Turn English into toki pona, the minimalist language with only around 130 words, or paste toki pona to read it in English. A fun way to see how much you can say with very little. Free, no sign-up.
Toki Pona is a constructed language created by Canadian linguist Sonja Lang and first shared online in 2001. Its name means roughly "good language" or "simple language". It uses only 14 letters and a core vocabulary of around 120 to 137 words, so ideas are built by combining: a friend is jan pona ("good person"), a teacher is jan sona ("knowledge person"). Grammar is tiny too - li separates the subject from what you say about it, e marks the object, la sets the context and pi groups words. Translating into Toki Pona is less about exact words and more about finding the simple heart of what you mean, which is exactly why people love it.
Toki pona is usually written in lowercase, and j sounds like English "y". Tap any row to copy it into the translator above.
Good Toki Pona does not translate word for word. It breaks an idea down to its essence, and that is what the translator aims for.
The AI rephrases English into what it means at its core, so "My teacher is very kind" becomes something like "jan sona mi li pona mute" rather than a broken word list.
Type English to get toki pona, or paste toki pona and swap to English to see what a phrase or message means.
Uses li, e, la and pi correctly and follows common conventions like dropping li after mi and sina.
Compare your own translations with the AI's to spot new ways of combining words - then decide which one feels more pona.
Speak English in Chrome, Edge or Safari and get toki pona text. Browsers do not recognise spoken toki pona, so voice input works from English.
Copy the result in one click. Read-aloud uses your device's voices; toki pona has simple sounds, so they are easy to read yourself.
Toki Pona is a hobby, a puzzle and for some people a way of thinking more simply. Here is how people use it.
Check your homework from a course or the official book, and see alternative ways to express the same idea.
Write messages for toki pona servers and forums, or paste a message you do not understand and swap to English.
Make a short motto or a caption for art. For anything permanent, double-check with the community first.
Translating into toki pona forces you to ask what you really mean - a surprisingly calming exercise.
Three habits that make results more natural - and help you learn.
Toki pona is deliberately vague, so the same English can become several valid translations. If one does not feel right, try rewording the English more simply.
Names become unofficial words adapted to toki pona sounds and are capitalised after a head word, like jan Sonja or ma Kanata (Canada). Say "keep my name as-is" if you prefer.
Idioms and long, complex sentences lose the most. Short, direct sentences produce cleaner toki pona.
Speak in toki pona! Type any English and see it in about 130 words - or paste toki pona to read it in English. Free, no sign-up.