The Essential Vocabulary

This list is taken from the Toki Pona website. We have assigned an index to each meaning of a given word. Use the game to see the aspect for each of these terms. Duplicate words in the same category are only translated once. The verb forms would require Articulation for person and tense.

a
interj emotion word #300 #500 #600 #700 #900 #A00 #B00 #C00 #D00 #E00 #F00 (depends on the emotion)
akesi
n creeping animal, #2A4
reptile, #4A4
amphibian, #6A4
large arthropod #20A4
ala
mod not, no, un-,   #-0 or any negative number
zero #0 or #-0
kala
n aquatic animal#22A6 (fish)
ale, ali (both variants are correct)
n everything, #20FF
anything, #A4FF
life, #90
the universe #1060
mod all, #1F0000
every, #80000
complete, #54E
whole #5FF
anpa n bottom, #A64
lower part, #8A64
beneath, under, below, #250000
floor, #2E2
mod low, #762
lower, #662
bottom, #8A64
down #9564
ante n difference? #1000D7
mod different? #1001D7
cont otherwise, #330000
or else #750000
vt change, #C54
alter, modify #1554
anu conj or #720000
awen vi stay, wait, remain #6F03
vt keep #A038 #8C00
mod remaining, #F03
stationary, #B6E
permanent, #553
sedentary #65F0
e sep (introduces a direct object) none, all Instrumentation objects are direct
en conj and (used to coordinate head nouns)#710000
ijo n thing, #A020
something, #2220
stuff, #220
anything, #A4FF
object #20
mod of something #132220
vt objectify #600020
ike mod bad, #D08
negative, #C08
wrong, #1D08
evil, #1608
overly complex, #617E
(figuratively) unhealthy #-182
interj oh dear! woe! alas! #-600 #700 #900 #A00 #B00 #C00 #F00
n negativity, badness, #D08
evil #7708
(verbs use the nouns above)
vt to make bad, to worsen, to have a negative effect upon
vi to be bad, to suck
[sounds like icky]
ilo n tool, #24
device, #25
machine, #425
thing used for a specific purpose #24
insa n inside, #140000
inner world, #474A
centre, #C67
stomach #3A83
mod inner, #474A
internal #140000
[inside]
jaki mod dirty, #1961
gross, #5961
filthy #7961
n dirt, filth #1861
garbage, #ACE3
pollution, #83E
vt pollute, dirty (same as above)
interj ew! yuck! #3000
[yucky]
jan n person, #A0
people, #62A0
human, #88A0
being, #82BC
somebody, #A2A0
anybody  #24A0
mod human, somebody's, personal, of people #9A0
vt personify, humanize, personalize #89A0
jelo mod yellow, #628D
light green #-F2A28D or #7F8D (vector + a number for the tone)
[yellow]
jo vt have, contain #4163
n having #2238
kama receive, #B38
get, #8B00
take, #8700
obtain #4638
kala n fish, sea creature #22A6
kalama n sound, #8F
noise, #28F
voice #148F
vi make noise
vt sound, play, ring (an instrument) #867
kama vi come, #11F3 #8200
arrive, #1251
happen, become, pursue actions to arrive to (a certain state), manage to, start to
n event, #51
happening, #251
chance, #247 #21A
arrival, #1251
beginning #203
mod coming, future #150 or #8150
vt bring about, summon #4558
[come up]
kasi n plant, #74
leaf, #675
herb, #1075
tree, #274
wood #E75
ken vi can, is able to, is allowed to, may, is possible
n possibility, #84A
ability, #C0
power to do things, #4F3
permission #ED2
vt make possible, enable, allow, permit #8A00
cont it is possible that #494A
kepeken vt use #622
prep with #170000
