Toki Pona Script

Introduction

Toki Pona ( ) is a constructed language created by Sonja Elen Kisa. This document proposes a script for Toki Pona following the philosophy of the language.

Since the root vocabulary is only 118 words, my idea to map each root word to one Unicode character appeared to be a feasible task. And I thought that dingbats and symbols match the nature of the language best. And surely Unicode must be capable of providing all the necessary symbols!

To show how the script feels, there is a text section and the original lexicon is listed. For your amusement, there is also an online-converter.

Finally, there are tools for your computer, e.g. keymaps for X/Unix (e.g. Linux) and Windows.

Note that this page does not define an official script for the language, but it is merely my personal work. It am happy to say that Sonja approved this proposal and said she liked it.

Unicode

※

To find nice looking glyphs for the root words of Tokipona in Unicode was not always easy. Some of the glyphs I found are, therefore, present only in very current versions of Unicode, and might not be displayed correctly by your browser. However, all characters of the current mapping are in the BMP, so there is at least a chance that some browsers do display at least something. I will nevertheless include images in this document.

The Script

※

This lists the original root lexicon of Toki Pona, extended by the character column and sometimes a comment about the character selection, labelled 'glyph'. It is left otherwise unmodified. When the lexicon contained comments about the design of the words, these are labelled 'idea'.

Searching for good symbols was a tedious task and there is surely room for improvements. Therefore, I'd be grateful for suggestions and comments.

