ASCII Input Standard

• Version 1.0
• Fallback behaviors
• Notes for font makers
• Conventions for some obscure features
• Standard glyph numbering

Version 1.0

This is a standard for typing Sitelen Pona using ASCII. It's used in the following situations:

• Someone is composing a Sitelen Pona document with a preprocessor that converts ASCII to Sitelen Pona.
• A font is converting ASCII strings into Sitelen Pona glyphs using ligatures. This standard was primarily created by font makers for this purpose.
• A developer of a Input Method Editor (IME) for Sitelen Pona may opt to use this standard as a basis for their input method.

To use a font's default glyph for a word, type the word, such as sewi.

To type a font's alternate glyph for a word, append a number, such as sewi2. This numbering differs between fonts and technologies. For example, some fonts assign the "upside-down anpa" version of sewi to sewi1; others assign it to sewi2.

To type a specific glyph for a word, in a way that's consistent across fonts and technologies, append a number with a leading zero, such as sewi02. (The leading zero will still be present after 10, e.g. word09, word010, word011.) kulupu Linku will publish and maintain a database of standardized glyph numberings. The initial set is below, under Standard glyph numbering.

There are three ways of combining glyphs.

1. - To stack two glyphs on top of each other, use a hyphen. For example, kala-lili will show a kala with a lili above it.
2. + To nest one glyph inside another, use a plus. For example, kala+lili will show a kala with a lili inside it.
3. & To request a non-standard way of combining glyphs, use an ampersand. For example, kulupu&kili might draw three kili in the arrangement of the kulupu glyph. Also use the ampersand to allow a font designer to pick for you if there is no special combination. For example, in one font, kala&lili might stack; but in another, it might nest.

To write a cartouche, use the symbols [ and ]. For example, "jan Itan" might be written jan [ijo tan anpa nanpa].

To use nasin sitelen kalama inside cartouches, use . and :. For example, "jan Itan" might be written jan [ijo tan:].

To use tally marks below cartouches, use ,. For example, "jan Itan" might be written jan [ijo, tan,,,].

To write quotation marks, use te for opening quote, and to for closing quote.

To separate words, type a single space, e.g. kala ma. This space is collapsed to zero-width. For example, kala ma will show the "kala" glyph followed by the "ma" glyph, with no space in between.

To write a full-width space, type |. For example, to write two sentences on one line without punctuation, type something like soweli li pona | o pona tawa ona. To indent a sentence fragment, type something like:

soweli mi li suwi
| | li pona tawa mi
| | | | tawa jan ante

To write the word "pi" wrapping under other words, use ( and ). For example, "tomo pi mama mi li suwi" might be written tomo pi(mama mi) li suwi.

There are two ways of rotating the word "ni":

1. Use leading-zero standard numbering, such as ni02 for "ni" pointing right.
2. Use v, >, ^, and <, such as ni> for "ni" pointing right.

Fallback behaviors

• When a word isn't supported by a font or technology, the fallback is undefined and varies. For example, for an unsupported word "kokosila", a font might display a [?] symbol, a string like "koTok koTok s i laTok", or a cartouche like "[ko.ko.sina.la.]".
• If a numbered glyph variant or directional glyph variant isn't available, the font or technology picks a different variant to use.
• If long pi isn't available, ( and ) are treated as invisible.
• If the user-specified method for combining glyphs isn't available, then a font or technology can pick a different combo strategy, or not combine the characters at all.

Notes for font makers

If you're making a font that converts ASCII into Sitelen Pona using ligatures, you should make the standard space show a zero-width space. This collapses the space between two words, such as jan pona. Intentional spaces between words can be typed with |. This design choice ensures that sequences of spaces show up properly in web browsers, avoiding the space-collapsing design of HTML itself, and avoiding an Apple bug that prevents ligatures like p o n a space from being used.

If a tally mark is used outside a cartouche, the resulting behavior is undefined and varies. Since sentences like tenpo ni la, mi pilin pona are common, and would otherwise result in an unintended tally mark below la, we recommend hiding the tally mark outside of cartouches, and producing a zero-width or full-width space.

Supporting a space between pi and ( is optional. To guarantee compatibility, authors should write pi( without a space.

Conventions for some obscure features

These ASCII symbols aren't standardized by this document, and may be repurposed for something else in a future revision if a more important or popular feature needs them. But they're included here to help font makers to experiment:

To wrap a glyph backwards around other words, use { and }. For example, "mi tawa tomo mi" might be written mi tawa {tomo}mi. (Many font makers use { and } for other purposes, such as custom cartouches, and that isn't a violation of this standard.)

To type dakuten in a cartouche, use " and *. For example, "jan Itan" might be written jan [ijo" tan*].

To manually insert a combining cartouche extension (the middle of a cartouche), use =. To manually insert a combining long glyph extension (the middle of long pi), use _. Combining extensions are applied to the preceding glyph, so mi toki= pona shows "toki" with a line above and below it.

Standard glyph numbering

The following list is maintained by kulupu Linku, not the Association. It’s not part of this standard, and is only included for reference. Glyphs are included based on frequency of their inclusion in fonts, and ordered historically.

