kama

kama refers to arrival. Toki Pona draws a conceptual metaphor between arrival at a location and arrival at a state.

mi kama lon tomo.

I’ve arrived at the house.

Just as I can kama into a room, I can also kama being red, or kama eating my food. In this sense, kama refers to becoming a certain way or beginning an action.

ona li kama pona la mi kepeken.

I’ll use it once it becomes good.

mi kama moku e kasi.

I began to eat the vegetables.

Beginning to do something and becoming a certain way are two sides of the same coin. English uses “begin” when the state is a verb and “become” when the state is an adjective. In Toki Pona, these are both described with kama.

kama may also refer to something that is “to come”; that is, something in the future.

toki kama li pona nanpa wan tawa mi.

The next talk is my favorite.

tenpo kama la ma ale li kama pakala.

In the future, the world will be destroyed.