The best way to learn Toki Pona is a mix: mostly Toki Pona you can understand, plus review and real conversation, with the balance set by your goal. Toki Pona you can mostly understand is called comprehensible input. Below, you'll see what each way of learning builds and the mix that suits six common goals.
Which Ways of Learning Toki Pona Work Best?
Reading and listening to Toki Pona at your level works best, and each other method adds one skill on top of it.
| Method | What it builds | Use it for |
|---|---|---|
| Reading and listening at your level | Words, grammar and listening | Most of your time |
| A structured course | An order for the basics | Your first weeks |
| A tutor or conversation partner | Speaking and quick replies | Using what you know |
| Flashcards or other review | Words that stay with you | A few minutes each session |
| Videos, podcasts and songs | Toki Pona as the community uses it | Fun, once you follow most of it |
| Grammar study | Why a sentence works, such as what pi does | Patterns that confuse you |
Input is the base of the mix: a 2016 review of 49 studies in Reading in a Foreign Language, a University of Hawaii journal, found that reading a lot of easy material improves reading in a new language.
What Is the Best Way to Learn Toki Pona for Your Goal?
For every goal, the best way is the same base of reading and listening, with the rest of your time on the skill that goal needs most.
- Talk With FriendsRead and hear everyday conversations, and spend the rest of your time talking on the ma pona pi toki pona Discord server.
- Watch Videos in Toki PonaPut most of your time into listening, starting with story videos for learners and moving on to jan Polijan's vlogs.
- Read Toki Pona WritingRead short stories most of the time, and move on to lipu tenpo, a magazine written only in Toki Pona, once they feel easy.
- Enjoy Toki Pona SongsRead and listen at your level most of the time, and play songs from the community on Toki Pona Radio.
- Read Sitelen PonaLearn the words in the Latin alphabet first, and then read the sitelen pona version of the Duostories stories.
- Join Live EventsRead and listen at your level most of the time, and watch past Toki Pona Day streams before you join the next one live.
To see how many hours each stage takes, read how long it takes to learn Toki Pona.
What Are the Best Resources for Each Part?
Each part of the mix has a good free option, such as jan Misali's videos or Linku, and an app or service for when you want more. Bubblegum, which appears in a few rows, is a language app where Poppy, an AI tutor, writes Toki Pona lessons at your level about things you like.
| Part | Free option | App or service |
|---|---|---|
| A first course | jan Misali's 12 Days of sona pi toki pona videos or the written lipu sona pona | kama sona, an app with short grammar lessons |
| Reading and listening at your level | The o pilin e toki pona story videos, or stories with audio on Duostories | Bubblegum, or toki suli for short stories |
| Magazines, podcasts and songs | lipu tenpo for reading, kalama sin for listening | Toki Pona Radio, which plays songs from the community |
| Review | Anki, with shared Toki Pona decks on AnkiWeb | Bubblegum's Regenerative Review™, which brings saved words back in new lessons, or Clozemaster |
| Conversation | The ma pona pi toki pona Discord server | A tutor on italki, or a language exchange on Tandem |
| Looking up words | Linku, which can show only the words the community uses most | Toki Pona Pal, a dictionary and flashcard app |
What Should You Avoid?
Avoid anything that keeps you from reading real Toki Pona sentences you can follow.
- Reading Toki Pona Like EnglishIn Toki Pona, j sounds like the y in yes, as in jan (person), so play the audio as you read.
- Books by Unknown Writerstokipona.net warns that many Toki Pona books on Amazon come from people who do not know the language, so read what the community collects in lipu Lapo.
- Podcasts You Can't Follow YetSave the kalama sin podcast for when the basics feel easy, and watch story videos made for learners, like o pilin e toki pona, before that.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is it better to learn Toki Pona with an app or a teacher?
Use an app and free videos for reading and listening, and a tutor or the community for speaking. Lessons with a tutor on italki are paid, so spend that time talking, and practice for free on the ma pona pi toki pona Discord server.
Should I learn Toki Pona grammar first?
No. Learn grammar from the Toki Pona you read and hear, and look a pattern up when it confuses you. A rule is easier to learn once you have seen it a few times: after kili li pona (the fruit is good) and jan li moku (the person eats), it is easy to spot that li comes after who or what the sentence is about.
Which Toki Pona words should I learn first?
Start with the 120 main words in Sonja Lang's official 2014 book, Toki Pona: The Language of Good, which jan Misali's videos teach. Her 2021 dictionary, ku, marks 137 words as essential after polling the community, so add the newer ones as you meet them.
Which Toki Pona app should a beginner choose?
If you are serious about learning Toki Pona, start with Bubblegum. Poppy writes lessons at your level about things you like. Our Toki Pona app comparison covers courses, tutors and speaking apps too.
Is Bubblegum free?
Yes. The lesson library is free for everyone, because we believe everyone should be able to learn. It holds lessons that other learners asked Poppy for. A new custom lesson costs us real money to make, so your first one is free, and Bubblegum Pro gives you unlimited custom lessons.
Sources
- Jeon and Day (2016), The effectiveness of ER on reading proficiency: A meta-analysis, Reading in a Foreign Language 28(2), University of Hawaii
- sona pona: Toki Pona: The Language of Good (the official 2014 book, 120 main words)
- sona pona: nimi ku suli (137 words the 2021 dictionary ku marks as essential, from community polls)
- Wikipedia, Toki Pona (sounds: j is said like the English y)
- tokipona.net: Resources and Links (a warning about Toki Pona books on Amazon)
- sona pona: 12 Days of sona pi toki pona
- Anki, official downloads (free computer version and AnkiDroid)
- lipu Linku: About Linku
- ma pona pi toki pona Discord server
