Appendix:Toki Pona/powe

Toki Pona

Glyph origin

sitelen pona
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sitelen sitelen	File:Powe - sitelen sitelen word symbol drawn by Jonathan Gabel.jpg

• sitelen pona: From lon (“true”) + ala (“not”), replacing the dot with a small X mark.

Etymology

Possibly from French faux (“false”) or French pas vrai (“not true”)

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈpo.we/

• Audio

  (file)

Adjective

powe

1. (uncommon) unreal, false, untrue, fake
   • 2021, kala pona Tonyu, “nasin kijetesantakalu pona”, in lipu monsuta, number uta monsuta, page 17:

     sina lukin tawa tomo pimeja la o moli powe lon supa anpa.

     If you look at a dark room, play dead on the floor.

   • 2023 July 1, jan Kapesi Pake, “jan pali li ken ala ken kama lawa e nasin pali?”, in lipu tenpo‎^[1], number (nanpa) nasin, page 5:

     nasin mani li toki powe kin tawa jan.

     The economic system also lies to people.

Verb

powe

1. (uncommon, transitive, intransitive) to lie, to pretend, to deceive, to fake or be false
   • 2021 February 1, kulupu En, “ijo lon pi lon ala”, in lipu kule:

     tenpo mute la, ni li lon: ijo li lon, anu ijo li powe.

     A lot of the time, this is the case: things are true, or things are false.

   • 2022, Hermann Hesse, trans. jan Kala, jan Sitata:

     ona la ale ni li ike li nasa li powe

     To him, all was bad and strange and lying.

   • 2023 January 3, jan Olipija, “nasin pi utala meli mije”, in lipu kule:

     ona [nasin pi utala meli mije] li mama e ike tawa tonsi tan ni: ona la, ‘… meli mije en mije meli li jaki. jan li ante e sijelo ona la, ona li powe li jaki. …’

     It [oppositional sexism] nurtures hatred toward non-binary people because to it, ‘… Masculine women and feminine men are disgusting. If people change their bodies, they are dishonest and disgusting. …’

   • 2023 August 24, mije Luke, “sona musi lili pi ma Antateka”, in lipu tenpo‎^[2], number (nanpa) ma, page 7:

     sitelen pi ma ale la, ma Antateka li suli tawa lukin; taso, ni li powe lili. ma Mewika seli la, ona li lili; taso, ma Elopa la, ona li suli.

     On a world map, Antarctica looks big, but this is a bit deceiving. Compared to North America, it is small, but compared to Europe, it is big.

Usage notes

In lipu Linku this word is classified as "obscure," being used by 23% of respondents in a poll from 2023.