Which versions of glyphs are representative of those commonly used in Sitelen Pona? selo wan seme pi sitelen nimi li suli kepeken selo wan seme pi sitelen nimi li suli kepeken

Common Sitelen Pona defines a set of characters, but it does not define actual glyphs (what the characters ought to look like). Font-makers may implement using the glyph variations they prefer.

In the Common Sitelen Pona document itself, the association wanted to provide representative glyphs—example versions of glyphs that were commonly used. These were algorithmically determined using the process below.

sitelen+pona kulupu li pana zz e sona ni> zz sitelen seme li lon
sitelen+pona kulupu li pana ala e sona ni> zz selo sitelen o seme
kulupu pali li wile e ni> zz jan li pali e nasin pi(sitelen+pona ilo) la
zzzzzzzzzzzzzz ona li kepeken selo sitelen pi(wile ona)

taso tenpo sama la mi kulupu li pali e lipu pi(sitelen+pona kulupu)
mi kulupu li wile pana e selo sitelen tawa sitelen nimi ale pi(lipu ni^)
mi wile kepeken selo ni>zz ona li suli kepeken
ni^ la anpa-sewi li pali e nasin pi(alasa sona)

sitelen pona kulupu li pana e sona ni: sitelen seme li lon. sitelen pona kulupu li pana ala e sona ni: selo pi sitelen ale ni o seme. kulupu pali li wile e ni: jan pali sitelen li ken kepeken selo sitelen pi wile ona.

taso tenpo sama la, mi kulupu li pali e lipu pi sitelen pona kulupu li wile pana e selo sitelen tawa ona. tawa pali ni la mi wile kepeken selo ni: ona li suli kepeken. ni la anpa sewi li pali e nasin pi alasa sona.

Algorithm: Use six sources of input to identify the most representative glyphs for Toki Pona words that are known to have variants.

Four sources of input reflect the exercised discretion of invited fontmakers. Two sources of input reflect sampled handwriting data from the community. The input sources are listed below:

selo wan taso ala li ken sitelen e nimi la
zz o alasa e selo sitelen pi(suli kepeken) tan sona tu tu tu

sona tu tu li kama tan sona pilin pi(jan sona tu tu ni)
zz ona li pali e nasin pi(sitelen+pona ilo)
zz zz sitelen+pona ilo la jan li sitelen+pona kepeken ilo pali wawa
sona tu li kama tan poki suli pi(sitelen mute ni)
zz jan li toki kepeken sitelen+pona luka
zz zz sitelen+pona luka la jan li sitelen+pona kepeken luka ona kepeken palisa sitelen
selo sitelen pini li kama tan sona suli pi(sona tu tu tu ni^)

selo wan taso ala li ken sitelen e nimi la o alasa e selo sitelen pi suli kepeken tan sona tu tu tu.

sona tu tu li kama tan sona pilin pi jan sona ni tu tu: ona li pali e nasin pi sitelen pona ilo. sona tu li kama tan poki suli ni: jan mute li sitelen pona kepeken luka. sitelen pona ilo la jan li sitelen pona kepeken ilo pali wawa. sitelen pona luka la jan li sitelen pona kepeken luka ona kepeken palisa sitelen. selo sitelen pini li kama tan sona suli pi sona tu tu tu.

jan Itan is the creator of nasin nanpa (2022).

nasin nanpa continues to be a popular font in 2026. It carries historical notability; nasin nanpa was the first font that Toki Pona speakers used for Sitelen Pona texting on Discord, and it is the Sitelen Pona font for The Wonderful Wizard of Oz (Toki Pona edition) released in the series, Official Toki Pona.

On multiple occasions, the font has made strong choices that have correctly predicted (or predicated) the success of certain variant glyphs.

jan Itan held the tie-breaking vote within this algorithm.

jan itan li pali e nasin pi(sitelen+pona ilo) lon sike pini nanpa tu tu
nimi pi(nasin ona) li te nasin-nanpa to

awen la jan mute li kepeken nasin-nanpa a zz nasin-nanpa li suli kepeken
kin nasin-nanpa li suli tan ni
zz kulupu li kama ken kepeken sitelen+pona lon ilo [sike.ko:] la
zz zz open la ale li ken kepeken nasin-nanpa taso
kin anpa-sewi li selo e lipu su kepeken nasin-nanpa

nasin-nanpa li sona pona e nasin kulupu kepeken
nasin-nanpa li kama nasin e selo sitelen sin la
zz kulupu li kama kepeken selo sitelen sin ni^ lon tenpo wan taso ala

alasa pi(selo sitelen) la jan itan li sona wan pi(sona tu tu tu)
taso sona tu li wawa sama la sona pi(jan itan) li anpa e sona ante

jan Itan li pali e nasin pi sitelen ilo lon sike #MAMT. nimi pi nasin ona li 'nasin nanpa.'

