English Translation
In many cultures, men and women dress differently.
In Toki Poni, the phrase “lon kulupu pi jan mute la, mije en meli li kepeken len ante.” can be translated to English as, “In a group of many people, men and women wear different clothes.” Let’s break down the sentence to understand the grammar and vocabulary:
"lon" means "in" or "at."
"kulupu" means "group" or "community."
"pi" is used to construct compound nouns or to show possession, translating to "of" in English.
"jan mute" means "many people," with "jan" meaning "person" and "mute" meaning "many."
"la" separates the context or condition from the main sentence.
"mije" means "man" or "male."
"en" is a conjunction meaning "and."
"meli" means "woman" or "female."
"li" separates the subject from the verb or predicate in a sentence.
"kepeken" means "use" or "with."
"len" means "clothing" or "cloth."
"ante" means "different" or "another."
Putting it all together:
"lon kulupu pi jan mute" sets the context for the sentence, meaning "in a group of many people."
"la" marks that the context provided is relevant for the main statement that follows.
"mije en meli" is the joint subject of the sentence, "men and women."
"li" indicates that we're about to describe what the subject does or is.
"kepeken len ante" is the predicate, with "kepeken" as the verb meaning "use/wear," "len" as the object meaning "clothing," and "ante" describing the clothing as "different."
So, when someone says, “lon kulupu pi jan mute la, mije en meli li kepeken len ante.” in Toki Pona, they are stating that within a group of many people, men and women are using different clothing.