughly be compared to the CMYK color model. The hue words—loje, jelo, laso—describe a red–yellow–grue system. pimeja and walo are often used as modifiers to describe shades and tints, respectively.
nimi pu[edit | edit source]
kule[edit | edit source]
The word kule is described in pu as "colourful, pigmented, painted".
It also refers to color in general:
kasi ni li kule seme?
kasi ni li kule seme?What color is this plant?
ona li jelo li laso.
ona li jelo li laso.It is yellow and green.
By analogy, kule is sometimes extended to refer to any intrinsic or sensory attribute, such as flavor or gender identity. The word poki ("container") is used as an antonym for this sense, meaning any externally imposed attribute, like the English phrase "put someone in a box".
loje[edit | edit source]
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| Usage | 2023: Core (99% ↗ ) 2022: Core (98%) |
|---|---|
| Book and era | nimi pu |
| Part of speech | Content word |
| Codepoint | U+F192B |
loje is used for red and adjacent colors, often including pinks and magentas. It usually ranges from reddish shades of purple to reddish shades of orange and brown.
Other colors that can be described as loje include crimson, burgundy, rust, salmon, and fuchsia.
jelo[edit | edit source]
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| Usage | 2023: Core (100% ↗ ) 2022: Core (98%) |
|---|---|
| Book and era | nimi pu |
| Part of speech | Content word |
| Codepoint | U+F1912 |
jelo is used for yellow and adjacent colors. It usually ranges from yellowish shades of orange and brown to very yellowish shades of green.
Other colors that can be described as jelo include amber, gold, and lime.
laso[edit | edit source]
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| Usage | 2023: Core (99% ↗ ) 2022: Core (98%) |
|---|---|
| Book and era | nimi pu |
| Part of speech | Content word |
| Codepoint | U+F1923 |
laso is used for turquoise and adjacent colors, including blues and greens. It usually ranges from greens to bluish shades of violet.
Other colors that can be described as laso include cyan, aqua, aquamarine, azure, teal, mint, cobalt, navy, olive, and lime.
walo[edit | edit source]
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| Usage | 2023: Core (100% ↗ ) 2022: Core (98%) |
|---|---|
| Book and era | nimi pu |
| Part of speech | Content word |
| Codepoint | U+F1972 |
walo is used for any pale or light color, especially those approaching white.
Note that while walo and suno can both be translated as "light", they mean different things. suno means light itself, and it can be used as an adjective to describe objects that give light. On the other hand, walo refers to the lightness of color alone.
pimeja[edit | edit source]
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| Usage | 2023: Core (100% ↗ ) 2022: Core (99%) |
|---|---|
| Book and era | nimi pu |
| Part of speech | Content word |
| Codepoint | U+F194F |
pimeja is used for any dark color, especially those approaching black.
pimeja is also used for "darkness", as an antonym of suno ("light"), and can be used to describe shadows, unlit spaces, and the night.
Other words[edit | edit source]
This subject is nonstandard and may not be understood by most speakers.kapesi[edit | edit source]
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| Usage | 2023: Rare (19% ↗ ) 2022: Rare (14%) |
|---|---|
| Book and era | nimi ku lili (pre-pu) |
| Part of speech | Content word |
kapesi is a rare word that some people use for browns and grays.
In practice, it is more commonly used for browns than grays, because browns are usually hard to describe with pu words, while grays can easily be described as pimeja walo ("light black") or walo pimeja (dark white).
unu[edit | edit source]
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| Usage | 2023: Rare (16% ↗ ) 2022: Rare (12%) |
|---|---|
| Book and era | nimi ku lili (post-pu) |
| Part of speech | Content word |
unu is a rare word that some people use for purple and adjacent colors, including violets, and sometimes magentas and indigos.
Color mixing[edit | edit source]
Color words can be combined into phrases to "mix" their respective colors and describe more specific colors more closely. It is usually thought of in a subtractive color space, which works like mixing paints or ink (whereas an additive color space works like shining colored spotlights).
For example the phrases laso loje ("reddish blue") and loje laso ("bluish red") are common ways to say purple. They may refer to somewhat different hues, leaning in the direction of the head (first) noun. In this case, laso loje would describe more bluish purples, and loje laso would describe more reddish purples.
References[edit | edit source]