Public Draft: Common Sitelen Pona
te sitelen pona kulupu to li lipu pi(pini ala)
lipu pi sitelen pona kulupu (li pini ala)
This is a public draft of Common Sitelen Pona, released on January 2026 and presented as per the association's resolutions.
Common Sitelen Pona is a standard that outlines the basic characteristics of Sitelen Pona through an approved set of characters subdivided into three tiers of teachability, presented here with representative glyphs.
The Sitelen Pona Publishers and Typographers Association derived Common Sitelen Pona from described features and characteristics of Sitelen Pona that have seen stable adoption and use within the Toki Pona community.
lipu+ni pi(pini ala) li toki e nasin pi(sitelen+pona kulupu)
tenpo mun nanpa wan pi(tenpo sike ni) la
zz kulupu li pana e lipu pi(pini ala) tawa lukin ale
sitelen pona kulupu li nimi pi(lipu+ni nasin) zz lipu+ni li pana e nasin pi(sitelen+pona)
lipu+ni li toki e sitelen nimi e sitelen+nasin ni>zz ona li suli kepeken pi(sitelen+pona)
zz kin la tawa sitelen ni^ ale la lipu+ni li pana tawa lukin e selo ken wan
lipu ni li toki ala e nasin musi namako sin pi(jan mute ala)
zz pana pi(nasin ni^ )li wile pi(sitelen+pona musi) li wile pi(sitelen+pona kulupu ala)
pali pi(kulupu [januta ni:ko:]) la lipu li wile e nasin ni taso
zz ona li suli li awen li kepeken lon kulupu pi(toki+pona)
lipu ni pi pini ala li toki e nasin pi sitelen pona kulupu. tenpo mun #W pi tenpo sike ni la kulupu li pana e lipu pi pini ala tawa lukin ale.
sitelen pona kulupu li nimi pi lipu nasin ni. lipu li pana e nasin pi sitelen pona. lipu li toki e sitelen nimi ni e sitelen nasin ni: ona li suli kepeken pi sitelen pona. kin la lipu li pana tawa lukin e selo ken wan pi sitelen ni ale.
lipu ni li toki ala e nasin musi namako sin pi jan mute ala (ni li wile pi sitelen pona musi li wile pi sitelen pona kulupu ala). tawa wile pi kulupu Juniko la sitelen pona kulupu li wile e nasin ni taso: kulupu pi toki pona la ona li suli li awen li kepeken.
About
History
A history covering the effort to get the Sitelen Pona into Unicode, the formation of the SPPTA, and a timeline of our work.
Methodology
This is how the SPPTA is uncovering common and representative features of Sitelen Pona.
Accompanying Instruments
Sitelen Pona in UCSUR
As the system has not yet been accepted into Unicode, codepoints for Common Sitelen Pona are coordinated through the Under-ConScript Unicode Registry within codes available in Unicode's Private Use Area.
ASCII Input Standard
SPPTA's standard for writing Sitelen Pona through ASCII input, already implemented across 130+ fonts.
o sona e lipu+ni
tenpo pini
tenpo suli la kulupu li wile e ni> zz sitelen+pona li lon nasin [jan uta ni: ko:]. lipu+ni li toki e pali ale pi(tenpo pini) li toki e ni> zz seme la kulupu pali pi sitelen pona li kama lon.
nasin alasa
kulupu pali pi sitelen pona li kama sona e sitelen+pona kulupu kepeken nasin ni^ pi(alasa sona).
o sona e lipu+namako
sitelen+pona
pi(nasin [jaki uta sitelen.sama.])
sitelen+pona kulupu la kulupu [jan uta ni:ko:] li awen kama ala lawa e nanpa pi(sitelen ilo). ni< la kulupu [jaki uta sitelen.sama.] li lawa pi(pali ni) li pana e nanpa ilo pi(sitelen+pona kulupu) tawa nanpa ni> pi kulupu [jan uta ni:ko:]zz kulupu lili li pali e nasin namako pi(lawa wawa ala) kepeken ona.
sitelen+pona
pi nasin ([akesi su:kili.])
