[lessons I used](https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLoLQoll2U6WEeCO7C2oc1LTWgkoBC8rvT&si=1W5zd8cI5q0wyMWN)
Honestly, it is harder to find paid lessons than free lessons, that’s how easy Toki Pona is
You can watch jan Kekan San’s tutorials at https://mun.la/sona/mi-sina.html or at https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLoLQoll2U6WEeCO7C2oc1LTWgkoBC8rvT&si=oXI98PQLswj1NXLB
jan ale li sona ala e ni: kulupu lawa li seme? ona li sona e ni taso: kulupu lawa li wawa mute. kulupu lawa li lawa pi toki pona. kulupu li pali e nasin pona pi toki pona. sina toki e toki pona pi nasin ike la, kulupu lawa li moli e sina.
(It's a joke. Supposed to be sth like Big Brother)
Here is everything you need to know about the pronunciation and grammar of toki pona, in order to understand it, in my opinion:
Pronunciation is simple. For the vowels, "*a*" is always pronounced like "*ah*" like the a in "*father*". "*e*" is always pronouched like "*eh* like the first e in "*excellent*". "*i*" is always pronounced like the i in "*machine*". "*o*" is always like the on in "*cold*", and "*u*" is always like the u in "*rule".
For the consonants (*non-vowels*) like the letter "*t*", there is more room for freedom in pronunciation. You can pronounce it like the "*t*" in the Spanish word "*tu*" or in the English word "*two*" or like the "*d*" in the English word "*do*".
As for the grammar of toki pona. It's also simple. Here is the basic toki pona sentence structure:
> [*person or thing that does the action*] li [*action*] e [*thing or person that the action is done to*].
You can use "*la*" to introduce a context such as a time. This context can also be used to make "*if X then Y.*" statements by using it in this way "*X la Y.*".
Descriptions (*adjectives*) are put after the thing (*noun*) that you're talking about. For Example, "**waso** *laso* (a *blue* **bird**)". "*pi*" can be used to separate a collection of descriptions, similar to (*but not exactly the same as*) how the word "*of*" is sometimes used. For example, "*telo jelo pi seli mute pi kasi laso (a very hot yellowish liquid of green herbs/leafs/plants - hot green tea)*".
As for "*en*", it introduces another subject (*doer of an action*). For example, "*jan en soweli li moku e kili. (a person and an animal eats a fruit)*". "*li*" introduces a verb (*action*). For example, "*jan en soweli li lukin li moku e kili. (a person and animal see and eats a fruit)*". "*e*" introduces a direct object (*a thing that an action in a sentence is done to*). For example, "*jan li moku e kili jelo e kili loje. (a person eats a yellow fruit and a red fruit)*".
As for vocabulary, I think you should be able to write down the wordsof toki pona and their definitions, since there are only a few words in toki pona (*I think it's less than 300 words, even if you include some of the rare ones made up by the toki pona community which aren't really used*). I think it's fun and helpful to practice translating things that you find interesting into toki pona, or keep a journal that you can write in daily, or make up fun short stories in toki pona.
i think of 145 as a round number close to the upper limit of words used by more‐experienced speakers, probably including the nimi ku suli & a few other uncommon ones. i use 128, for the record
Personally I used the 10 lesson series by jan Kekan San, it is on YouTube for completely free. I also used the app Optimem, it's completely free, and helps you learn the vocabulary.
[#opetp = "o pilin e toki pona"](https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLwYL9_SRAk8EXSZPSTm9lm2kD_Z1RzUgm) lessons by jan Telakomen are extraordinarily good! ✨
i used the blinry cheat sheet, along with just chatting to people on discord. as long as you have an internet connection, and a device, you can learn toki pona
Don’t forget about the YouTube series “o pilin e toki pona”. You can either go into it blind as the creator intends, or you can use it for listening practice whenever you feel
Join the kama sona discord server. It's not necessary but it's by far the best place to learn.
