meaning
fish, marine animal, sea creature, swimming creature
semantic space · lipamanka
Any creature that swims habitually is a kala. This can include anything from fish to whales to seals. The most important aspect of a kala is its relation to water. kala tend to either live in the water or spend a good portion of their time in it. Some speakers extend this usage a bit and let it refer to anything that is in water, like a human swimmer or a pool noodle. Sometimes, toki ponists will describe the act of showering as kala. This usage is often interpreted as somewhat funny, but it is commonly understood. If it isn't, it's easy to clarify.
ku translations
fish100, sea creature82, salmon62
pu verbatim
NOUN fish, marine animal, sea creature
usage
core · 99% usage
found in pu
coined pre-pu
origin
Finnish · kala ‘fish’
coined by jan Sonja
sitelen pona
kala kala2pictogram of a fish
sitelen sitelen
sitelen jelo
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sitelen Emosi
🐟
ucsur
U+F1914