For every glyph included in "Toki Pona: The Language of Good" (2014), word01 produces the original version of that glyph. For example, sama01 produces an equals sign.

Word	#	Input	Description	Example
a	01	a01	pu a
	03	a03[sic]	triple-stick a
akesi	01	akesi01	6 legged akesi
	02	akesi02	4 legged akesi
ante	01	ante01	pu ante
	02	ante02	skew ante
apeja	01	apeja01	kulupu apeja
epiku	01	epiku01	upvote epiku
	02	epiku02	emitters epiku
isipin	01	isipin01	lawa emitters isipin
jami	01	jami01	suwi jami
jan	01	jan01	pu jan
	02	jan02	eyes jan
kala	01	kala01	pu kala
	02	kala02	eyes kala
kamalawala	01	kamalawala01	anarchist kamalawala
kapesi	01	kapesi01	loje jelo laso style kapesi
kiki	01	kiki01	explosion kiki
	02	kiki02	triangle kiki
ko	01	ko01	blobby ko
	02	ko02	flower ko
kokosila	02	kokosila02[sic]	toki kokosila
konwe	01	konwe01	glider konwe
kulijo	01	kulijo01	lete kulijo
lanpan	01	lanpan01	jo lanpan
	02	lanpan02	pana lanpan
lape	01	lape01	lying down lape
	02	lape02	u.u lape
linluwi	01	linluwi01	emitters linluwi
	02	linluwi02	sitelen linluwi
	03	linluwi03	kulupu linluwi
lupa	01	lupa01	pu lupa
	02	lupa02	sitelen sa lupa
majuna	01	majuna01	turned sin majuna
	02	majuna02	lotus/book majuna
meli	01	meli01	pu meli
	02	meli02	venus meli
melome	01	melome01	right-side-up melome
meso	01	meso01	tu meso
mije	01	mije01	pu mije
	02	mije02	mars mije
mijomi	01	mijomi01	right-side-up mijomi
misa	01	misa01	legless earless misa
misikeke	01	misikeke01	capsule misikeke
	02	misikeke02	mortar and pestle misikeke
moli	01	moli01	pu moli
	02	moli02	x_x moli
monsi	01	monsi01	pu monsi
	02	monsi02	tail monsi
monsuta	01	monsuta01	jagged line monsuta
mu	01	mu01	pu mu
	02	mu02	dialogue punctuation
mute	01	mute01	pu mute
	02	mute02orluka&luka&luka&luka	four hands mute
namako	01	namako01	4-line sin namako
	02	namako02	pepper namako
nena	01	nena01	pu nena
	02	nena02	sitelen sa nena
ni	01	ni01orniv	down ni
	02	ni02orni>	right ni
	03	ni03orni^	up ni
	04	ni04orni<	left ni
	05	ni05orniv>orni>v	down right ni
	06	ni06orni^>orni>^	up right ni
	07	ni07orni^<orni<^	up left ni
	08	ni08orniv<orni<v	down left ni
oko	01	oko01	side oko
olin	01	olin01	pu olin
	02	olin02	overlapping olin
	03	olin03	emitters olin
omekapo	01	omekapo01	kala emitters omekapo
owe	01	owe01	lukin emitters oko
pake	01	pake01	T pake
penpo	01	penpo01	toki pona with 8 emitters penpo
pika	01	pika01	lightning pika
po	01	po01	numeral 4 po
powe	01	powe01	lon ala powe
puwa	01	puwa01	cloud puwa
san	01	san01	triple backwards wan san
sewi	01	sewi01	pu sewi
	02	sewi02	turned anpa sewi
sinpin	01	sinpin01	pu sinpin
	02	sinpin02	face sinpin
sitelen	01	sitelen01	pu sitelen
	02	sitelen02	line sitelen
soko	01	soko01	thin stem soko
	02	soko02	thick stem soko
	03	soko03	annulus soko
soto	01	soto01	box soto
su	01	su01	oz su
	02	su02	unicorn su
	03	su03	suno su
sutopatikuna	01	sutopatikuna01	head sutopatikuna
taki	01	taki01	yin yang taki
	02	taki02	magnet taki
teje	01	teje01	box teje
tenpo	01	tenpo01	pu tenpo
	02	tenpo02	hourglass tenpo
tomo	01	tomo01	pu tomo
	02	tomo02	overhang tomo
tonsi	01	tonsi01	transgender symbol tonsi
	02	tonsi02	nonbinary symbol tonsi
unu	01	unu01	kule mun unu
usawi	01	usawi01	nasa emitters usawi
uta	01	uta01	pu uta
	02	uta02	dotless uta
wa	01	wa01	exclamation wile wa
wasoweli	01	wasoweli01	4 legged wasoweli
wekama	01	wekama01	weka kama wekama
wile	01	wile01	pu wile
	02	wile02	turned heart wile
wuwojiti	01	wuwojiti01	box wuwojiti
yupekosi	01	yupekosi01	y yupekosi