sama

sama
Pronunciation	/ˈsa.ma/
Usage	2024: Core (100% ↗︎ )2023: Core (99% → )2022: Core (99%)
Book and era	nimi pu
Part of speech	Preposition, content word
Codepoint	󱥖 U+F1956

sama is a core preposition and content word. It is used to make comparisons.

Etymology

The word sama is derived from Finnish sama ("same"), and Esperanto sama ("equal, same"), itself from English same.

Semantic space

This section needs work:

When to interpret sama as "each other"?

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The semantic space of sama has to do with similarity. It describes objects and ideas with qualities or attributes in common, that are equivalent, or that are the same exact thing.

sitelen ni li sama　

sitelen ni li sama.

These images are the same.

sina ike sama　

sina ike sama.

You are just as bad.

sama and ante ("other, different, changed") are roughly antonyms, but do not share the same grammar; only sama can be used as a preposition.

Preposition

When used as a preposition, sama indicates that the preceding phrase is like the prepositional phrase.

mi sama jan ante

mi sama jan ante.

I am similar to other people.

jan [sijelo insa telo awen toki ale] li sama waso alasa

jan Sitata li sama waso alasa.

Siddhartha is like a falcon.

In contrast, sama as a transitive verb refers to causing objects to become similar or assimilating them.

mi sama e jan ante

mi sama e jan ante.

I assimilate other people.

Hierarchy

While the phrase jan sama is often used for siblings, it can be much more vague out of context, describing any similar person or people. (Siblings that aren't people would use other words than jan.)

This usage seemingly arose after 2004 as a substitute for the deprecated word pata; a 2007 definition of sama includes "of equal status or position",^{[primary source needed…]}This claim needs references to reliable sources:
See History of the dictionary; 2005 definition missing?
and Toki Pona: The Language of Good elaborates this sense as "sibling, peer, fellow". However, pata's fall into obscurity may have reduced the expectation for a lexicalization of "sibling".

One possible way to clarify using sama for "sibling" is:

jan li tan mama sama　

jan li tan mama sama.

The person is from the same parent(s).
The people are from the same parent(s).

Another option is to use poka metaphorically to refer to adjacent nodes in a hierarchy.

pu

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

ADJECTIVE  same, similar; each other; sibling, peer, fellow
PREPOSITION  as, like

ku

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

alike⁵81–100% of respondents, equal⁵81–100% of respondents, similar⁵81–100% of respondents, equivalent⁵81–100% of respondents, as⁴61–80% of respondents, similarly⁴61–80% of respondents, equality³41–60% of respondents, equally³41–60% of respondents, like³41–60% of respondents, identical³41–60% of respondents, likewise²21–40% of respondents, related²21–40% of respondents, relation²21–40% of respondents, constant²21–40% of respondents, associated²21–40% of respondents, relate²21–40% of respondents, seem²21–40% of respondents, even²21–40% of respondents, copy²21–40% of respondents, mutual²21–40% of respondents, equity²21–40% of respondents, resemble²21–40% of respondents, fellow²21–40% of respondents

sitelen pona

The sitelen pona glyph for sama (󱥖) represents the equals sign (=).

sitelen sitelen

The sitelen sitelen glyph for sama (samasama), like all preposition glyphs, is composed of 2 parts: the "head" and the empty "body". When sama is not used as a preposition, it behaves as one cohesive glyph. However, as a preposition, the "body" is used as a container for its complement.

The origin of the "head" of sama is unknown. It somewhat resembles the glyph for lili (lililili).

Further reading

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