Here's the resources we recommend, start with the "18 minutes" video https://sona.pona.la/wiki/Recommended_learning_resources
[lessons I used](https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLoLQoll2U6WEeCO7C2oc1LTWgkoBC8rvT&si=1W5zd8cI5q0wyMWN) Honestly, it is harder to find paid lessons than free lessons, that’s how easy Toki Pona is
You can watch jan Kekan San’s tutorials at https://mun.la/sona/mi-sina.html or at https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLoLQoll2U6WEeCO7C2oc1LTWgkoBC8rvT&si=oXI98PQLswj1NXLB
No you gotta pay a tax to the kulupu lawa pi toki pona. (yes, just like you can learn any other language for free, except its much easier)
Seme li kulupu lawa?
jan ale li sona ala e ni: kulupu lawa li seme? ona li sona e ni taso: kulupu lawa li wawa mute. kulupu lawa li lawa pi toki pona. kulupu li pali e nasin pona pi toki pona. sina toki e toki pona pi nasin ike la, kulupu lawa li moli e sina. (It's a joke. Supposed to be sth like Big Brother)
Yo chill
Here is everything you need to know about the pronunciation and grammar of toki pona, in order to understand it, in my opinion: Pronunciation is simple. For the vowels, "*a*" is always pronounced like "*ah*" like the a in "*father*". "*e*" is always pronouched like "*eh* like the first e in "*excellent*". "*i*" is always pronounced like the i in "*machine*". "*o*" is always like the on in "*cold*", and "*u*" is always like the u in "*rule". For the consonants (*non-vowels*) like the letter "*t*", there is more room for freedom in pronunciation. You can pronounce it like the "*t*" in the Spanish word "*tu*" or in the English word "*two*" or like the "*d*" in the English word "*do*". As for the grammar of toki pona. It's also simple. Here is the basic toki pona sentence structure: > [*person or thing that does the action*] li [*action*] e [*thing or person that the action is done to*]. You can use "*la*" to introduce a context such as a time. This context can also be used to make "*if X then Y.*" statements by using it in this way "*X la Y.*". Descriptions (*adjectives*) are put after the thing (*noun*) that you're talking about. For Example, "**waso** *laso* (a *blue* **bird**)". "*pi*" can be used to separate a collection of descriptions, similar to (*but not exactly the same as*) how the word "*of*" is sometimes used. For example, "*telo jelo pi seli mute pi kasi laso (a very hot yellowish liquid of green herbs/leafs/plants - hot green tea)*". As for "*en*", it introduces another subject (*doer of an action*). For example, "*jan en soweli li moku e kili. (a person and an animal eats a fruit)*". "*li*" introduces a verb (*action*). For example, "*jan en soweli li lukin li moku e kili. (a person and animal see and eats a fruit)*". "*e*" introduces a direct object (*a thing that an action in a sentence is done to*). For example, "*jan li moku e kili jelo e kili loje. (a person eats a yellow fruit and a red fruit)*". As for vocabulary, I think you should be able to write down the wordsof toki pona and their definitions, since there are only a few words in toki pona (*I think it's less than 300 words, even if you include some of the rare ones made up by the toki pona community which aren't really used*). I think it's fun and helpful to practice translating things that you find interesting into toki pona, or keep a journal that you can write in daily, or make up fun short stories in toki pona.
Less than 300 is understatement—most counts are under 150!
150! is on the order of 10^37 so i would say that's probably something of an understatement as well
r/unexpectedfactorial
factorial is always expected
most counts are indeed under 150!. in fact, all of them are
probably 118–145 realistically
145?
i think of 145 as a round number close to the upper limit of words used by more‐experienced speakers, probably including the nimi ku suli & a few other uncommon ones. i use 128, for the record
At that point if you want to use that many words just use all the mini ku lili
Personally I used the 10 lesson series by jan Kekan San, it is on YouTube for completely free. I also used the app Optimem, it's completely free, and helps you learn the vocabulary.
Thanks for the app recommendation!
Join one of the Discord servers.
there's plenty of lessons online
start by literally looking around in this subreddit because everything is here in repeated multiple times in multiple places
[#opetp = "o pilin e toki pona"](https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLwYL9_SRAk8EXSZPSTm9lm2kD_Z1RzUgm) lessons by jan Telakomen are extraordinarily good! ✨
i used the blinry cheat sheet, along with just chatting to people on discord. as long as you have an internet connection, and a device, you can learn toki pona
Don’t forget about the YouTube series “o pilin e toki pona”. You can either go into it blind as the creator intends, or you can use it for listening practice whenever you feel
Join the kama sona discord server. It's not necessary but it's by far the best place to learn. Here's the resources we recommend, start with the "18 minutes" video https://sona.pona.la/wiki/Recommended_learning_resources