toki pona enhanced
toki pona enhanced (aka TPE) is a dialect of toki pona that formalizes the syntax and the lexicon of toki pona employing advances in the science of Lojban.
Contents
Basic sentence structure
Main TPE words are verbs like
soweli to be an animal (e.g. a dog or a cat) |
moku to eat (something) |
soweli li moku A mouse eats. |
TPE also have words that act only as nouns. Those are pronouns:
mi I |
sina you |
Thus they don't require to separate them from the forthcoming verb:
mi moku I eat |
Two nouns of a verb
Verb can have more than one noun:
mi moku e ijo I eat something. I eat food. |
moku to eat (something) |
The second noun is put after the verb and separated with the particle .
Compound verbs
toki to talk, say (something) |
pona to be good, to repair (something) |
toki pona to talk in a good way |
toki pona li moku A good talker eats. |
Stringing verbs together makes the second, third etc. verbs modify the first verb. Thus we get adjectives that unlike English is put afterwards: literally in TPE we say "talker, the good, eats."
Pronouns can also modify verbs:
soweli to be an animal (e.g. cat) |
soweli mi to be my animal |
ni li soweli mi This is my cat. |
ni this |
ona li soweli sina It is your cat. |
Modal verbs
Some verbs can be used as modal verbs (auxiliary verbs):
mi wile toki I want to talk. |
wile modal verb: to want to ... |
Compound verb rule is applied to them. However, some modal verbs can function as verbs, in this case the rule with "e" is applied.
Negation
mi moku ala I don't eat. |
ala to be false, not |
To negate a verb you put "ala" after it thus getting a compound verb.
Questions
The question verb is used for asking content questions:
seme li moku Who eats? |
Sentences with questions usually have a raising intonation.
sina moku ala moku Do you eat? |
moku I do (eat). |
moku ala I don't (eat). |
To ask yes/no questions repeat the verb twice with the word inside. To answer yes repeat that verb. To answer no repeat the verb with after it.
Pre-nouns
Pre-nouns work the same as modal verbs but make the next word a noun:
mi kepeken ijo I use a tool. |
kepeken modal verb: to use ... |
ijo is a tool (like fork, knife ...) |
Topic and comment
Common sentence has two parts: topic and comment, which are separated by the particle :
soweli li moku la ona li kepeken ijo A mouse eats using a fork (actual meaning) |
ona he, she, they, it |
is used to express prepositions. In this case the preposition "with" is rephrased in TPE with the modal verb .
can also be used to express conditions like "if" and "when". This sentence can also be translated as "If a mouse eats it uses a fork."
Anaphora
soweli li moku la ona li kepeken ijo A mouse eats using a fork (actual meaning) |
Anaphoric verb refers to the previous noun known from context. In this isolated example it definitely refers to the noun since there are no other nouns before "ona".
Separating sentences
Sentences are separated by lowering the intonation till the end of the sentence and putting an at least short pause after them.
Question sentences are separated by raising the intonation till the end of the sentence and putting an at least short pause after them.
In writing sentence is separated by a dot placed at the end of it.
Linking sentences together
mi moku. en la mi tawa |
tawa to go, to move (to some place) |
en and |
If you want to show that two sentences express the same idea use to connect them.
mi moku. sin la kon li seli |
seli to be hot, to burn (something) |
sin to be new |
If you change the subject of what you are talking about start the next sentence with to show it belongs to a new subject. In books "sin la" is also used to separate paragraphs.
