sike

From sona pona, the Toki Pona wiki
sike in sitelen pona
sike in sitelen sitelen
Group of table tennis balls
Group of table tennis balls
Pronunciation /ˈsi.ke/
Usage 2024: Core (100% → )2023: Core (100% ↗︎ )2022: Core (99%)
Book and era nimi pu
Part of speech Content word
Codepoint 󱥜 U+F195C

sike is a core content word relating to round things.

Etymology[edit | edit source]

The word sike is derived from English circle,[1] possibly as a spelling pronunciation.

Semantic space[edit | edit source]

Under construction This section needs work:

Other uses; discuss the meaning of "year" and tenpo-dropping

If you know about this topic, you can help us by editing it. (See all)

The semantic space of sike includes round, cyclical, and smooth[2] things. They may be concrete or abstract.

Concrete examples of sike include the ball, a round object used in sports or otherwise; the wheel, which rotates around an axle, often used for transport; the discus; and so on.

sike tu li pona

sike tu li pona.[3]

Two-wheels [bicycles] are good.

Abstract examples include geometric shapes that are round in some sense or dimension, such as circles, spheres, cylinders, ovals, spirals, and many-sided polygons that approximate these other shapes.

Cycles[edit | edit source]

sike also include cycles as in repeating events and processes.

pona en ike li kama li tawa lon sike 

pona en ike li kama li tawa lon sike.

Good and bad come and go in a cycle.

The prototypical example of a cycle is the year and things that happen yearly. The definition of sike has included the sense of "year" since 2001 and in pu, and so it may sometimes refer to this unit of time even without using tenpo ("time") to specify. On a broader scale, sike might refer to the notional wheel of time where it is said that history repeats itself.

pu[edit | edit source]

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

NOUN  round or circular thing; ball, circle, cycle, sphere, wheel
ADJECTIVE  of one year

ku[edit | edit source]

For Toki Pona Dictionary, respondents in ma pona pi toki pona translated these English words as sike:[4]

round5, circle5, sphere5, ball4, loop4, cycle4, wheel4, disc3, globe3, circuit3, spin2, ring2, surround2, curve2, rolling2, spot2, orbit2, twist2, roll1

sitelen pona[edit | edit source]

The sitelen pona glyph for sike (󱥜) represents two concentric circles, as to distinguish it from ijo.

sitelen sitelen[edit | edit source]

The sitelen sitelen glyph for sike (sike) depicts a ball with a shine on the top-right.

References[edit | edit source]

  1. "Word Origins". tokipona.org. Archived from the original on 8 August 2002.
  2. lipamanka. "toki pona dictionary". lipamanka.gay.
  3. Paul Goguen. (8 June 2020). "Paul Goguen - sike tu li pona" (in Toki Pona). Sex [@sex2631]. YouTube. Retrieved 27 March 2024. See sike tu li pona.
  4. Lang, Sonja. (18 July 2021). Toki Pona Dictionary. Illustrated by Vacon Sartirani. Tawhid. ISBN 978-0978292362. p. 340.

Further reading[edit | edit source]