Updated jan Pije's lessons/Lesson 15 The Body
Vocabulary
ko - semi-solid substance (glue, powder, etc.)
kute - to hear
linja - line, hair
luka - arm, hand
lupa - hole, orifice, door, window
nena - bump, hill, extrusion
noka - leg, foot
oko - eye
palisa - rod, stick, pointy thing
selo - skin, external surface of something
sijelo - body
sike - circle, ball
sinpin - wall, chest
uta - mouth
Body Parts
All the words that you see above in the vocabulary list are used to make the name of a body part. However, some of the words have other uses as well.
oko - eye
nena - kute ear
nena - kon nose
uta - mouth
ijo uta walo - teeth
linja lawa - hair (of head)
lawa - head
anpa lawa - neck (bottom of head)
luka - hand, arm
len luka - gloves, mittens
poka - hip
noka - leg, foot
len noka - shoe, pants
sinpin - chest, abdomen, face
nena sike meli - female breasts
lupa meli - vagina
palisa mije - penis
sike mije - man’s testicles
monsi - a person’s back
selo - skin
Body Parts
All the words that you see above in the vocabulary list are used to make the name of a body part. However, some of the words have other uses as well. So, I've made this handy chart. Parts of the body which can be expressed in Toki Pona have a number labeling them. Once you get a number, go to the table below the chart. There, you can learn how to say the name of that body part and also learn about the other uses of the words that are used to make the name of that body part.
(Missing Picture)
| number | description |
|---|---|
| 1 | oko means eye in Toki Pona. Unlike most of the other words, it doesn't really have any other uses. |
| 2 | To say nose in Toki Pona, you'd usually say nena. However, the word nena actually means any type of extrusion; it can mean a hill, for example. It's also used for a few other body parts. If you need to specify, you can say nena kon (because your nose is what detects smells in the air, after all). |
| 3 | To say mouth, you use uta. This word is also used to say teeth: ijo uta walo, which literally means "white mouth things". |
| 4 | The general word for hair is linja. If you want to specify the hair on your head, say linja lawa ("hair (of) head"). -- linja can also mean any type of linear thing, not just hair; so beware of that. |
| 5 | In addition to meaning to lead like you've learned in earlier lessons, lawa is also used to mean head. |
| 6 | The closest that we can come to saying neck in Toki Pona is with anpa lawa, which actually means "bottom (of) head". Hehe. |
| 7 | luka is used to mean both hand and arm. There isn't a way to specify which of the two you mean. That's just another one of those nuisances of Toki Pona. You can also use this word to make a word for mittens or gloves: len luka, ("hand clothing"). |
| 8 | You've already learned the word for hip, but I just figured I'd point it out again since this is a lesson on the body. The word is poka, and you've already studied its other uses. |
| 9 | Similar to luka, noka means both leg and foot. -- You can combine it with len, too. len noka generally is used to mean shoe, but it can also mean pants or any other type of clothing for the legs or feet. |
| 10 | The word for the chest and abdomen is sinpin. It actually was more intended to mean front or wall, but the chest and abdomen are on the front of the body, after all, and are regarded as being a big surface, like a wall. Occasionally, sinpin is also used to mean a person's face.
Two other particular body parts which you can find on a female's sinpin are the nena sike, which actually means "circular extrusions". You might want to add meli to the end of this phrase if you think there might be some confusion. |
| 11 | These body parts vary depending on whether the person is male or female. To say "penis", we use palisa. In fact, palisa is used for any object that is long and pointy-like, such as a stick from a tree. A man's testicles would be referred to as sike. Depending on the situation and context, you may need to add mije to the end of each of these words to make sure that there is no confusion. If you're talking about a female's parts, we simply use lupa. lupa can denote any type of hole or opening, such as a door or window. Once again, depending on context, you might want to add meli to the end of lupa for clarity. |
| 12 | To say ear in Toki Pona, we say nena kute, which means "extrusion (of) hearing". After all, the ear really does extrude from the rest of the head, and it's used to hear things, of course!
kute can also be used a verb: mi kute e toki sina. -- I hear your talking. I hear what you're saying. mi kute e kalama musi. -- I'm listening to music. |
Also, since the picture was of the front of the body, I couldn't give an arrow for the back, obviously. Just remember that monsi is used to denote a person's back.
There's no way I could put an arrow on the person's skin, because it would simply look out of place. At any rate, selo is used to mean skin. It can also mean the bark of a tree or any other type of external covering of something.
Bodily Fluids and Wastes
| name | description |
|---|---|
| telo walo mije | This is the fluid that a man releases during unpa. If you have a good context, and it's obvious what you're talking about, you could drop walo and/or mije, leaving just telo. |
| telo jelo | This phrase is used to mean urine. It actually means "yellow fluid". Here is a common sentence using telo jelo:
mi pana e telo jelo. -- I released the yellow fluid. I peed. |
| ko jaki | This phrase is used to mean feces.
mi pana e ko jaki. -- I crapped. ko is not used very much at all, except to say ko jaki. However, you can say "porridge" by saying ko moku. |
| telo sijelo loje | This phrase actually means red bodily fluid, and it's used to mean blood. |
Practice
Try translating these sentences from English to Toki Pona.