kili n fruit, #E74
pulpy vegetable, #1074
mushroom #2474
kin mod also, too, #5E0000
even, #770000
indeed (emphasizes the word(s) before it) #E50000
kiwen mod hard, #540
solid, #166
stone-like, made of stone or metal? #F369
n hard thing, #540
rock, #1269
stone, #2469
metal, #E69
mineral, #A469
clay #2669
ko n semi-solid or squishy substance, e.g. paste, #1073
powder, #1C40
gum #AEB
kon n air, #4EB
wind, #A70
smell, #4CC
soul  #2AFE
mod air-like, #2AFE
ethereal, #887F
gaseous #569
kule n colour, #8D
paint #20F5
mod colourful #18D
vt colour, paint
kute vt listen, hear #6CC
mod auditory, hearing
kulupu n group, #2021
community, #AE
society, #4AE
company, #A34
people #62A0
mod communal, #19AE
shared, #1138
public, of the society #1AE
la sep (between adverb or phrase of context and sentence)
- not used by Instrumentation
lape n, vi sleep, #4F2
rest #1A82
mod sleeping, of sleep #5F2
laso mod blue, #648D
blue-green #FF8D (vector + a number for the color)
lawa n head, #2A83
mind #84
mod main, #112B (major)
leading, #F48
in charge #240872
vt lead,  #E48
control, #F3
rule, #29E
steer #4F6
len n clothing, #AB
cloth, fabric #26AB
lete n cold #76A
mod cold, uncooked #-BEA
vt cool down, chill #F0846A
li sep (between any subject except mi and sina and its verb; also used to introduce a new verb for the same subject)
Instrumentation has no separators
lili mod small, #B07
little, #307
young, #913
a bit, #D0A29B
short, #707
few, #E0B41 (take your pick)
less #740000 or any 'less positive' form
vt reduce, #1C98
shrink, #1698
shorten, lessen
linja n long, #507
very thin, #6F2B
floppy thing, e.g. string, #26
rope, #226
hair, #683
thread, #A26
cord, #4E26
chain #426
lipu n flat #7966
and bendable #810033
thing, #20
e.g. paper, #2889
card, #888
ticket #1227
loje mod red #E08D
lon prep be (located) #9CA
in #2409CA
at #2209CA
on #3409CA
vi be there, #C309CA
be present, #550
be real #14A
true, #+0
exist, #350920 (take your pick)
be awake #63F2
luka n hand, #83
arm #A083
lukin vt see, #A083 #8800
look at, #2220CC
watch, #6C
read #C2C
vi look, watch out, #2A006C
pay attention #86EDBC
mod visual(ly) #83CC
[looking] 
lupa n hole, #67
orifice, #2A67
window, #2067
door #24E0
[sounds like loop]
ma n land, #2060
earth, #460
country, #206D
(outdoor) #7E3
area #8CA
mama n parent, #04AD
mother, #AD
father #AAD
mod of the parent, parental, #5AD
maternal, #7BA
fatherly #BAD
[sounds like momma]
mani n money, #37
material wealth, #8A3
currency, #5637
dollar, #2BE
capital #8A3 (capital could be confused with capital)
[money]
meli n woman, #4A0
female, #5A0
girl, #8291 or #5A0
wife, #84BB
girlfriend #20C6
mod female, feminine, womanly #5A0
[Mary]
mi n I, C50000
we #C60000
mod my, #8080
our #C080
[me]
mije n man, #2A0
male, #3A0
boy #8290 or #3A0
husband, #82BB
boyfriend #A0C6
mod male, masculine, manly #3A0
moku n food, #EA
meal #A0EA
vt eat, #1AEA
drink, #2EA
swallow, #EEA
ingest, consume #1AEA
moli n death #490
vi die, #490
be dead #590 or #8490
vt kill #6FB
mod dead, #590
deadly, #8590
fatal #28590
monsi n back, #1064
rear end, butt, #3C83
behind #230000
mod back, rear
mu interj woof! meow! moo! etc. (cute animal noise) #4100 #4200 #4300 #4400 #4500 #4600 #4700 #4800 #4900 #4A00 #4B00 #4C00 #4D00 #4E00 #4F00
