lesson 6 - the particle pi

󱤄 ale - all; abundant, countless, bountiful, every, plentiful; abundance, everything, life, universe

󱥐 pini - ago, completed, ended, finished, past

󱤪 lipu - flat object; book, document, card, paper, record, website

󱤔 kala - fish, marine animal, sea creature

󱤌 ijo - thing, phenomenon, object, matter

󱥌 pana - give, send, emit, provide, put, release

󱤗 kasi - plant, vegetation; herb, leaf

󱥍 pi - regroups modifiers

pi is a really useful particle that regroups modifiers.

normally, each modifier modifies the sum of all its previous words in the phrase. the particle pi creates a second phrase which modifies the first phrase.

ijo pona mute
~ many good things

ijo pi pona mute
~ very good thing

in the first example, mute modifies ijo pona, while in the second example, pona mute modifies ijo

when i say phrase, i mean a collection of a headnoun + modifiers, like "jan" or "ilo moku"

a phrase with pi in it consists of two smaller phrases.

jan ale li kama kala

all the people are turning into fish

kasi telo li ken moku

seaweed is edible

my friend who knows how to build houses is handing out documents about building

jan pona mi li pana e lipu pali. ona li sona pali e tomo

something is making everything become something

ijo li pali e ni: ijo ale li kama ijo

nothing can fix everything

(ijo) ala li ken pona e (ijo) ale

soweli li pana e lipu pi sona mute

the animal is handing out documents with lots of knowledge

jan pi sona kala li sona e ni: kala li ken moku e jan

the marine biologist knows that fish can eat people

ona li waso pi suwi mute

they're a really cute bat

jan sin pi mute pona li kama

a good amount of new people are coming

i'm reading the book of evil knowledge

mi lukin e lipu pi sona ike

the bugs built a little bug cemetery

pipi li pali e tomo lili pi pipi moli

the absence of my partner makes everything bad

weka pi olin mi li ike e ale

people who are very far away are trying to eat my fish

jan pi weka mute li lukin moku e kala mi