suno

From sona pona, the Toki Pona wiki
suno in sitelen pona
suno in sitelen sitelen
Sunset silhouetting a streetlight
Sunset silhouetting a streetlight
Pronunciation /ˈsu.no/
Usage 2023: Core (100% ↗︎ )2022: Core (99%)
Book and era nimi pu
Part of speech Content word
Codepoint 󱥤 U+F1964

suno is a core content word relating to the Sun and light.

Etymology[edit | edit source]

The word suno is derived from Esperanto suno, meaning "the Sun".[1]

Semantic space[edit | edit source]

The semantic space of suno includes any light source and light itself.[2] Out of any more specific context, suno is most likely to refer to the Sun, the most notable light source for life on Earth.

suno li seli e akesi

suno li seli e akesi.

The Sun warms up the lizard.
Sunlight warms up the lizard.

It may refer to the brightness or shininess of an object. Compare walo, which refers to the luminance, how close to white a given color is.

kiwen mani li suno

kiwen mani li suno.

The coin is shiny.

As a transitive verb, suno refers to shining light on an object.

pu[edit | edit source]

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

NOUN  sun; light, brightness, glow, radiance, shine; light source

ku[edit | edit source]

For Toki Pona Dictionary, respondents in ma pona pi toki pona translated these English words as suno:[3]

sun5, solar5, light4, sunlight4, bright4, shine3

sitelen pona[edit | edit source]

The sitelen pona glyph for suno (󱥤) represents the Sun, as a circle with 4 lines radiating out.

sitelen sitelen[edit | edit source]

Dongba symbol for "Sun"

The sitelen sitelen glyph for suno (suno) is borrowed from the Dongba symbol for "Sun", used by the Naxi people in sourthern China.[4] It depicts two consecutive circles, with the inner one emitting four wavy lines outward.

References[edit | edit source]

  1. Word Origins. Archived from the original on 2 November 2019. Toki Pona.
  2. lipamanka. "toki pona dictionary". lipamanka.gay.
  3. Lang, Sonja. (18 July 2021). Toki Pona Dictionary. Illustrated by Vacon Sartirani. Tawhid. ISBN 978-0978292362. p. 353.
  4. Jonathan Gabel. (13 May 2012). "sitelen sitelen acknowledgements and etymology". jonathangabel.com. Retrieved 29 November 2023.

Further reading[edit | edit source]