awen la, jan mute li kepeken nasin nanpa a. ona li suli kepeken. ona li suli tan ni kin: kulupu li kama ken kepeken sitelen pona lon ilo Siko la, ale li kepeken nasin nanpa lon open. kin la, anpa sewi li selo e lipu musi ona pi jan Osu kepeken nasin nanpa.

nasin nanpa li sona pona e nasin kulupu kepeken. tenpo wan taso ala la nasin nanpa li ante lili e selo sitelen la kulupu li kama kepeken selo sitelen sin ni.

alasa pi selo sitelen la jan Itan li sona wan pi sona tu tu tu. taso sona tu li wawa sama, la sona pi jan Itan li ken anpa e sona ante.

lipamanka is the creator of linja sike (2021) and linja lipamanka (2023).

linja sike was stylized as a succesor to jan Same's linja pona (2016), the most prevalent font of the pre-2021 period. linja lipamanka reworks linja sike to be more visually distinct from linja pona.

Both of lipamanka's fonts were influential, as lipamanka was highly responsive to requests for glyphs of rare words, individual name glyphs, and experimental features. lipamanka is personally responsible for many alt glyphs, either by authoring them or by promoting them into wider usage.

lipamanka held one vote within this algorithm.

lipamanka li pali e nasin tu pi(sitelen+pona ilo)
ona li pali e te linja sike to lon sike pini nanpa luka
zz zz zz e te linja lipamanka to lon sike pini nanpa tu wan

tenpo pi(lipu ku ala) la nasin ale pi(sitelen+pona ilo) la
te [linja pona] to li nasin pi(suli nanpa wan)
zz jan [sona a ma e] li mama e ona li awen ala pali
wile lipamanka la te linja sike to en te linja pona to li sama lili
taso te linja pona to li kama jaki lili lukin tawa lipamanka la
zz ona li kama ante wawa e te linja sike to
zz zz li kama e nasin sin te linja lipamanka to

tenpo pini la te linja lipamanka to en te linja sike to li suli kepeken
nasin tu lipamanka li pona mute tawa kulupu tan ni> zz lipamanka li kute
zz lipamanka li pana e sitelen nimi sin mute e sitelen sin pi(nimi jan)
zz zz zz zz e sitelen nasin sin tawa pali ona tan wile kulupu
pali pi(lipamanka a) li suli kepeken e selo ante pi(sitelen mute)

alasa pi(sona sitelen )la lipamanka li sona wan pi(sona tu tu tu)

lipamanka li pali e nasin tu pi sitelen pona ilo. ona li pali e 'linja sike' lon sike #MAMW, e 'linja lipamanka' lon sike #MAMTW.

tenpo pi lipu ku ala la 'linja pona' pi jan Same li nasin sitelen pi suli kepeken nanpa wan. 'linja sike' en 'linja pona' li sama lili. taso nasin pi linja pona li kama jaki lili tawa lipamanka la ona li ante wawa e linja sike li kama e linja lipamanka.

tenpo pini la, linja lipamanka en linja sike li suli kepeken tan ni: lipamanka li kute e wile ale kulupu li pana e sitelen nimi sin mute e sitelen sin pi nimi jan e sitelen nasin sin tawa pali ona tan wile kulupu. lipamanka a li suli kepeken e selo ante pi sitelen mute.

alasa pi selo sitelen la lipamanka li sona wan pi sona tu tu tu.

jan Lepeka is the creator of Fairfax HD and sitelen seli kiwen (2022).

jan Lepeka maintains the UCSUR and has been making fonts for decades. In addition to integrating Sitelen Pona into her Fairfax HD font family, which covers several other constructed scripts, she also made the popular handwritten font family, sitelen seli kiwen. There are separate versions of the family for ASCII-input, Unicode-input, monospaced, and non-monospaced.