U+2364	a	interj	ah, ha, uh, oh, ooh, aw, well (emotion word)
		etym	SS
		glyph	face saying: Oh!
U+2361	akesi	n	non-cute animal, reptile, amphibian
		etym	NL hagedis
		glyph	[soweli]: non-cute face
U+2205	ala	n	nothing, negation, zero
		mod	no, not, none, un-
		interj	no!
		etym	KA არა /ara/
		glyph	sth. crossed out
U+25C9	ali	variant	ale
		n	everything, anything, life, the universe
		mod	all, every, complete, whole
		etym	NL al(le)
		glyph	'everything' is marked by a circle
U+2193	anpa	n	bottom, lower part, under, below, floor, beneath
		mod	low, lower, bottom, down
		etym	FR-NB en bas
U+238C	ante	n	difference
		vt	change, alter, modify
		mod	different
		cont	otherwise, or else
		etym	NL ander
		glyph	to change
U+2228	anu	conj	or
		etym	KA ?
		glyph	math operator, lat. 'vel'
U+2693	awen	vt	keep
		vi	stay, wait, remain
		mod	remaining, stationary, permanent, sedentary
		etym	NL houden
U+21B1	e	sep	(introduces a direct object)
		etym	a priori
		glyph	lat. ob-ject, du. voor-werp
U+0026	en	conj	and (used to coordinate head nouns)
U+0026	en	etym	NL en
U+269B	ijo	n	thing, something, stuff, anything, object
		vt	objectify
		mod	of something
		etym	EO io
		glyph	all matter is build from atoms
U+2639	ike	n	negativity, badness, evil
		vt	to make bad, to worsen, to have a negative effect upon
		vi	to be bad, to suck
		mod	bad, negative, wrong, evil, overly complex, (figuratively) unhealthy
		interj	oh dear! woe! alas!
		idea	sounds like icky
		etym	FI ilkeä
U+2704	ilo	n	tool, device, machine, thing used for a specific purpose
		etym	EO ilo
		glyph	a prototypical tool
U+2386	insa	n	inside, inner world, centre, stomach
		mod	inner, internal
		idea	inside
		etym	TPI insait (EN inside)
U+2623	jaki	n	dirt, pollution, garbage, filth
		vt	pollute, dirty
		mod	dirty, gross, filthy
		interj	ew! yuck!
		idea	yucky
		etym	EN yucky
U+2D45	jan	n	person, people, human, being, somebody, anybody
		vt	personify, humanize, personalize
		mod	human, somebody's, personal, of people
		etym	ZH-HK 人 /jɐn21/
U+25A5	jelo	mod	yellow, light green
		idea	yellow
		etym	EN yellow
		glyph	[laso],[loje],[pimeja],[walo]: compared to loje, just like the word is turned around, the strokes are turned. if possible, a yellow square, otherwise, the alternative glyph
U+29C8	jo	n	having
		vt	+kama: receive, get, take, obtain
		etym	ZH 有 yǒu
		glyph	[kama]: the item is in the square.
U+1619	kala	n	fish, sea creature
		etym	FI kala
		glyph	a fish!
U+266A	kalama	n	sound, noise, voice
		vt	sound, ring, play (an instrument)
		vi	make noise
		etym	HR galáma
U+29C9	kama	n	event, happening, chance, arrival, beginning
		vt	bring about, summon
		vi	come, become, arrive, happen, pursue actions to arrive to (a certain state), manage to, start to
		mod	coming, future
		idea	come up
		etym	TPI kamap (EN come up)
		glyph	[jo]: the item is moving
U+2698	kasi	n	plant, leaf, herb, tree, wood
U+2698	kasi	etym	FI kasvi
U+2713	ken	n	possibility, ability, power to do things, permission
		vt	make possible, enable, allow, permit
		vi	can, is able to, is allowed to, may, is possible
		cont	it is possible that
		etym	TPI ken, EN can
		glyph	unfortunately, found no thumb-up char
U+2692	kepeken	vt	use
		prep	with
		etym	NL gebruiken
		glyph	working with tools
U+1D25	kili	n	fruit, pulpy vegetable, mushroom
U+1D25	kili	etym	KA ხილი /xili/
U+25C5	kin	mod	also, too, even, indeed (emphasizes the word(s) before it)
		etym	FI -kin
		glyph	emphasis in previous word
U+25CF	kiwen	n	hard thing, rock, stone, metal, mineral, clay
		mod	hard, solid, stone-like, made of stone or metal
		etym	FI kivi, kiven
U+25CD	ko	n	semi-solid or squishy substance, e.g. paste, powder, gum
