K

ka
particle of the affirmative imperative, of cardinal numerals, of independent ordinal numerals, and of emphatic exclamation, e.g. ka-maitaki! how nice!
ka-ka-ka
particle expressing that something is done repeatedly or in several places: he-rarama ka-ka-ka, checking something in several places or on repeated occasions.
ká
  1. to light a fire in order to cook in the earth oven (see umu): he-ká i te umu, he-ká i te kai.
  2. figuratively: to fire up the soul. To put oneself in a fury (with manava): ku-ká-á toona manava he has become furious.
kaha
gourd (was used as a container: ipu kaha).
kahara
ata-kahara, to take good care, to do carefully e-ata-kahara koe o oone, take care not to get dirty; e-ata-kahara koe o kori te moa o te tahi pa, take care not to steal the chickens of another place.
kahi
tuna; two sorts: kahi aveave, kahi matamata.
kahu
dress, clothes, material; kahu vaka, sail.
kahui
bunch; kahui maîka, bunch of bananas.
kahukahu
peritoneum; kahukahu mâmari, pelusa del huevo (entre la cáscara y la clara).
kai
  1. ina kai; verbal negation (but not used with the imperative); ina kai kai matou, we have not eaten.
  2. to eat; meal.
  3. fruits or produces of the land, vegetables, edible plants.
  4. figuratively: he-kai ite rogorogo, to recite the inscriptions kohau rogorogo (as spiritual food).
  5. eclipse: ku-kai-á te raá, te mahina, the sun, the moon has been eaten (eclipsed).
kaiga
  1. action of eating; meal; nourishment (katiga was the ancient word).
  2. ground; country; island.
  3. womb, uterus (also matakao).
kaikai
cat's cradle, in which patterns are made by moving a thread through the fingers of both hands, and are accompanied by the recitation of verses (one of the main pastimes of yore).
ka'ika'i
sharp: also "to sharpen" used instead of hakaka'ika'i.
kaiore
a plant.
kakai
to quarrel; altercation, quarrel.
kakaka
(also kaka ) bark of banana-tree. Cut into strips, and left to dry out, its fibres, hau kakaka, are used to make small baskets, small bags etc.
kakapa
a sea bird.
kakara
  1. sweet-smelling, fragrant, smelly; used for pleasant and unpleasant smells alike.: tagata kakara i te kava, man with smelly armpits.
  2. used with rima, means skill or good luck in work; tagata rima kakara mo te îka mo hi, man skillful or lucky at fishing.
  3. with a negation: to neglect, to fail to look after someone entrusted to your care; kai kakara koe i taaku kurî, i-gau-ro-ai e te paihega, you didn't look after my cat, the dog bit him.
  4. to fail in a business: ku-kakara-á koe ku-geo-á koe.
kakarará
an insect (a Coleopter with black cephalothorax and yellow stigma).
kakari
  1. articulation, bone joint: kakari rima, wrist: kakari va'e, ankle.
  2. to be destitute, in dire poverty, short of food; ku-kakari-á te tagata, the people are destitute.
kakaro
to carve a hole in a stone, like the paega holes in which were stuck the roof poles of the hare paega. to extract the flesh of a shellfish (to eat it) using a small stick or a pointed bone.
kakau
sharp, wide hand weapon made of obsidian in a wooden handle: kakau rima (used in hand-to-hand fighting).
kakokako
to ask for (also nono'i); he-kakokako uha, to ask for a girl (as bride for a boy); he-kakokako uha e te tagata ki te tahi tagata mo taana moa, a man asks another for a girl for his son (uha and moa are used figuratively for daughter and son).
kami
comfort, solace, happiness. Used only in the expressions he-ora te kami, he-hoki te kami, happiness returns (to the heart), he-hakahoki te kami, to bring solacce, happiness to someone. Ana tu'u-mai te miro, ku-ora-á te kami o te tagata, when the boat comes, people feel happy.
kamo
deviation, kink in a line otherwise straight; small hollow on a surface; slight deviation.
kamokamo
to fit tightly (in a hole or an opening.)
kane
said of yams whose tubers form tough, indigest protuberances, badly developed yams.
kao
  1. side, edge, rim; kao gutu (or just kao ), labia minora.
  2. steep, almost perpendicular; thin, skinny. Motu Kaokao, name of one of the islets opposite Orongo, with a steep shape.
kapeu
fin; kapeu hônu, turtle fin.
kapua
  1. mist, fog; ku-puru-á te kapua i ruga i te maúga, there is a thick fog on the mountain.
  2. mould; kapua-á te kahu, the clothes are covered in mould.
kapuapua
moss (no the large type in Rano Kau, but the small, short type that grows on rocks).
kapuhivi
shoulder.
kará
wing of bird.
karaga
uproar, row: he-tagi te karaga.
karatu'u
to remain upright (said of a spinning top).
karava
low cave; hiding place under rocks in the sea (where lobsters hide).
karega
  1. properties, possessions: tagata karega, rich man; tagata karega kore, poor man.
