Numbers, Colours and Feelings
Toki Pona 1
Chapter 7 · Numbers, Colours and Feelings
🔢 Numbers, Colours and Feelings — wan, tu, loje, pilin
Three small topics that every conversation needs: how many, what colour, and how someone feels. Toki Pona handles all three with a handful of words, and the numbers are the most unusual part, because the language only has names for a few of them. By the end you will count to a dozen or so, say what colour something is, put things in order, and describe how you feel.
🔢 Counting
The official numbers are very few. Anything else is built by adding them together:
| Word | Number | Say it |
|---|---|---|
| wan | 1 | wan |
| tu | 2 | tu |
| luka | 5 (also "hand") | LU-ka |
| mute | 20 (also "many") | MU-te |
| ale | 100 (also "all") | A-le |
Other numbers are made by adding: tu wan is 3 (2+1), tu tu is 4, luka wan is 6, luka tu is 7, luka tu wan is 8, luka tu tu is 9, and luka luka is 10. Beyond that, speakers use mute "many" and are content with an approximate count.
🥇 Order — nanpa
To say "first", "second", and so on, put nanpa before the number: jan nanpa wan is "the first person", tenpo nanpa tu "the second time". The word nanpa on its own means "number".
| Toki Pona | English |
|---|---|
| jan nanpa wan | the first person |
| jan nanpa tu | the second person |
| tomo nanpa tu wan | the third house |
| nanpa li suli. | The number is big. |
🎨 Colours
Toki Pona has a small set of colour words, and each covers a wide range. The word for "colour" itself is kule.
| Word | Say it | Colours it covers |
|---|---|---|
| loje | LO-ye | red |
| jelo | YE-lo | yellow |
| laso | LA-so | blue and green |
| walo | WA-lo | white, pale |
| pimeja | PI-me-ya | black, dark |
| kule | KU-le | colour; colourful |
To mix, put two colours side by side: loje jelo "reddish-yellow" (orange). To say what colour a thing is: len mi li loje, "my clothes are red". Remember that blue and green are one word, laso: the sea and a leaf can both be described as laso, and context decides which.
💗 Feelings and States
Feelings use pilin followed by a describing word: mi pilin pona "I feel good", mi pilin ike "I feel bad". Bodily states often use the word directly as a verb.
| Toki Pona | English |
|---|---|
| mi pilin pona. | I feel good / happy. |
| mi pilin ike. | I feel bad / sad. |
| mi pilin wawa. | I feel strong / energetic. |
| mi pilin nasa. | I feel strange. |
| mi wile moku. | I am hungry (I want to eat). |
| mi wile lape. | I am sleepy (I want to sleep). |
| mi lete. | I am cold. |
| mi seli. | I am hot. |
💬 Five Short Dialogs
① How Many — mute ala mute?
② What Colour — kule seme?
③ How Do You Feel — pilin
④ Who Won — nanpa wan
⑤ At the Market — esun
📖 Vocabulary — nimi
7 new words from the official 120, plus the number words above. Stress is on the first syllable.
| # | Toki Pona | Say it | Meaning | Type |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | tu | tu | two; divide | number |
| 2 | nanpa | NAN-pa | number; ordinal marker | noun |
| 3 | kule | KU-le | colour; colourful | adj / noun |
| 4 | loje | LO-ye | red | adj |
| 5 | jelo | YE-lo | yellow | adj |
| 6 | laso | LA-so | blue, green | adj |
| 7 | walo | WA-lo | white, light-coloured | adj |
📜 Reading — lukin
True or false? (a) Three people are at the house. (b) The first person's clothes are red. (c) The second person's clothes are white. (d) The speaker feels bad.
Show answers
(a) False: jan tu is two. (b) True: len loje. (c) False: len laso, blue (or green). (d) False: mi pilin pona.
✍️ Try It Yourself — pali
Say each answer out loud first, then click to check.
1. Say the numbers 3, 4, 6 and 10 in Toki Pona.
Show answer
tu wan (3) · tu tu (4) · luka wan (6) · luka luka (10)
2. Say "four birds" and "the second house".
Show answer
waso tu tu · tomo nanpa tu
3. Say "The bird is red", "The tree is green" and "The moon is white".
Show answer
waso li loje. · kasi li laso. · mun li walo.
4. Say "I feel strong" and "I am cold and I want to sleep".
Show answer
mi pilin wawa. · mi lete. mi wile lape.
5. Ask "What colour is your house?" and "How many people are here?" (use mute ala mute).
Show answer
tomo sina li kule seme? · jan li mute ala mute?
6. Why is luka luka "ten" and not "five five"? What would happen if you said jan luka luka?
Show answer
Number words in a row are added: 5 + 5 = 10. So jan luka luka is "ten people".