Mark Blasini

Toki Pona

Toki Pona Style Recommendations

Toki Pona is obviously a simple language to start learning, which means that it is an easy language to abuse. Reading through a lot of texts in Toki Pona, I've found it very difficult to interpret what's being said. So I created this quick style rules guide to help with more effective, simpler, thoughtful Toki Pona writing (and thus, easy reading).
  1. Use at most only one la phrase/clause per sentence.
  2. Use at most only one li in a la phrase/clause, and preferably none.
  3. Dialectically, I like to use the letter u in front of la phrases/clauses to highlight that you're reading one. For example: u tenpo pini la, mi tawa telo suli.
  4. Avoid using explanatory phrases (e.g. e ni or tan ni). Toki Pona is designed for description - not explanation or deep exposition. Explanation comes from description.
  5. Along with this, avoid using ni alone (either as subject or object) in a sentence. ni should modify something.
  6. Minimize the use of pona and ike. A good rule of thumb is using at most only one pona or ike per sentence. In addition, avoid using "feeling" statements ("ni li pona mute tawa me," "mi pilin e pona," etc.).
  7. A word (nimi) should only be used a maximum of twice, and preferably only once, in a sentence.
To show this style, let's look at an example of "bad" Toki Pona writing:
mi pilin ike mute lon tenpo ni. tan ni: mi wile e ni: mi pali e pona tawa ilo sona mi. mi pali lon tenpo suli. taso ilo sona mi li pakala mute li wile ala pali. ni li pona ala tawa mi, li ike mute tawa mi. mi wile e ni: mi kama jo e pona mute, li o pona lon tenpo kama.

This example has a number of violations: some tan ni's and e ni's, a lot of pona's and ike's. Here's how I would fix this passage to cut to the core:

ilo sona mi li pali ala. mi ken ala pona e ona. mi lukin pali lon tenpo suli.

This translation is three sentences, but tells you very directly what's going on. It reduces the "feeling" statements ("pona mute," "pona ala tawa me," etc.) and cuts right into the situation.

Here's another "bad" example:

mi pilin ike mute lon tenpo ni. tan ni: jan pi tomo poka mi li pali ala e toki ona. mi wile e ni: ona li kama li tawa e ilo suli tawa mi. taso ona li kama ala, li suli ala e toki ona. ni li pakala e sijelo monsi mi, li pona ala mute tawa mi.

Using our rules, we can simplify the content of this passage to this:

sijelo monsi mi li pilin ike. u tenpo suno Sata pini la, mi tawa e ilo awen suli. jan pi tomo poka mi li pana e toki pi kama ona, taso li kama ala.

The result is a translation that is very simple, tells a simple story, and allows the reader to infer the feeling of the speaker without needing to rely on feeling statements.

Like all rules, the ones above are meant to be broken. But if you decide to break a rule, your violation should be very thoughtful and enhance the audience's interpretation - not complicate it.

If you have questions, issues, comments on this style guide, please feel free to reach out to me.

Last updated 6/9/2026.