[moo] #A0A5 cute or otherwise
mun n moon #860
mod lunar #960
[moon]
musi n fun, #B8
playing, #2C2
game, #2E4
recreation, #6DE
art, #EC
entertainment #C5
mod artful, #1EC
fun, #B8
recreational #E7DE
vi play, have fun
vt amuse, entertain
mute mod many, several, #180000
very, #8941
much, #190000
a lot, #E52009
abundant, numerous, more #2209 (more or less)
n amount, #2009
quantity #9
vt make many or much #F398
[multi]
nanpa n number #1
oth -th (ordinal numbers) #80000000 plus 1 to FFFFFF
[number]
nasa mod silly, foolish, #92B8 #2A00
crazy, #-1C4
drunk, #3EA
stupid, #DF2
strange, weird #-E7D6
vt drive crazy, make weird
nasin n way, #45
manner, custom, #4E9
road, #6F
path, #2A
doctrine, #FC
system, #5B
method #5A
nena n bump, #1C66
nose, #0E83
hill, #261
mountain, #461
button #827
ni mod this, #C10000
that #C20000
nimi n word, #9B
name #C68
noka n leg, #3083
foot #2083
o sep O (vocative or imperative) #60000
interj hey! #3100
oko n eye #A883
[similar to oculist]
olin n love #DD #2400
mod
love
vt
to love (a person) #80DD or 3EDD
ona n she, he, it, #C90000 or #CD0000
they #CE0000 or use an indirect plural verb
mod her, his, its, #CD0000
their #CE0000 (or add 'of' #130000 to the owned thing)
open vt open, #1667
turn on #340272 or #290254 or #C2 as a verb
pakala n blunder, accident, #41A
mistake, #DA
destruction, #4DB
damage, #CDB
breaking #DB
vt screw up, botch, ruin, break, hurt, injure, damage, spoil, ruin
vi screw up, fall apart, break
interj damn! #A00
pali n activity, #C2
work, #29D
deed, #2D0
project #6D3
mod active, #1C2
work-related, #76029D
operating, #B25
working #439D
vt do, #8100
make, #8500
build, create
vi act, work, function
palisa n long, #507
mostly hard #2540
object, #20
e.g. rod, #1A24
stick, branch #475
pana vt give, #3B #8600
place, #264
put, #8D00
send, #838 #8E00
release, #41B3
emit, #35
cause #24D
n giving, transfer, exchange #8D4
pi sep of, belonging to #130000 or #D40000 or #E40000
pilin n feelings, #4ACC
emotion, #DC
heart #A483
vi feel #ACC
vt feel, think, #6104
sense, #CD
touch #8F9
[feeling]
pimeja mod black, #208D
dark #148D or #254F or #-454F
n darkness, #-138D
shadows #4C88
vt darken
pini n end, #1279
tip #7579 or #203 or #403
mod completed, #654E
finished, #951
past, #350
done, #3D0 or #6350
ago #90350
vt finish, close, end, turn off
pipi n bug, insect, spider #20A4
poka n side, #1264
hip, #2C3083
next to #A1264
prep in the accompaniment of, with #170000
mod neighbouring #81E1 or #8579 or #D78
poki n container, #80F4
box, #2F4
bowl, #A8EA
cup, glass #A6EA
[box]
pona n good, #good
simplicity, #27E
positivity #A08
mod good, #B08
simple, #37E
positive, #A08
nice, #1508
correct, #7DA
right #7964
interj great! good! thanks! OK! cool! yay! #500 #600
vt improve, fix, repair, make good
[bonus]
sama mod same, equal, #60611D
similar, #523
of equal status or position #6063A2
prep like, #6723
as, #120000
seem #520000 #8F00
seli n fire, #57
warmth, #A6A
heat #26A
mod hot, #36A
warm, #A6A
cooked #BEA
vt heat, warm up, cook
selo n outside, #6764
surface, #2266
skin, #3483
shell, #AA5
bark, #2075
shape, #26B
peel #6F5
seme oth what, D30000
which, #D20000
wh- (question word) #100000 displays as '??'
