% toki pona page 7 - prepositions and locations % /dev/urandom % march 2020 The vocabulary for this page will be divided into two groups. Prepositions: | word | meaning | derived from | |---------|---------------------------------|----------------------------------| | kepeken | to use, using, with the help of | Dutch "gebruiken" (to use) | | lon | in, at, on, true, present, exist| Tok Pisin "long" (at, in, on) | | sama | same as, similar, like, sibling | Esperanto/Finnish "sama" (same) | | tan | from, because of, cause, reason | Cantonese "tsung" (from) | | tawa | to, for, moving, from persp. of | English "towards" | And regular words (which in this case all relate to locations): | word | meaning | derived from | |---------|---------------------------------|----------------------------------| | sewi | up, above, sky, divine, sacred | Georgian "zevit" (upwards) | | noka | foot, leg, bottom, under | Serbo-Croatian "noga" (foot/leg) | | poka | hip, side, next to, nearby | Serbo-Croatian "boka" (of side) | | monsi | back, behind, rear | Acadian French "mon tchu" | | sinpin | face, foremost, front, wall | Cantonese "tsin bin" (in front) | Prepositions are words that are attacked to other parts of the sentence in order to express a place or time (more on that in the future) or a specific detail about the action. In toki pona, the words "kepeken", "lon", "sama", "tan" and "tawa" can be prepositions -- in which case they're added at the end of the sentence without any extra particles -- or as regular words with related meanings. Here are some examples of all five of these words, both as prepositions and as regular words: > mi pona e tomo kepeken ilo mi. -- I am repairing the house using my tools. > mi toki kepeken toki pona. -- I speak in toki pona. > sina kepeken e ilo sitelen. -- You are using a writing/drawing tool (pen, > pencil, brush). > mi lon tomo sina. -- I am in your house. > jan ike li kalama mute lon tomo lipu. -- A bad person is being very noisy > in the library. > ona toki e ijo lon. -- He/she/they speak the truth ("talk about things that > exist"). > mi en sina li sama. -- You and I are similar. > meli sama mi li pona. -- My sister is good. > kiwen lili li sama lukin pipi. -- The pebble ("small rock") looks like a bug. > mi lape tan ni: mi jo ala e wawa. -- I sleep, because i don't have any energy. > mi tawa tan tomo mi. -- I am leaving my house. > tomo tawa mi li pona. -- My car ("moving house/structure") is good. > mi tawa lon tomo moku. -- I am going to the restaurant ("house of food"). The word "tawa" can also express perspective. > sina li pona tawa mi. -- I like you. ("You are good for me.") And here are some examples of the location words: > waso mute li lon sewi. -- Many birds are in the sky. > mi toki tawa jan sewi. -- I speak to a (deity/angel/someone divine/man in the > sky). ## Dialectal differences > %info% > This part of the document describes how certain toki pona courses differ in > explaining certain ideas. The official book uses "lon" with a wider meaning, also including "with". For example, "I speak in toki pona" is translated as "mi toki lon toki pona". This does not seem to be a common usage of the word. ## Exercises Now, try to figure out the meaning of these sentences. * mi moku ala e soweli. * jan pona sina li toki e ma e telo. * mi pali e tomo ni. * jan utala pona mute li awen e kulupu ni. * And try to translate the following sentences into toki pona. * Your city doesn't have any workers. * * * * Reveal answers > %spoiler% > * I don't eat animals (i.e. meat). > * Your friend is talking about the land and the water. > * I built this house. > * The good warriors will protect this community. > * > %spoiler% > * ma tomo sina li jo ala e jan pali. > * > * > * > * [Next page](7.html) [Previous page](5.html)