kulupu pali li pali e lipu nasin tawa sitelen+pona pi (nasin [akesi su:kili.]). nasin wan ale mute luka luka pi(sitelen+pona ilo) li kepeken nasin pi(lipu ni< a).
sona pi lipu ni
tenpo pini
tenpo suli la kulupu li wile e ni: sitelen pona li lon nasin Juniko. lipu ni li toki e pali ale pi tenpo pini li toki e ni: seme la kulupu pali mi li kama lon.
nasin alasa
kulupu pali pi sitelen pona li kama sona e sitelen pona kulupu kepeken nasin ni pi alasa sona.
lipu sona namako
sitelen pona pi nasin Jusisa
sitelen pona kulupu la kulupu Juniko li awen kama ala lawa e nanpa pi sitelen ilo. ni la kulupu Jusisa li lawa pi pali ni li pana e nanpa ilo pi sitelen pona kulupu tawa nanpa ni pi kulupu Juniko: kulupu lili li pali e nasin pi lawa wawa ala kepeken ona.
sitelen pona
pi nasin Asuki
kulupu pali li pali e lipu nasin tawa sitelen pona pi nasin Asuki. nasin WAMLL pi sitelen pona ilo li kepeken nasin pi lipu ni a.
A View of Common Sitelen Pona o lukin e te sitelen pona kulupu to o lukin e sitelen pona kulupu
Representative glyphs are provided as examples only.
Ultimately, font designers may choose to design glyphs for these words that vary in appearance.
lipu+ni li pana e sitelen tawa nimi la ni< li selo wan lon lipu a li selo lawa ala a. jan pali pi(nasin sitelen ilo) o awen kama selo e sitelen kepeken nasin pi(wile ona).
lipu ni li pana e sitelen tawa nimi la ni li selo wan lon lipu. ni li selo lawa ala. jan pali pi nasin sitelen ilo o awen kama selo e sitelen kepeken nasin pi wile ona.
Tier 1 Word Characters sitelen nimi pi(suli nanpawan) sitelen nimi pi suli #W
Tier 2 Word Characters sitelen nimi pi(suli nanpatu) sitelen nimi pi suli #T
Tier 3 Word Characters sitelen nimi pi(suli nanpatu wan) sitelen nimi pi suli #TW
Tier 1 Punctuation Characters sitelen nasin pi(suli nanpawan) sitelen nasin pi suli #W
- [
]
start of cartouche
sitelen li open e poki pi(nimi kalama)
ni tu li open e poki pi nimi kalama
,
zz
,
end of cartouche
sitelen li pini e poki pi(nimi kalama)
li pini e poki pi nimi kalama
This pair of invisible characters go on either side of glyphs to render them within a cartouche. nimi kalama li ni> zz ona li sama kute tawa nimi pi(toki ante) li nimi pi(toki+pona ala). sitelen open en sitelen pini li selo e poki. nimi kalama li ni: ona li sama kute tawa nimi pi toki ante li nimi pi toki pona ala. 'sitelen Lasina' la 'Lasina' li nimi kalama. sitelen pona la nimi kalama ale li lon insa poki.
Sequence: open la open:jan 'cartouche-start' anpa mama awen 'cartouche-end'jan 'nimi-open' anpa mama awen 'nimi-pini'Appears as: pini la pini: jan [anpa mama awen] - luka&luka
combined glyph, non-standard combination
(zero-width joiner) sitelen+ni li wan e sitelen tu kepeken nasin ken ni li wan e sitelen tu kepeken nasin ken *This invisible character is used to combine two glyphs in a non-standard way or in a way the fontmaker specifies. Depending on the shape of the glyphs and preferences of the fontmaker, the combination may end up combined into a glyph taking features from each glyph, joined horizontally, stacked, nested, or combined some other way. sitelen+ni kon la jan pali pi(nasin sitelen ilo) li wan e sitelen tu kepeken nasin ken pona. ken la sitelen tu li ken wan pi nasin sin li ken wan anpa sewi li ken wan selo insa. sitelen ni kon la jan pali pi nasin sitelen ilo li wan e sitelen tu kepeken nasin ken pona. ken la sitelen tu li ken wan pi nasin sin li ken wan anpa sewi li ken wan selo insa.