These two font families are held in very high esteem. They are the most completionist fonts created to date, preserving many rare glyphs. Because of the robust coverage offered by these fonts, they are often used in community dictionaries like nimi.li.

jan Lepeka held one vote within this algorithm.

jan [lili en pona en kule ale] li pali e nasin tu pi(sitelen+pona ilo)
zz lon tenpo sike pini nanpa tu tu
ona li pana e sitelen+pona tawa nasin te FAIRFAX.HD to
zz li pali e nasin te sitelen seli kiwen to

jan [lili en pona en kule ale]
zz li mama pi(nasin [jaki uta sin. sama.] )
zz li pali e nasin pi(sitelen ilo) lon tenpo sike mute a
ona li pana e sitelen+pona tawa nasin sitelen ona [F] pi(nasin sitelen sin mute)
zz li pali e nasin sitelen> pi(sin ale kin) zz te sitelen seli kiwen to
zz zz ona la linja sitelen li sama lukin tawa sitelen pi(luka jan)
nasin sitelen tu ni^ la ona ale la nasin ilo tu tu ni li lon
zz nanpa wan la jan li sitelen [la:sina:] la
zz zz zz zz nasin ilo li pana e sitelen+pona
zz nanpa tu la jan li kepeken nasin [jaki uta sin. sama.]
zz nanpa tu wan la sitelen ale li suli poka sama
zz nanpa tu tu la sitelen ona li suli poka sama ala

jan mute li pilin e ni> zz nasin sitelen tu ona li wawa a
nasin sitelen ni^ li wile jo e selo ale pi(sitelen ale a)
zz li awen e sitelen nimi mute ni> zz jan wan anu ala li kepeken
sitelen ale a li lon nasin sitelen pi(jan [lili] )la
zz lipu nimi mute pi(toki+pona) li kepeken ona zz zz o lukin a
zz zz lipu nimi pi(ilo [tan ale nasin ilo]) li kepeken

alasa pi(selo sitelen) la jan [lili en pona en kule ale]
zz li sona wan pi(sona tu tu tu)

jan Lepeka li pali e nasin sitelen ilo tu. ona li pali e sitelen 'Fairfax HD', li kama pali e 'sitelen seli kiwen' lon sike #MAMT.

jan Lepeka li mama pi nasin Jusisa, li pali e nasin pi sitelen ilo lon tenpo sike mute a. ona li kama pana e sitelen pona tawa nasin sitelen ona 'Fairfax HD', li kama pali e 'sitelen seli kiwen' kin. ni li nasin sin pi sitelen pona ilo, li sama lukin tawa sitelen luka jan. nasin sitelen tu ni la, ona ale la nasin ilo tu tu li lon: #W) jan li sitelen Lasina la nasin ilo li pana e sitelen pona; #T) jan li kepeken nasin Jusisa; #TW) sitelen ale li suli poka sama; #TT) sitelen li suli poka sama ala.

jan mute li pilin e ni: nasin sitelen tu ona li wawa a. nasin sitelen ni li wile jo e selo ale a pi sitelen ale a, li awen e sitelen nimi mute ni: jan wan anu jan ala li kepeken. sitelen ale a li lon ona la, lipu nimi mute li kepeken ona, sama lipu nimi.li.

alasa pi selo sitelen la jan Lepeka li sona wan pi sona tu tu tu.

waso Keli is the creator of leko majuna (2022) and the tool, SP Font Maker (2024).

SP Font Maker is a tool waso Keli developed to study glyph variance. Users of the SP Font Maker submit a template with the glyphs they prefer to include in their font. Later, waso Keli manually annotates and tabulates preferences across user templates.

leko majuna is a pixelated font developed for use in a video game translation. It was the first font to contain a diagonal glyph variant for ni (pointing arrow).

waso Keli tabled two votes within this algorithm. The majority preference of SP Font Maker users held one vote, while waso Keli herself held one vote.

waso [ken. lukin insa] li pali e ilo pali e nasin pi(sitelen+pona ilo)
zz ilo pali pi(nasin sitelen) li kama lon sike pini nanpa tu
zz nasin sitelen te leko majuna to li kama lon sike pini nanpa tu tu

ilo pali ona pi(nasin sitelen) la waso [ken] li pali e ilo tawa ni
zz ona li ken kama lukin e nasin sitelen pi(luka ante mute) e ni
zz zz selo pi(sitelen nimi) li kama ante lili seme lon sitelen luka
ilo la jan li sitelen luka e sitelen nimi ale lon poki lili leko mute walo
zz ilo li kama e sitelen nimi ale tan poki leko ale
zz zz li pali e nasin sitelen ilo tan sitelen luka jan
tenpo kama la waso [ken] li lukin e lipu ale li nanpa e ni
zz jan li selo seme e sitelen