sewi n high, #529
up, #290000
above, #2C0000
top, #C64
over, #2C0000
on #340000
mod superior, #82C9
elevated, #162
religious, #3FC
formal #1366
sijelo n body, #1366
physical state #82
sike n circle, #265
wheel, #F7
sphere, 266
ball, #A0B4
cycle #34F6 or #112A
mod round, #0866
cyclical#75A
sin mod new, #313
fresh, #D13
another, #5C0042
more  (any adjective or adverb)
vt renew, renovate, freshen #E50D13
sina n you #81
mod your #C90000
sinpin n front, #E64
torso, chest, #2483
face, #AA83
wall #4E2
sitelen n picture, #88
image #E88
vt draw, #428
write #62C
sona n knowledge, #85
wisdom, #9C
intelligence, #BD
understanding #408
vt know, #185
understand, know how to
vi know, understand
kama learn, #648
study #848
soweli n animal, especially land mammal, #A6 or #2A4
lovable animal #28B4 or #2A6
suli mod big, #107
tall, #1507
long, #507
adult, #591
important #10B
vt enlarge, #C98 or #98 or #498 or #C98 or #1098
lengthen #472B
n size #7
suno n sun, #660
light #128D (the other light is weight)
supa n horizontal surface, #7566 or #86B
e.g furniture, #6AE2
table, #CE2
chair, #8E2
pillow, #2CE2
floor #2E2
suwi n candy, sweet food #4ECD
mod sweet, #FCD
cute #8ECD
vt sweeten #4FCD
[sweet]
tan prep from, #260000
by, #1B0000
because of, #5A0000
since #3F0000
n origin, #253
cause #24D
taso mod only, #F0000
sole #D41
conj but #790000
[that's all]
tawa prep towards, to, #2B0000
in order to,  #370000
for, #B0000
until #440000
vi go to, #2B8300
walk, #AF0
travel, #2B9
move, #72
leave #1651
n transportation #F6 or #20F6 or #22F6 or #24F6 or #28F6, etc.
mod moving, mobile #8172
vt  displace #1472
[towards]
telo n water, #6EB
liquid, #269
juice, #10EA
sauce #8EB
vt wash with water #2A8 or possibly #67F
tenpo n time, #10 or #1000
duration, period of time, #11
moment, #230
situation #1B
toki n language, #8A
talking, #9A
speech, #2089
communication  #29A
mod verbal #819A
vt say #8900
vi talk, chat, communicate #29A
interj hello! hi! #2081 #1300
tomo n indoor constructed space, e.g. house, #E0
home, #80E0
room, #E2
building #6E1
mod urban, #13E
domestic, #1A6
household #1A6
tu mod two #401
n duo, pair #2601
vt double, #501
separate/cut/divide in two #A78 or #278 or #78
[two]
unpa n sex, sexuality #8A1
mod erotic, sexual #9A1 or #89A1
vt have sex with, sleep with, #88A1 or #20AF
vi have sex
uta n mouth #A683
mod oral #17A683
utala n conflict, #2F8
disharmony, #-961E
competition, #120D
battle, fight, #FB
war, #2FB
attack, #AFB
blow, #4F9
argument, #F8
physical or verbal violence #F8 and F9 and #FB
vt hit, strike, attack, compete against
walo mod white, light (colour) #668D or #F07F8D (tone vector)
n white thing or part, whiteness, lightness
[sounds like wall, which is often white]
wan mod one, #201
a #D00000
n unit, #2079
element, #1C69
particle, #2069
part, #263
piece #E40000
vt unite, make one #7FF
[one]
waso n bird, winged animal#7FF
wawa n energy, #54
strength, #282
power #254
mod energetic, strong,
fierce, #1BDC
intense, #75E
sure, #78C
confident #57D
vt strengthen, energize, empower #E60254
weka mod away, #2A0000 or #260000
absent, #768
missing #43F9
n absence #668
vt throw away, #2F1AC2
remove, #1278
get rid of #157A
wile vt to want, #2B6
need, #B7
wish, #4B6
have to, must, will, should #67B7
n desire, #B6
need, will #8DD or most future verb forms.
mod necessary #3B7


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