Metaphorical usage of prepositions
The verb to say actually requires three nouns:
I say this to you. |
toki to say (something) |
specifies only the first two nouns. In such cases metaphors are used. In english to is used. TPE is similar in this regard. It uses :
mi tawa sina la mi toki e ni I say this to you. |
tawa to go to (some place), to be oriented towards (something or someone) |
Differences from toki pona
In toki pona language as a noun can mean both "eater" ("the one who eats") and "food". in TPE it means onle "eater". For the second meaning you say:
mi moku e ijo. ona li pona I eat something. It (i.e. food) is good. |
Dictionary
TPE word | class | translation | translation with "e" | as modal verb | as pre-noun |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
a, kin | [interjection] | (emphasis, emotion or confirmation) | |||
akesi | [verb] | is a non-cute animal (e.g. reptile, amphibian) | |||
ala | [verb] | to be false, is not | |||
ala | [number] | zero | |||
alasa | [verb] | to be a hunter | to hunt, forage (something) | ||
ale, ali | [verb] | to represent all of them or each of them; is in abundance, is countless, bountiful, plentiful | |||
anpa | [verb] | to bow down, to be downwards, to be humble, low, dependent | |||
ante | [verb] | is different, altered, changed; other | |||
anu | [verb] | to present either option; or | |||
awen | [verb] | is enduring, kept, protected, safe, waiting, staying | to continue to | ||
e | [particle] | (before the second noun of a verb) | |||
en | [verb] | is a union, is connected; and | |||
esun | [verb] | is a market, shop, fair, bazaar, business transaction | |||
ijo | [verb] | is a thing, phenomenon, object, matter | |||
ike | [verb] | is bad, non-essential, irrelevant | |||
ilo | [verb] | is a tool, implement, machine, device | |||
insa | [verb] | is a center, content, the inside, is between, is an internal organ, stomach | |||
jaki | [verb] | is disgusting, obscene, sickly, toxic, unclean, unsanitary | |||
jan | [verb] | is a human being, person, somebody | |||
jelo | [verb] | is yellow, yellowish | |||
jo | [verb] | to have, carry, contain, hold | |||
kala | [verb] | is a fish, marine animal, sea creature | |||
kalama | [verb] | to produce a sound; recite; utter aloud | |||
kama | [verb] | to arrive, come, is in future | to arrive to, come to (place) | to become, manage to, succeed in | |
kasi | [verb] | is a plant, vegetation, herb, leaf | |||
ken | [verb] | to be possible | to be able to, be allowed to, can, may | ||
kepeken | [verb] | to use, is a user | to use (something); with, by means of (something) | ||
kili | [verb] | is a fruit, vegetable, mushroom | |||
kiwen | [verb] | is a rock, stone, metal, hard object | |||
ko | [verb] | is a clay, clinging form, dough, semi-solid, paste, powder | |||
kon | [verb] | is an air, to breath, is the essence, spirit, is a hidden reality, unseen agent | |||
kule | [verb] | is colorful, pigmented, painted | |||
kulupu | [verb] | is a community, company, group, nation, society, tribe | |||
kute | [verb] | is an ear, to hear, listen, to pay attention to, obey | |||
la | [particle] | (between the topic and comment) | |||
lape | [verb] | to sleep, to rest | |||
laso | [verb] | is blue, green | |||
lawa | [verb] | is a head, to represent a mind | |||
lawa | [verb] | to control, direct, guide, lead, own, plan, regulate, rule | |||
len | [verb] | is a cloth, clothing, fabric, textile, cover, layer of privacy | |||
lete | [verb] | is cold, cool, uncooked, raw | |||
li | [particle] | between any first noun except mi alone or sina alone and its verb; also used to introduce a new verb for the same first noun | |||
lili | [verb] | is little, small, short, to represent a small number; few, a bit, young | |||
linja | [verb] | is long and flexible thing, is a line, cord, hair, rope, thread, yarn | |||
lipu | [verb] | is a flat object, book, document, card, paper, record, website | |||
loje | [verb] | is red, reddish | |||
lon | [verb] | is located at, is present at, is real, true, existing | |||
luka | [verb] | arm, hand, tactile organ | |||
luka | [number] | five | |||
lukin | [verb] | to look, see, examine, observe, read, watch | to look at, to see, examine, observe, read, watch (something) | to seek, look for, try to | |
lupa | [verb] | is a door, hole, orifice, window | |||
ma | [verb] | is an earth, land, outdoors, world, country, territory, soil | |||
mama | [verb] | is a parent, ancestor, creator, originator, caretakes, sustainer | |||
mani | [verb] | is some money, cash, savings, wealth, large domesticated animal | |||
meli | [verb] | is a woman, female, feminine person, wife | |||
mi | [pronoun] | I; me, we, us | |||
mije | [verb] | is a man, male, masculine person, husband | |||
moku | [verb] | to eat, drink, consume, swallow, ingest | |||
moli | [verb] | is dead, to die | |||
monsi | [verb] | is back, behind, rear | |||
mu | [interjection] | (animal noise or communication) | |||
mun | [verb] | is a moon, night sky object, star | |||
