Toki Pona

Learn Toki Pona, the 137-word language: lessons, cards, stories, a checker.

Live

A hundred and thirty-seven words. The real work is how they combine.

Maker's note

I wanted to learn Toki Pona: a language of a hundred and thirty-seven words, learnable in a few weeks, that forces you to name the world with the little you have. I wanted a path for myself, and since I was building it anyway, I wanted it to be a path other people could walk too.

The language is short but not easy to teach, because learning the words is not enough: tomo tawa is a car, kama sona is to learn. The meaning lives in the compounds. So the heart of the app is not a word list but a deck of phrases and a sentence checker — one that says exactly what is wrong and keeps the sentences that stand.

It is also an exception to the rule on this page. The other apps are things that did not stay unfinished; learning languages is the thing that always does, for me. This one is an attempt to close that gap.

What it does

The path

Nineteen lessons in order. Each opens with a short conversation, then the grammar point in one pattern, the words with their origins (moku comes from Japanese mogumogu, munching), phrases to say, and three exercises to try at once. The last lesson teaches the real skill: naming anything with the words you have.

One button a day

Start the day and the app lines it up: what is due, the next lesson and its cards, a few phrases, one short piece of practice. About ten minutes. When it is done, it stays done.

Cards that remember

Every word and every phrase is a card scheduled by FSRS, the spaced-repetition algorithm behind modern flashcard apps. New words are recognised first, later typed from memory, some asked by ear. The app decides right or wrong; you only grade how hard it was.

Phrases, not just words

The language is spoken in compounds. A deck of 250 of them opens as you meet their words, and settled ones are built from pieces.

Read, write, listen

31 bilingual stories; tap a line for the translation, a word for its entry. A sentence checker on the Write tab tells you exactly what is wrong. Every word is spoken by a real speaker.

Games that teach the skill

Eighty pictures of things Toki Pona has no word for; build the name from chips and see what speakers actually say. 112 grammar exercises, gated by the words you know, with the ones you missed coming back first.

Your data stays on the phone

No account, no internet, no analytics, no ads. Every lesson, card, story and game is free for everyone; an optional supporter pack unlocks three more paper-and-ink looks and alternative app icons, nothing else.

Details

Platform: Android phone
Lessons: 19, in order
Cards: 137 words + 250 phrases, FSRS
Stories: 31, bilingual
Internet: Not required
Price: Free, optional supporter pack
Version: 0.1.0 · 15 Sep 2026