  2. importance, worth: ku-karega-á, it is important; me'e karega kore, worthless, unimportant thing; ina he karega o taa po, those dreams are worthless.
ka-reka-avai koe
ancient expression of thanks for a gift
karera
to shine momentarily, to flash; ku-karera-á te uira, lightning flashed.
karikau
hollow, incision, nick, dent. This word is used especially for the opening of Rano Kau crater.
kariti
to give the string of a trap a tug to entrap the catch.
karo
to train at parrying, dodging. karoga, the art or action of parrying, dodging.
karoga
te karoga o te mata, both eyelids; perhaps also: eye socket.
karu
to congregate in circles around something, for instance at a festival: karu tagata, groups of people; to arrive on the beach following one another (of waves): karu vave .
karukaru
  1. to wrinkle; to get wrinkled.
  2. to get tangled up (of a line, a string - hau).
  3. to swing, to rock, to roll (of a boat).
kata, katakata
to laugh; laughter.
katikati
  1. to rehearse (songs).
  2. to fabricate false news: he-katikati i te vânaga reoreo.
  3. to waste something by neglecting it.
katiki
halo (of sun, of moon).
kato
  1. landing place (such as a wharf).
  2. to parry, to dodge (also: karo).
  3. to cut sweet potato branches or leaves (in order to plant them); to harvest.
katu
ancient term which seems to mean "indigest, of slow, difficult digestion", judging from the expression: taro noho katu, ka-topa ki te magugu, taro of slow digestion until it comes down to the anus.
kau
  1. to move one's feet (walking or swimming); ana oho koe, ana kau i te va'e, ka rava a me'e mo kai, if you go and move your feet, you'll get something to eat; kakau (or also kaukau), move yourself swimming.
  2. to spread (of plants): ku-kau-áte kumara, the sweet potatoes have spread, have grown a lot.
  3. to swarm, to mill around (of people): ku-kau-á te gagata i mu'a i tou hare, there's a crowd of people milling about in front of your house.
  4. to flood (of water after the rain): ku-kau-á te vai haho, the water has flooded out (of a container such as a taheta).
  5. to increase, to multiply: ku-kau-á te moa, the chickens have multiplied.
  6. wide, large: Rano Kau, "Wide Crater" (name of the volcano in the southwest corner of the island).
  7. expression of admiration: kau-ké-ké! how big! hare kau-kéké! what a big house! tagata hakari kau-kéké! what a stout man!
kauatu
ten, group of ten; e-tahi te kauatu, e rua te kauatu… 10, 20; kauatu-kauatu, many, many.
kaúga
to line up; to march in a procession.
kaúha
  1. bottom, rear, behind; generic word for the hindparts of animals and human beings; rear end of a thing, such as the poop of a boat: kaúha vaka.
  2. (familiar) kaúha tótó, clumsy, phlegmatic man.
kauhaga
  1. space between the thighs; groin; perhaps also the action of kau, that is, of moving one's feet (as substantive derived from the verb kau). Kauhaga mâmari, skin eruption accompanying the formation of a bubo.
  2. kauhaga moa, first toe of a chicken.
kauhaga more
tumor of the inguinal glands. In ancient times those who suffered from such tumours, because of war injuries, were useless for rejoining the fight, for fear of being wounded again. A wider meaning has been given to this word: fear caused by a guilty conscience, viz tagata kauhaga more, e-ma'e-no, e-aga-aga tahaga-nó; is an expression which refers to a man who has a guilty conscience and, imagining (e-ma'a-nó) that others talk about him, behaves accordingly (e-aga-aga tahaga-nó), for instance, blaming others or constantly asking about rumours.
kaukau
  1. horizontal poles of a frame (of a hare paega, or a paina statue): he-hakatu'u te tama o te paina, he-kaukau, they erect the vertical poles of the paina then they lay upon them the horizontal ones.
  2. group of people: e-tahi tuitui reipá i Te Pei, ekó rava'a e-varu kaukau; i-garo ai i Hiva, i te kaiga, a necklace of mother-of-pearl is on te Pei, few will find it (lit: eight groups of people); it has remained in Hiva, in our homeland.
  3. to go through, to pass through in unison; he-hogi-mai te ûka i te e'eo o te pua kaukau-á i roto ite hare, the girl smelt the fragrance of the pua wafting inside the house.
  4. newborn baby's first hand and feet movements (kaukau or kau).
kauteki
sort of adze made of obsidian, or of a very sharp toki and of a wooden handle (the original pronunciation may have been kautoki ); he-to'o-mai ite kauteki (kautoki?) he-to'o-mai i te toromiro, he-tarai i te puoko, i te mata, i te ihu… he took a kauteki and toromiro wood, and he shaped the head, the eyes, the nose…
kauva'e
chin.
kauvaha
jaw: kauvaha ruga, kauvaha raro, upper jaw, lower jaw.
kauvaka
conductor, the man who directs the songs executed by the pere and the ihi singers at a feast.
kava
  1. sour; salty: vai kava, saltwater, sea; te kava o te haíga, acrid underarm smell; tagata kava - tagata kakara i te kava, man with smelly armpits.
  2. he-kava te haha, to be thirsty.
  3. to turn sour, to become embittered, bad-tempered, exasperated (used with manava): tagata manava kava, bad-tempered, angry man.
kavahia
belch; to belch.
kavakava
rib; chop; moai kava-kava, wooden statuette with projecting ribs.
kave
fibres, thread; he-to'o-mai te hau, he-hakapakapaka, he-ihi-ihi te kave mo hiro i ruga i te papakona, he removes the fibres, dries them well, divides them into threads to twist them on his thigh.
kavei
  1. short handle.
  2. peduncle.
  3. loop (of a rope, when tying it).