musi | [verb] | is artistic, entertaining, frivolous, playful, recreational | |||
mute | [verb] | to represent a large number; many, a lot, more, several, very | |||
nanpa | [particle] | _-th (ordinal number) | |||
nanpa | [verb] | is a number, to represent some quantity | |||
nasa | [verb] | is unusual, strange, foolish, crazy, drunk, intoxicated | |||
nasin | [verb] | is a way, custom, doctrine, method, path, road | |||
nena | [verb] | is a bump, button, hill, mountain, nose, protuberance | |||
ni | [verb] | is that, this (object or event) | |||
nimi | [verb] | is a name, word | |||
noka | [verb] | is a foot, leg, organ of locomotion; bottom, lower part | |||
o | [interjection] | hey! O! (vocative or imperative marker) | |||
oko | [verb] | is an eye | |||
olin | [verb] | to love | to love, have compassion for, respect, show affection to (someone or something) | ||
ona | [verb] | is he, she, it, they | |||
open | [verb] | to begin, start, open | to begin, start, open, turn on (something) | ||
pakala | [verb] | is botched, broken, damaged, harmed, messed up | |||
pali | [verb] | to do, take action on, work on, build, make, prepare (something) | to do (some event) | ||
palisa | [verb] | is a long hard thing, branch, rod, stick | |||
pan | [verb] | is a cereal, grain; barley, corn, oat, rice, wheat; bread, pasta | |||
pana | [verb] | to give, send, emit, provide, put, release | to give, send, emit, provide, put, release (something) | ||
pi | [particle] | of | |||
pilin | [verb] | is a heart (physical or emotional) | to feel (something; an emotion, a direct experience) | ||
pimeja | [verb] | is black, dark, unlit | |||
pini | [verb] | is in past, is completed, ended, finished | |||
pipi | [verb] | is a bug, insect, ant, spider | |||
poka | [verb] | is a hip, side, nearby | to be next to (something) | ||
poki | [verb] | is a container, bag, bowl, cup, cupboard, drawer, vessel | |||
pona | [verb] | is good, positive, useful, friendly, peaceful, simple | to repair (something) | ||
pu | [verb] | to interact with the official Toki Pona book | |||
sama | [verb] | is the same, similar, is a sibling, peer, fellow; each other | is the same as (something) | ||
seli | [verb] | is a fire, is a cooking element, chemical reaction, heat source | |||
selo | [verb] | is an outer form, outer layer, bark, peel, shell, skin, boundary | is an outer part of (something) | ||
seme | [verb] | is what? is which? | |||
sewi | [verb] | is an area above, highest part, something elevated, is awe-inspiring, divine, sacred, supernatural | is an area above (something) | ||
sijelo | [verb] | is a body (of person or animal), physical state, torso | |||
sike | [verb] | is round or circular thing, ball, circle, cycle, sphere, wheel, one year long | |||
sin | [verb] | is new, fresh, additional, another, extra | |||
namako | [verb] | is special, gist, new, fresh, woman as a special thing, to have umami taste | |||
sina | [PRONOUN] | you | |||
sinpin | [verb] | is a face, foremost, front, wall | |||
sitelen | [verb] | is an image, picture, representation, symbol, mark | is an image, picture, representation, symbol, mark of (something) | ||
sona | [verb] | to know | to be skilled in, be wise about, have information on (something) | to know how to | |
soweli | [verb] | is an animal, beast, land mammal | |||
suli | [verb] | is big, heavy, large, tall, important; adult | |||
suno | [verb] | is the sun, light, bright, is a glow, radiance, shine, light source | |||
supa | [verb] | is a horizontal surface, thing to put or rest something on | |||
suwi | [verb] | is sweet, fragrant, cute, innocent, adorable | |||
tan | [verb] | to be the reason or source | to be the reason or source of (something) | ||
taso | [verb] | to contradict; but, however, only | to contradict (something) | ||
tawa | [verb] | to go, move, be oriented | to go to, to move to, to be oriented towards (something) | ||
telo | [verb] | is a water, liquid, fluid, wet substance, beverage | |||
tenpo | [verb] | is the time, duration, moment, occasion, period, situation | |||
toki | [verb] | to say, speak, talk (something), to communicate, use language, think | to say (something) | ||
tomo | [verb] | is an indoor space, building, home, house, room | |||
tu | [number] | two | |||
tu | [verb] | is a pair | |||
unpa | [verb] | to have sexual or marital relations | to have sexual or marital relations with (someone) | ||
uta | [verb] | is a mouth, lips, oral cavity, jaw | |||
utala | [verb] | to battle, challenge, compete against, struggle against | to battle, challenge, compete against, struggle against (something) | ||
walo | [verb] | is white, whitish, light-colored, pale | |||
wan | [verb] | is unique, united | |||
wan | [number] | one | |||
waso | [verb] | is a bird, flying creature, winged animal | |||
wawa | [verb] | is strong, powerful, confident, sure, energetic, intense | |||
weka | [verb] | is absent, away, ignored | |||
wile | [verb] | must, need, require, should, want, wish | must, need, require, should, want, wish to do (something) |