U+25CD	ko	etym	ZH-HK 膏 /gou55/
U+2690	kon	n	air, wind, smell, soul
		mod	air-like, ethereal, gaseous
		etym	ZH 空氣 kōngqì
U+25A7	kule	n	colour, paint
		vt	colour, paint
		mod	colourful
		etym	FR-NB couleur
		glyph	similar to the concrete color chars
U+1368	kulupu	n	group, community, society, company, people
		mod	communal, shared, public, of the society
		etym	TO kulupu (EN group)
U+2706	kute	vt	listen, hear
		mod	auditory, hearing
		etym	FR-NB écouter
U+228F	la	sep	(between adverb or phrase of context and sentence)
		etym	EO la
		glyph	modification is indicated by left part 'enclosing' right part
U+2324	lape	n	sleep, rest
		vi	sleep, rest
		mod	sleeping, of sleep
		etym	NL slapen
		glyph	sleeping face
U+25A6	laso	mod	blue, blue-green
		etym	CY glas
		glyph	[jelo],[loje],[pimeja],[walo]: neither like jelo, nor loje, the glyph is different (and darker). if possible, a blue-green square, otherwise, the alternative glyph
U+2655	lawa	n	head, mind
		vt	lead, control, rule, steer
		mod	main, leading, in charge
U+265F	len	n	clothing, cloth, fabric
		etym	FR-NB linge
		glyph	[sijelo]: this one wears clothes
U+2603	lete	n	cold
		vt	cool down, chill
		mod	cold, uncooked
		etym	FR-NB frette
U+21B4	li	sep	(between any subject except _mi_ and _sina_ and its verb; also used to introduce a new verb for the same subject)
		etym	EO li
		glyph	lat. sub-ject, du: onder-werp
U+25B5	lili	vt	reduce, shorten, shrink, lessen
		mod	small, little, young, a bit, short, few, less
		etym	TPI liklik
		glyph	[suli]: small triangle, becoming smaller
U+2621	linja	n	long, very thin, floppy thing, e.g. string, rope, hair, thread, cord, chain
U+2621	linja	etym	FI linja
U+203F	lipu	n	flat and bendable thing, e.g. paper, card, ticket
U+203F	lipu	etym	FI lippu
U+25A4	loje	mod	red
		etym	NL rood, rooie
		glyph	[jelo],[laso],[pimeja],[walo]: compared to jelo, just like the word is turned around, the strokes are turned. if possible, a red square, otherwise, the alternative glyph
U+237E	lon	vi	be there, be present, be real/true, exist, be awake
		prep	be (located) in/at/on
		etym	TPI long
		glyph	this cute chap exists, is awake and is there
U+2308	luka	n	hand, arm
		etym	HR rúka
		glyph	[noka]: the hand is in reading direction
U+2222	lukin	vt	see, look at, watch, read
		vi	look, watch out, pay attention
		mod	visual(ly)
		idea	looking
		etym	TPI lukim (EN look him)
		glyph	a watching eye
U+25D8	lupa	n	hole, orifice, window, door
		idea	sounds like loop
		etym	LOJ clupa
U+23DA	ma	n	land, earth, country, (outdoor) area
		etym	FI maa
		glyph	technical symbol for 'earth', also looks a bit like a worker in a field
U+261D	mama	n	parent, mother, father
		mod	of the parent, parental, maternal, fatherly
		idea	sounds like momma
		etym	KA მამა /mama/
U+00A4	mani	n	money, material wealth, currency, dollar, capital
		idea	money
		etym	EN money
		glyph	currency symbol; dollar symbol and euro and yen, etc., avoided to keep neutrality
U+2640	meli	n	woman, female, girl, wife, girlfriend
		mod	female, feminine, womanly
		name	Mary
		etym	TPI meri (EN Mary)
U+21CA	mi	n	I, we
		mod	my, our
		idea	me
		etym	EO mi, EN me
		glyph	[sina],[ona]: points to the writing person
U+2642	mije	n	man, male, husband, boyfriend
		mod	male, masculine, manly
		etym	FI mies
U+2615	moku	n	food, meal
		vt	eat, drink, swallow, ingest, consume
		etym	JA SS モグモグ /mogu mogu/
U+2620	moli	n	death
		vt	kill
		vi	die, be dead
		mod	dead, deadly, fatal
		etym	FR-NB mourir
U+21AB	monsi	n	back, rear end, butt, behind
		mod	back, rear
		etym	FR-NB mon tchu (FR mon cul)
U+2363	mu	interj	woof! meow! moo! etc. (cute animal noise)
		idea	moo
