suno - sun; light, brightness, glow, radiance, shine; light source
pilin - heart; feeling
uta - mouth, lips, oral cavity, jaw
ko - clay, clinging form, dough, semi solid, paste, powder
nena - bump, button, hill, mountain, nose, protruberance
kon - air, breath; essence, spirit; hidden reality, unseen agent
la - (between the context phrase and the main sentence)
the particle la is used to establish context. whatever comes before la is established as context for whatever comes after.
A la B
~ if A, then B
~ in the context of A, B
things which can go after prepositions can often go before la instead and express a similar meaning.
mi tawa sina lon tenpo kama
tenpo kama la mi tawa sina
~ i go to you in the future
mi ken ala tawa e tomo tan wawa mi
(tan) wawa mi la mi ken ala tawa e tomo
~ i can't move a house because of my strength
sina lape la mi lape
~ if you sleep, i'll sleep
mi la ale li pona
~ everything is good with me
~ in my opinion, everything's good
tenpo lon la jan mute li kama
~ right now, lots of people are coming
pilin sina la mi suwi ala suwi
~ do you think i'm cute?
~ according to your feelings, am i cute?
waso anu pipi la seme li pona mute
~ are bugs or birds better?
~ in the context of bugs or birds, which one is really good?
would you still love me if i became a bug?
what do you think the meaning of this is?
what do you think this smell is?
when the sun is in the sky, i know that good is coming
when i go to the mountains, i feel good
sina uta e mi la tenpo suno ni li pona
pilin mi li pona la mi mu tawa mun
sina lili la mi ken ala lukin e sina
mi ken ala lukin e sina tan lili sina