pali

meaning

do, take action on, work on; build, make, prepare

semantic space · lipamanka

pali is work. But what does that mean? In toki pona, pali needs at least a little bit of effort, and it needs to make a little bit of something. But if it only had a little of each, calling it "pali" might be a worse choice than using another word. Just because eating requires a little work and makes energy inside of your body doesn't mean pali will be understood. So almost always, pali will either require a lot of effort or create a significant thing. A professional potter making pottery might not require a lot of effort because they are skilled enough, but it will create a significant object. And on the reverse, learning a new language may not create a significant object (just some new knowledge in your head), but it does require a lot of effort.

ku translations

do¹⁰⁰, work¹⁰⁰, construct⁹⁴, activity⁹³, make⁹³, produce⁹³, build⁹², job⁹², production⁹¹, labour⁹⁰, working⁹⁰, action⁸⁷, task⁸⁶, create⁸⁴, function⁸³, occupation⁸¹, operating⁶⁹, execute⁶⁷, project⁶⁷, craft⁶⁴, manufacturing⁶⁴, develop⁶⁰, generate⁶⁰, assemble⁵⁸, compose⁵⁸, act⁵⁷, profession⁵⁵, assignment⁵³, commit⁵⁰, creation⁵⁰, enact⁵⁰, operation⁵⁰, perform⁵⁰, effort⁴⁸, service⁴⁸, accomplish⁴⁷, implement⁴⁷, operate⁴⁷, implementation⁴⁵, behave⁴³, behaviour⁴³, processing⁴³, career⁴¹, actively⁴⁰, employment⁴⁰, development³⁸, practice³⁸, execution³⁶, industry³⁶, invent³⁶, functional³⁵, procedure³⁵, role³⁵, achieve³³, construction³³, prepare³³, interact³², accomplishment³¹, undergo³¹, busy²⁹, undertake²⁹, behavioural²⁸, industrial²⁷, productive²⁷, manipulate²⁵, participation²⁵, plan²⁵