		etym	SS
		glyph	a cute noise from this face
U+263E	mun	n	moon
		mod	lunar
		idea	moon
		etym	EN moon
U+260A	musi	n	fun, playing, game, recreation, art, entertainment
		vt	amuse, entertain
		vi	play, have fun
		mod	artful, fun, recreational
		etym	EO amuzi
		glyph	earphones
U+2683	mute	n	amount, quantity
		vt	make many or much
		mod	many, very, much, several, a lot, abundant, numerous, more
		idea	multi
		etym	EO multe
		glyph	[wan], [tu]: one, two, three, many
U+22D5	nanpa	n	number
		oth	-th (ordinal numbers)
		idea	number
		etym	TPI namba (EN number)
U+29BC	nasa	vt	drive crazy, make weird
		mod	silly, crazy, foolish, drunk, strange, stupid, weird
		etym	TPI nasau
		glyph	[oko]: crazy face
U+1514	nasin	n	way, manner, custom, road, path, doctrine, system, method
U+1514	nasin	etym	HR náčin
U+264E	nena	n	bump, nose, hill, mountain, button
U+264E	nena	etym	FI nenä
U+21F2	ni	mod	this, that
U+21F2	ni	etym	ZH-HK 哩 /ni55/
U+229F	nimi	n	word, name
		etym	FI nimi
		glyph	a name tag
U+230A	noka	n	leg, foot
		etym	HR nòga
		glyph	[luka]: the foot is in reading direction
U+26A0	o	sep	O (vocative or imperative)
		interj	hey! (calling somebody's attention)
		etym	KA -ო /o/, EO ho, EN O
U+2687	oko	n	eye
		idea	similar to oculist
		etym	HR òko
		glyph	[nasa]
U+2661	olin	n	love
		vt	to love (a person)
		mod	love
		etym	HR volim
U+21C6	ona	n	she, he, it, they
		mod	her, his, its, their
		etym	HR
		glyph	[mi],[sina]: points to neither the speaker nor the listener
U+237D	open	vt	open, turn on
		etym	TPI open, EN open
		glyph	an open box
U+2601	pakala	n	blunder, accident, mistake, destruction, damage, breaking
		vt	screw up, fuck up, botch, ruin, break, hurt, injure, damage, spoil, ruin
		vi	screw up, fall apart, break
		interj	damn! fuck!
		etym	TPI bagarap (EN bugger up)
		glyph	U+267F was not used for PC reasons; a cloud; looks a bit like solid feces in some fonts, actually...
U+2660	pali	n	activity, work, deed, project
		vt	do, make, build, create
		vi	act, work, function
		mod	active, work-related, operating, working
		etym	EO fari
		glyph	a spade as a symbol for work
U+2215	palisa	n	long, mostly hard object, e.g. rod, stick, branch
U+2215	palisa	etym	HR pàlica
U+2709	pana	n	giving, transfer, exchange
U+2709	pana	vt	give, put, send, place, release, emit, cause
U+27C4	pi	sep	of, belonging to
		etym	TPI bilong (EN belong)
		glyph	hand holding an item
U+2766	pilin	n	feelings, emotion, heart
		vt	feel, think, sense, touch
		vi	feel
		idea	feeling
		etym	TPI pilim (EN feel him), EN feeling
U+25A0	pimeja	n	darkness, shadows
		vt	darken
		mod	black, dark
		etym	FI pimeä
		glyph	[jelo],[laso],[loje],[walo]
U+27DF	pini	n	end, tip
		vt	finish, close, end, turn off
		mod	completed, finished, past, done, ago
		etym	TPI pinis, FR-NB fini
		glyph	stroke with both ends terminated; also looks like a sign ('stop' or 'the end')
U+2A77	pipi	n	bug, insect, spider
U+2A77	pipi	etym	FR-NB bibitte
U+2AD6	poka	n	side, hip, next to
		mod	neighbouring
		prep	in the accompaniment of, with
		etym	HR bòk(a)
U+26B1	poki	n	container, box, bowl, cup, glass
		idea	box
		etym	TPI bokis (EN box)
U+263A	pona	n	good, simplicity, positivity
		vt	improve, fix, repair, make good
		mod	good, simple, positive, nice, correct, right
		interj	great! good! thanks! OK! cool! yay!
		idea	bonus
		etym	EO bona
U+229C	sama	mod	same, similar, equal, of equal status or position
		prep	like, as, seem
		etym	FI sama, EO sama
U+2668	seli	n	fire, warmth, heat
		vt	heat, warm up, cook
		mod	hot, warm, cooked
		etym	KA ცხელი /tsxeli/
U+238B	selo	n	outside, surface, skin, shell, bark, shape, peel
U+238B	selo	etym	EO ŝelo