Sequence: open la open:soweli 'zw-joiner' suwi li kalama 'zw-joiner' jakisoweli 'wan-ken' suwi li kalama 'wan-ken' jakiAppears as: pini la pini: soweli&suwi li kalama&jaki - luka-luka
combined glyph, written above
(stacking joiner) sitelen+ni li wan e sitelen tu lon anpa lon sewi ni li wan e sitelen tu lon anpa lon sewiThis invisible character is used to combine two glyphs by stacking the second glyph over the first. sitelen+ni kon li wan e sitelen tu la nasin sitelen ilo li pana e sitelen nanpa tu tawa sewi pi(sitelen nanpa wan). sitelen ni kon li wan e sitelen tu la nasin sitelen ilo li pana e sitelen nanpa tu tawa sewi pi sitelen nanpa wan.
Sequence: open la open:soweli 'stack-joiner' suwi li kalama 'stack-joiner' jakisoweli 'wan-sewi' suwi li kalama 'wan-sewi' jakiAppears as: pini la pini: soweli-suwi li kalama-jaki - luka+luka
combined glyph, written inside
(nesting joiner) sitelen+ni li wan e sitelen tu lon selo lon insa ni li wan e sitelen tu lon selo lon insaThis invisible character is used to combine two glyphs by writing the second glyph inside the first. sitelen+ni kon li wan e sitelen tu la nasin sitelen ilo li pana e sitelen nanpa tu tawa insa pi(sitelen nanpa wan). sitelen ni kon li wan e sitelen tu la nasin sitelen ilo li pana e sitelen nanpa tu tawa insa pi sitelen nanpa wan.
Sequence: open la open:soweli 'nesting-joiner' suwi li kalama 'nesting-joiner' jakisoweli 'wan-insa' suwi li kalama 'wan-insa' jakiAppears as: pini la pini: soweli+suwi li kalama+jaki - |
ideographic space
sitelen pi weka sitelen
sitelen pi weka sitelen
*
Used to create a visible space, which can be used as sentence-ending punctuation, or within the indented style. weka sitelen li ken pini e toki. nasin ante wan la, weka sitelen li lon open pi(linja sitelen) la toki pi(linja ni<) li awen e toki pi(linja pini). tenpo mute la selo pi(weka sitelen) li suli sama sitelen wan. weka sitelen li ken pini e toki. nasin ante wan la, weka sitelen li lon open pi linja sitelen la, toki pi linja ni li awen e toki pi linja pini. tenpo mute la selo pi weka sitelen li suli sama sitelen wan.
Sequence: open la open:mi toki 'ideographic-space' sina toki alami toki 'weka-sitelen' sina toki alaAppears as: pini la pini: mi toki zz sina toki ala
Tier 2 Punctuation Characters sitelen nasin pi(suli nanpatu) sitelen nasin pi suli #T
- zz
zz
start of long glyph
sitelen+ni li open e linja anpa poki
ni tu li open e linja anpa poki
,
zz
,
end of long glyph
sitelen+ni li pini e linja anpa poki
li pini e linja anpa poki
When used after a glyph that a fontmaker supports as extendable, this pair of invisible characters go on either side of the glyphs that the extension should go around. suli la sitelen+ni tu li lon nasin pi nimi te pi to. zz linja li ken kama lon anpa pi(nimi mute) li ken pana lukin e sona ni> zz poki pi nimi te pi to li open lon seme li pini lon seme. suli la ni tu li tawa nimi 'pi.' linja li ken kama lon anpa pi nimi mute li ken pana lukin e sona ni: poki pi nimi 'pi' li open lon seme li pini lon seme.
