meaning
all, every, everything, entirety, universe; (number) one hundred
see also
semantic space · lipamanka
ale is everything. this can be either everything ever or a smaller subset of everything. If you modify ale with another word, it is limited to objects that have that word's quality, or an entirety of said word. For example, "ale loje" for "all things red" or "the whole red thing." "ale lipu" could mean "all things related to books" or "the entirity of the book." "ale pali" can mean "all things related to working" or "the entirety of a job." This is often similar to the reverse, but it's not exactly the same. for example, "loje ale" is all reds, not all things red, "lipu ale" is all books, and would not talk about a printing press or reading glasses, and "pali ale" would be something like all jobs or activities, and wouldn't talk about a hammer or a cheesecloth. That's because "X ale" is always some type of "X."
Another usage of "ale" I've noticed myself and many others using is the idea of "completeness" or something being all-encompasing. Like if I know everything about rocks, I could say "mi sona ale e kiwen" just as easily as I might say "mi sona e ale kiwen." It's almost used as a superlative sometimes, like "pona ale" for "best" in the sense that it is "completely good." Keep in mind that the English word "complete" has two senses, the other which is much closer to pini than ale. Make sure to translate the idea, not the word!
pu verbatim
- ADJECTIVE all; abundant, countless, bountiful, every, plentiful
- NOUN abundance, everything, life, universe
- NUMBER 100
ku translations
every80 everything77 all68 entire64 universal60 completely58 total53 entirely50 universe50 altogether44 comprehensive42 full36 totally35 each33 fully32 any30 thoroughly30 absolute29 countless27 general27 complete26 whole25 hundred21
usage
core · 93% usage
found in pu
coined pre-pu
origin
Dutch · alle ‘all’
coined by jan Sonja
listen
kala Asi
jan Lakuse
commentary
"ali" is an alternative to "ale", coined in a poll in 2002 in order to avoid confusion with "ala". However, the usage of "ale" over "ali" remains more common.
The majority of speakers report not understanding the "abundant, bountiful, plentiful" meaning, at least out of context.
"20, 120" were non-pu meanings previously in use in the community alongside 100; they are virtually unheard of nowadays.
sitelen pona
aleinfinity symbol (∞)
sitelen sitelen
sitelen jelo
🌌
sitelen Emosi
♾️
ucsur
U+F1904