tan

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tan
Pronunciation	/tan/
Usage	2023: Core (99% → )2022: Core (99%)
Book and era	nimi pu
Part of speech	Preposition, content word
Codepoint	󱥧 U+F1967

tan is a preposition and content word used to describe something's origin, cause, or reason.

Preposition

mi tan ma [kasi alasa nasin awen telo a].

mi tan ma Kanata.

I'm from Canada.

kasi suli li ken kama tan kili lili　

kasi suli li ken kama tan kili lili.

A big plant can come from a small fruit.

ni li tan seme?

ni li tan seme?

Why is that? (lit. this is because of what?)

mi pana e ijo pona tan ni> : mi olin e sina.

mi pana e ijo pona tan ni: mi olin e sina.

I gave something nice because you're dear to me.

Content word

As a content word tan is usually used to mean "reason, cause" or "source, origin".

mi sona ala e tan　

mi sona ala e tan.

I don't know the reason. (e.g. I don't know why that is.)

I don't know the source. (e.g. I don't know where it's from.)

Some people do not use tan as a content word at all, using it only as a preposition.