lipu-sona/pages/tokipona/2.md

% toki pona page 2 - adjectives
% /dev/urandom
% march 2020

The vocabulary for this page:

| word    | meaning                          | derived from                  |
|---------|----------------------------------|-------------------------------|
| ala     | no, not, zero                    | Georgian "ara" (no)           |
| ale/ali | all, everything, universe        | Dutch "alle" (all)            |
| utala   | fight, battle, challenge         | Serbo-Croatian "udarati" (hit)|
| wawa    | strong, powerful                 | Finnish "vahva" (strong)      |
| suwi    | sweet, cute, adorable            | Tok Pisin "suwi" (sweet)      |
| jan     | person, people, humanity         | Cantonese "jan" (person)      |
| mama    | parent, ancestor, creator, origin| Georgian "mama" (father)      |
| meli    | woman, female, feminine, wife    | Tok Pisin "meri" (woman, wife)|
| mije    | man, male, masculine             | Finnish "mies" (man, husband) |
| moku    | food, to eat                     | Japanese "mogumogu" (munching)|

To define subjects and adjectives more clearly, you can add extra words as
adjectives. In toki pona, an adjective that modifies a noun stands after the
noun in question. This is unlike English, where adjectives go before nouns. So,
for example:

> jan wawa - strong person

Many of the nouns covered before can also function as adjectives. For example,
the pronouns "mi", "sina" and "ona" can serve as possessives.

> mama mi - my parent

Of note is the phrase "jan pona", which literally means "good person", but is
widely (and officially) accepted to also mean "friend".

Here are some example sentences that demonstrate this:

> mama mi li pona. - My parents are good.

> kili suwi li moku pona. - Sweet fruits are good food.

> jan utala li wawa. - The warrior ("fighting person") is strong.

> jan lili mi li suwi. - My children ("young people") are cute.

> soweli lili li wawa ala. - Little animals are not strong.

> %warning%
> It is worth noting that the particle "li" is only removed if the subject is
> just the word "mi" or "sina". If it has any adjectives added to it, then the
> particle is used.

## Exercises

Now, try to figure out the meaning of these sentences.

* meli mi li pona.
* mije sina li suli.
* mama mije mi li wawa.
* soweli ale li pona.
* kili li moku suli.

And try to translate the following sentences into toki pona.

* My wife is adorable.
* All warriors are bad.
* My friends are your friends.
* Your son is strong.
* The small fruit is sweet.

<a name="answers" href="#answers" onclick="revealSpoilers();">Reveal answers</a>

> %spoiler%
> * My wife is good.
> * Your husband is (big/important).
> * My dad is strong.
> * All animals are good.
> * Fruits are important food.

> %spoiler%
> * meli mi li suwi.
> * jan utala ale li ike.
> * jan pona mi li jan pona sina.
> * jan lili mije sina li wawa.
> * kili lili li suwi.

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