U+2370	seme	oth	what, which, wh- (question word)
U+2370	seme	etym	ZH 什么 shénme
U+2191	sewi	n	high, up, above, top, over, on
		mod	superior, elevated, religious, formal
		etym	KA შეკით /sevit/
U+2659	sijelo	n	body, physical state
		etym	HR tìjelo
		glyph	[len]
U+25CB	sike	n	circle, wheel, sphere, ball, cycle
		mod	round, cyclical
		etym	EN circle
U+2672	sin	vt	renew, renovate, freshen
		mod	new, fresh, another, more
		etym	ZH 新 xīn
U+21C8	sina	n	you
		mod	your
		etym	FI sinä
		glyph	[mi],[ona]: from a writer's view, points to the addressed person on the opposite side of the table
U+2338	sinpin	n	front, chest, torso, face, wall
		etym	ZH ?
		glyph	a wall
U+270E	sitelen	n	picture, image
		vt	draw, write
		etym	NL schilderen
U+25EC	sona	n	knowledge, wisdom, intelligence, understanding
		vt	know, understand, know how to
		vi	+kama:learn, study
		etym	KA ცოდნა /tsodna/
U+12E5	soweli	n	animal, especially land mammal, lovable animal
		etym	KA ცხოკელი /tsxoveli/
		glyph	[akesi]: glyph:ethiopic script is really fun
U+25BD	suli	n	size
		vt	enlarge, lengthen
		mod	big, tall, long, adult, important
		etym	FI suuri
		glyph	[lili]: large triangle, becoming larger
U+263C	suno	n	sun, light
U+263C	suno	etym	EO suno
U+2013	supa	n	horizontal surface, e.g furniture, table, chair, pillow, floor
U+2013	supa	etym	FR-NB surface, EO surfaco, EN surface
U+2368	suwi	n	candy, sweet food
		vt	sweeten
		mod	sweet, cute
		idea	sweet
		etym	TPI swit (EN sweet)
		glyph	mouth examining sweets
U+21A4	tan	n	origin, cause
U+21A4	tan	prep	from, by, because of, since
U+25E6	taso	mod	only, sole
		conj	but
		idea	that's all
		etym	TPI tasol (EN that's all)
U+21E5	tawa	n	movement, transportation
		vt	move, displace
		vi	go to, walk, travel, move, leave
		mod	moving, mobile
		prep	to, in order to, towards, for, until
		idea	towards
		etym	EN towards
U+2614	telo	n	water, liquid, juice, sauce
		vt	water, wash with water
		etym	FR-NB de l'eau
U+231B	tenpo	n	time, period of time, moment, duration, situation
U+231B	tenpo	etym	EO tempo
U+1448	toki	n	language, talking, speech, communication
		vt	say
		vi	talk, chat, communicate
		mod	talking, verbal
		interj	hello! hi!
		etym	TPI tok (EN talk)
		glyph	a talking mouth
U+2302	tomo	n	indoor constructed space, e.g. house, home, room, building
		mod	urban, domestic, household
		etym	EO domo
U+2681	tu	n	duo, pair
		vt	double, separate/cut/divide in two
		mod	two
		idea	two
		etym	EN two
		glyph	[wan],[mute]: dice showing 2
U+264B	unpa	n	sex, sexuality
		vt	have sex with, sleep with, fuck
		vi	have sex
		mod	erotic, sexual
		etym	a priori SS
U+2365	uta	n	mouth
		mod	oral
		etym	HR ústa
		glyph	a large mouth
U+2694	utala	n	conflict, disharmony, competition, fight, war, battle, attack, blow, argument, physical or verbal violence
		vt	hit, strike, attack, compete against
		etym	HR ùdarati
U+2610	walo	n	white thing or part, whiteness, lightness
		mod	white, light (colour)
		idea	sounds like wall, which is often white
		etym	FI valko(inen)
		glyph	[jelo],[laso],[loje],[pimeja]
U+2680	wan	n	unit, element, particle, part, piece
		vt	unite, make one
		mod	one, a
		idea	one
		etym	EN one
		glyph	[tu],[mute]: dice showing 1
U+2362	waso	n	bird, winged animal
		etym	FR-NB oiseau
		glyph	bird head with beak
U+21AF	wawa	n	energy, strength, power
		vt	strengthen, energize, empower
		mod	energetic, strong, fierce, intense, sure, confident
		etym	FI vahva
U+2923	weka	n	absence
		vt	throw away, remove, get rid of
		mod	away, absent, missing
		etym	NL weg
U+2763	wile	n	desire, need, will
		vt	to want, need, wish, have to, must, will, should
		mod	necessary
		etym	NL willen
		glyph	a heart shaped exclamation mark