3.9 KiB
% toki pona page 11 - numbers % /dev/urandom % march 2020
The vocabulary for this page:
| word | meaning | derived from |
|---|---|---|
| wan | one, part (of smth), united | English "one" |
| tu | two, divide, divided | English "two" |
| sike | circle, round, ball, year | English "circle" |
| mani | money, large domesticated animal | English "money" |
| esun | trade, market, shop, exchange | unknown |
| mun | moon, star | English "moon" |
| nanpa | number, (ordinal indicator) | Tok Pisin "namba" (number) |
| poki | box, container, bowl, cup, drawer | Tok Pisin "bokis" (box) |
| sin | new, additional, fresh, extra | Mandarin "xīn" (new, fresh) |
| suno | sun, light, brightness, shine | Esperanto "suno" (sun) |
Numerals
The most basic numerals in toki pona are these words:
- ala - 0, nothing
- wan - 1
- tu - 2
- mute - 3 or more
This is, quite obviously, a very limited system. But it is not unique to toki pona: languages from some hunter-gatherer societies stop their numerals at three, two or even one. (In fact, the Pirahã language is reported to only have had words for "small quantity" and "large quantity", the values of which change based on context.)
However, there is also a second, additional system that is officially defined, and commonly used, to describe larger numbers. It repurposes some of toki pona's words as additional numerals:
- ala - 0
- wan - 1
- tu - 2
- luka (hand) - 5
- mute (many) - 20
- ale (all) - 100
In this system, words are added or repeated in order to form numbers. For example, 42 is "mute mute tu" (20+20+2) and 18 is "luka luka luka tu wan" (5+5+5+2+1).
As you can see, this is still a rather limited system. Just to name the year in which this page was originally written (2020), it would require one to repeat the word "ale" twenty times and add one "mute" at the end.
These limitations are all part of toki pona's philosophy of simplifying thought and avoiding unnecessary detail. Some people have tried coming up with other numeral systems, but none have found widespread acceptance.
Using numerals
Regardless of the specific system, numerals are treated as adjectives and added at the end of nouns or noun phrases:
soweli wan -- one animal
waso lili tu -- two small birds
For ordinal numbers (first, second...), the word "nanpa" followed by the number is used.
jan nanpa wan -- first person
tomo nanpa mute luka luka wan -- 31st house (or house #31)
The phrase "nanpa wan" is sometimes used along with adjectives as a superlative modifier:
nena (Ewelesu/Somolunma) li nena suli nanpa wan lon ma ale. -- Mount (Everest/Chomolungma) is the largest mountain in the whole world.
The calendar
In combination with "tenpo", the words "suno", "mun" and "sike" are commonly used to describe periods of time:
tenpo suno -- day ("sun time")
tenpo pimeja -- night ("dark time")
tenpo mun / tenpo sike mun -- month ("moon time / moon cycle")
tenpo sike -- year ("circle time").
Exercises
Now, try to figure out the meaning of these sentences.
- mi wile esun e soweli suli tu wan ni.
- tenpo mun wan pini la lete li lon.
- sina pona nanpa wan tawa mi.
And try to translate the following sentences into toki pona.
- I live in house #27 on Washington Street.
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- I would like to trade these three large animals.
- One month ago, it was cold.
- I like you the most.
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- mi lon tomo nanpa mute luka tu pi nasin Wasintan.