wile

wile
Pronunciation	/ˈwi.le/ (listen)
Usage	2023: Core (100% → ) 2022: Core (100%)
Book and era	nimi pu
Part of speech	Content word, preverb
Codepoint	󱥷 U+F1977

wile is a core content word and preverb relating to desire and necessity.

Etymology

The word wile is derived from Dutch willen, meaning "to want, to desire". It is cognate with English will, with the sense "to wish, to desire, to long", as in at will, do what you will, where there's a will there's a way, willful, and willpower, not the future tense. It is also cognate with German wollen, Danish and Norwegian Bokmål ville, Swedish and Norwegian Nynorsk vilja, French vouloir, and Italian volere.

Semantic space

The semantic space of wile includes desire and necessity. It should be compared to o, which expresses exhortation or obligation.

^{[citation needed]} This claim needs references to reliable sources.

Content word

As a content word, wile refers to wanting or needing something. Toki Pona encourages the speaker to re-examine the difference between their wants and needs and emphasizes the action taken to fulfill them over their origin or nature.

nasin pi toki pona la ijo pi wile suli ala o weka　
nasin pi toki pona la, ijo pi wile suli ala o weka.

In the way of Toki Pona, things that aren't absolutely necessary should be removed. (lit. not-importantly-needed things)

mi wile e ni: jan [moku esun lukin awen noka insa] li kama tawa tomo mi.
mi wile e ni: jan Melani li kama tawa tomo mi.

I want the following: Mélanie will come to my home.
I want Mélanie to visit me.

Preverb

As a preverb, wile indicates that the subject wants or needs to be or do the predicate.

mama o mi wile tawa li wile toki　
mama o, mi wile tawa li wile toki.

Mamma, I want to go! I want to talk! (alt: I need to go! I need to talk!)

pu

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

PRE-VERB  must, need, require, should, want, wish

ku

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

want⁵81–100% of respondents, wish⁵81–100% of respondents, intend⁵81–100% of respondents, require⁵81–100% of respondents, need⁵81–100% of respondents, desire⁵81–100% of respondents, intention⁵81–100% of respondents, willing⁵81–100% of respondents, will⁵81–100% of respondents, intent⁴61–80% of respondents, preference⁴61–80% of respondents, motivation⁴61–80% of respondents, necessity⁴61–80% of respondents, ought⁴61–80% of respondents, yearn⁴61–80% of respondents, necessary⁴61–80% of respondents, willingness⁴61–80% of respondents, ambition⁴61–80% of respondents, hope⁴61–80% of respondents, prefer⁴61–80% of respondents, requirement⁴61–80% of respondents, required⁴61–80% of respondents, must³41–60% of respondents, obligation³41–60% of respondents, decision³41–60% of respondents, should³41–60% of respondents, demand³41–60% of respondents, eager³41–60% of respondents, request³41–60% of respondents, agenda³41–60% of respondents, goal²21–40% of respondents, would²21–40% of respondents, select²21–40% of respondents, motive²21–40% of respondents, interested²21–40% of respondents, criteria²21–40% of respondents, dare²21–40% of respondents, opt²21–40% of respondents, choose²21–40% of respondents, consent²21–40% of respondents, expectation²21–40% of respondents, shall²21–40% of respondents, urge²21–40% of respondents, determination²21–40% of respondents, pick²21–40% of respondents, objective²21–40% of respondents, depend²21–40% of respondents, elect²21–40% of respondents, dependent²21–40% of respondents, deserve²21–40% of respondents, selection²21–40% of respondents, incentive²21–40% of respondents, strive²21–40% of respondents, choice²21–40% of respondents, supposed²21–40% of respondents, interest²21–40% of respondents, enthusiasm²21–40% of respondents

sitelen pona

The sitelen pona glyph for wile is derived from the Latin letter W. There is an alternative glyph where the ends of the glyph are connected and form an upside-down heart, a mirror image of pilin.