4 KiB
% 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.
%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.