te leko majuna to la linja pi(selo sitelen)
zz li sama nasin pi(ilo majuna) li tan leko lili mute pi(suli sama)
waso [ken] li pali e ona tawa ni>zz ona li toki+pona e musi majuna
te leko majuna to li nasin sitelen nanpa wan pi(nasin ni)
zz selo pi(sitelen nimi te ni to)
zz zz li ken tawa poka te ni> to taso ala
zz zz li ken tawa sewi te ni^to taso ala
zz zz li ken tawa insa pi(ona tu) sama te ni^> to

waso [ken. lukin insa] li pana e sona tu pi(sona tu tu tu)
zz jan li kepeken ilo pali pi(nasin sitelen) la nasin ona li sona wan
zz sona pilin pi(waso [ken] a) li sona wan kin

waso Keli li pali e nasin sin pi sitelen ilo e ilo pali. 'leko majuna' li kama lon sike #MAMT. ilo pali pi nasin sitelen li kama lon sike #MAMTT.

ilo pali ona pi nasin sitelen li seme? waso Keli li pali e ilo tawa ni: ona li ken kama lukin e nasin sitelen pi luka ante mute, e ni: selo pi sitelen nimi li kama ante lili seme lon sitelen luka. ilo la, jan li sitelen kepeken luka e nimi ale pi sitelen pona lon poki lili mute lon lipu, la ilo pi waso Keli li kama e sitelen nimi ale tan lipu li pali e nasin pi sitelen ilo tan sitelen luka jan. tenpo kama la waso Keli li lukin e lipu ni ale li nanpa e ni: jan li selo seme e sitelen.

nasin sitelen 'leko majuna' la, linja pi selo sitelen li tan leko lili mute pi suli sama, sama nasin pi ilo majuna. waso Keli li pali e ona tawa ni: ona li toki pona e musi ilo majuna. ona li nasin sitelen nanpa wan pi nasin ni: selo sin pi sitelen nimi 'ni' li ken tawa poka taso ala, li ken tawa sewi taso ala, li ken tawa insa pi ni tu pi nasin sewi poka.

waso Keli li pana e sona tu pi sona tu tu tu. jan li kepeken ilo pali pi nasin sitelen la nasin ona li sona wan. waso Keli a li sona wan ante.

jan Majeka transcribed 698 samples of handwritten Sitelen Pona shared online, annotating features and alternative glyphs. In total, well over 25k glyphs were scrutinized.

The majority preference of submissions from this handwriting corpus held one vote within this algorithm. Where jan Majeka determined that no strong preference was evident, the corpus would not receive a vote.

jan mute li sitelen+pona kepeken luka li pana e sitelen ni< tawa poki
mute sitelen pi(poki ni^) li sama luka tu ale
jan [meli+awenjan+eko+ale] li lukin e sitelen ni^ ale li lipu e ni ale
zz jan li kepeken nasin seme pi(sitelen+pona)
zz jan li kepeken selo ante seme tawa sitelen nimi sama
ale la jan [meli+awen] li pali suli li lukin e sitelen nimi mute a
zz zz mute pi(sitelen nimi) li suli tawa tu ale ale

sitelen+pona luka pi(jan mute) li sona wan pi(sona tu tu tu)
taso pilin pi(jan [meli+awenjan+eko+ale]) la
zz sitelen+pona luka mute li jo ala e nasin wan wawa pi(selo wan)
zz zz zz zz li ken ala kama e sona pona tawa selo ni^ la
zz zz sitelen+pona luka jan li kama ala pana e sona pi(selo ni^ sitelen)
alasa pi(selo nimi )la sona ante tu tu wan o kama e selo pini

jan mute li sitelen pona kepeken luka li pana e sitelen ni lon poki. jan Majeka li lukin e sitelen ni LWAMMMMLLLTW, li lipu e ni ale: jan li kepeken nasin seme pi sitelen pona, li kepeken selo ante seme tawa sitelen nimi sama. ale la jan Majeka li lukin e sitelen nimi mute a la mute li suli tawa TAMMLLA.

sitelen pona luka pi jan mute li sona wan pi sona tu tu tu. sitelen luka mute li jo ala e nasin wan wawa lon kepeken pi selo wan li ken ala kama e sona pona tawa selo ni, tawa pilin pi jan Majeka, la sitelen luka mute li pana ala e sona pi selo sitelen ni. sona ante tu tu wan o kama e selo pini.

Jump to word characters, where representative glyphs are given as examples.

Or download the raw results for representative glyphs.

o lukin e selo ale lon poka pi(sitelen nimi)

ante la o lukin e sona selo taso lon ni
zz sitelen nimi la selo sitelen seme li suli

o lukin e selo ale lon poka pi sitelen nimi.

ante la, o lukin e sona selo taso: sitelen nimi la selo sitelen seme li suli.