Sequence: open la open:kili jelo pi 'long-start' nena selo nasa mute laso 'long-end'kili jelo pi 'linja-open' nena selo nasa mute laso 'linja-pini'Appears as: pini la pini: kili jelo pi(nena selo nasa mute laso) - te
to
left corner bracket
sitelen+ni li open e poki toki nimi
te en to li open e poki toki nimi
,
zz
,
right corner bracket
sitelen+ni li pini e poki toki nimi
li pini e poki toki nimi
*
Used as quotation punctuation. The left opens, the right closes. sitelen+ni tu li lon toki pi(nasin tu) ni>
zz nimi ijo la lipu te jan [o suli uta] pi(wawa nasa) to li musi.
zz toki jan la te mi pakala a to. te o pilin ike ala to. "toki a" la linja lili tu pi sitelen Lasina li pana e sona ni: "toki a" li toki nimi pi mi ala. sitelen pona kulupu li pali sama kepeken sitelen leko pi ma Nijon.Sequence: open la open:ona li toki 'left-bracket' sina pona 'right-bracket'ona li toki 'te-open' sina pona 'to-pini'Appears as: pini la pini: ona li toki te sina pona to - .
middle dot
sitelen pi(sike lili insa)
sitelen pi sike lili insa
Mostly used as sentence-ending punctuation. In a cartouche, it can refer to one mora in nasin sitelen kalama. sitelen pi(sike lili insa) li ken toki e ni> zz pini pi(linja toki) li lon seme. poki pi(nimi kalama) la nasin sitelen kalama li sitelen e kalama namako wan kepeken sitelen pi(sike lili). sitelen pi sike lili li ken toki e ni: pini pi linja toki li lon seme. poki pi nimi kalama la, nasin sitelen kalama li sitelen e nimi kalama kepeken sitelen pi sike lili.
Sequence: open la open:a 'middle-dot' nasin pi ma 'cartouche-start' poka 'middle-dot' 'cartouche-end' li wawa 'middle-dot'a 'sike-insa' nasin pi ma 'nimi-open' poka 'sike-insa' 'nimi-pini' li wawa 'sike-insa'Appears as: pini la pini: a. nasin pi ma[poka.] li wawa. - :
colon
sitelen pi(sike lili tu)
sitelen pi sike lili tu
In a cartouche, used to indicate that a word should be fully sounded out in nasin sitelen kalama. poki pi(nimi kalama) la nasin sitelen kalama li sitelen e kalama ale pi(nimi wan) kepeken sitelen pi(sike lili tu). poki pi nimi kalama la nasin sitelen kalama li sitelen e kalama ale pi nimi wan kepeken sitelen pi sike lili tu.
Sequence: open la open:ma 'cartouche-start' a meli 'colon' kala 'middle-dot' 'cartouche-end' selima 'nimi-open' a meli 'sike-tu' kala 'sike-insa' 'nimi-pini' seliAppears as: pini la pini: ma [a meli: kala.] seli
Tier 3 Punctuation Characters sitelen nasin pi(suli nanpatu wan) sitelen nasin pi suli #TW
- ,
combining tally mark
sitelen+ni li linja lili anpa lon poki pi(nimi kalama)
ni li linja lili anpa lon poki pi nimi kalama
In a cartouche, used to write names in the compact nasin sitelen kalama pi linja lili style. nasin sitelen kalama pi(linja lili) la linja lili wan li lon linja anpa lon poki pi(nimi kalama) la nimi kalama o kepeken kalama wan tan sitelen ni> zz ona li lon sewi pi(linja lili). nasin sitelen kalama pi linja lili la linja lili wan li lon linja anpa lon poki pi nimi kalama la nimi kalama o kepeken kalama wan tan sitelen ni: ona li lon sewi pi linja lili.
Sequence: open la open:ma 'cartouche-start' a meli 'tally' 'tally' 'tally' 'tally' kala 'tally' 'tally' 'cartouche-end' selima 'nimi-open' a meli 'linja' 'linja' 'linja' 'linja' kala 'linja' 'linja' 'nimi-pini' seliAppears as: pini la pini: ma [a meli,,,,kala,,] seli
*
These characters are already served by public-use Unicode codepoints and do not require new assignments.
nanpa pi(sitelen ilo) la sitelen+nasin ni li wile ala e sitelen sin namako pi(sitelen+pona taso)
li ken kepeken sitelen lon pi nasin [jan uta ni: ko:].
nasin Juniko la sitelen nasin ni li wile ala e sitelen sin namako pi sitelen pona taso li ken kepeken sitelen lon pi nasin Juniko.