lesson 1: pronunciation
Pronunciation
Toki Pona has only 9 consonants and 5 vowels. Click on each one to hear what they sound like!
Consonants
| Labial | Coronal | Dorsal | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nasal | m | n | |
| Stop | p | t | k |
| Fric. | s | ||
| Appr. | w | l | j |
Vowels
| Front | Central | Back | |
|---|---|---|---|
| High | i | u | |
| Mid | e | o | |
| Low | a |
If you speak English, most of these will be familiar to you! But there are two differences you should pay close attention to:
- Toki Pona j is pronounced like English y as in young, not English j as in jam. That’s how German, Finnish, Italian, and many other languages use the letter j.
- English has a very complicated system for reading vowels! The Toki Pona system is much more straightforward. You may recognise it if you’ve ever learned Spanish, Japanese, modern Hebrew, or many other languages. Each vowel is pronounced the same way everywhere, and there are no silent letters.
A single syllable in English can hold many consonants: strengths, sprite, fifths. But in Toki Pona, only one consonant can come before a vowel, and only n can come after a vowel: ken, li, wan, a.
The stress falls on the first syllable: pona, ala, and even in longer words: kalama, akesi.
Let’s listen to some Toki Pona words:
Click on the words to hear what they sound like!
| Word | Meaning | Helpful tips |
|---|---|---|
| mi | me | The vowel is similar to English, but the spelling is different! |
| ken | can | The vowel is similar to English, but the spelling is different! |
| jan | person | Remember how the letter j is pronounced! |
| kute | hear | The letter - e on the end is a real vowel! |
| nanpa | number | By the way, we spell np, but we usually pronounce mp! |
| kalama | sound | Test your ability to stress the first syllable! |
| akesi | lizard | Words can begin on a vowel! |