K

article (ko te); preposition: with (see grammar); prefix of personal pronouns: koau, I; kokoe, you (singular); koîa, he, she, it; kokorua, you (plural); ko tagi, koîa, he with his weeping.
article which precedes proper nouns, often also used with place names: Ko Tori, Ko Hotu Matu'a, Ko Pú.

happiness, pleasure; to be happy; koakoa, to be very happy, very pleased.
to rock a baby to quieten him. Also: hakakoa.

lines (hau) drawn on the tablets for inscribing hieroglyphs; the full name is: kohau motu mo rogorogo, lines of inscriptions for reciting. The article ko, prefixed to the noun, expresses that it is something well-known, representative, something "by excellence", as in: kovare, kohío, and probably also kora'e. In ancient times different type of kohau were distinguished: kohau ta'u annals; kohau îka, lists of people fallen in wars or in fights; koahu raga, records of fugitives, expelled from their homes; kohau hiri taku ki te Atua, religious hymns.

kohe

a plant (genus Filicinea) that grows on the coast.

kohio

phallus, penis (erect, i.e. hio by excellence); kohio-haga, copulation, sexual intercourse.
hard human excrement.

kohoa

stick; any piece of wood longer than wide and easily handled.

kohu

shade: he-oho kiroto ki te ana, kite kona kohu, he-hakaora, he goes into the cave, into the shade, and rests.
Kohu raá, solar eclipse.

koîa

exact: tita'a koîa, exact demarcation. Seems to be the personal pronoun koîa - applied in the meaning of: thus it is, here it is precisely.

ko'iko'i

to clean one's hands; i te tûaihaga-era-á he-to'o-mai i te toro maîka, he-tahitahi, mo ko'iko'i o te oone o te rima, in ancient times they took a banana stem and scraped it to clean the dirt off their hands (rubbing their hands with the watery fibres).

koíro

a fish (according to some Jimnoto gymnothorax).

koka

cockroach.
Koka uru iho, exclamation of surprise uttered by someone upon receiving something new or unexpected for instance, food not tasted since a long time.

kokekoke

to limp; lame.

koko'epó

forgetful: korohua koko'e-pó, forgetful old man.

kokogo

cold; bronchitis.

kokohu

container, vessel.
to put one's hands together, forming a scoop to hold something: ka-kokohu hai rima mo avai-atu te kai, put your hands like this, so I can give you some food; ka-kokohu rivariva o marere, hold your hands together well, so that (the food) does not spill.
figuratively: mother (matu'a poreko) because she is the vessel in which the baby's body is formed.

kókokóko

to crow, to cackle (of rooster or hen).

kokoma

intestines, guts.

kokore

the moon during the first six nights after the new moon and the five nights after the full moon: kokore tahi, kokore rua, kokore toru, kokore há, kokore rima, kokore ono.

kokoro

width, expanse; wide, spacious. Te kokoro o te hare. the expanse of a wide house.

komaniri-komanara

little finger, auricular.

komari

vulva; name of the pictures of vulvas carved on many rocks and stones.

komo

to insert a wedge into something.
figuratively: to stuff oneself with food; he-komo, he-hakahiohio i te manava.

kona

place, terrain, part, surface of the body.
tá kona to tattoo; the parts of the body which were entirely covered in tattoos, such as the thighs and the wrists, are called kona.

konakona

tasteless, bland (of food): ta'e konakona, tasty.

konakumi

far, distant; kaiga konakumi. distant land.

konui

far.

kope

lad, lass, youth, young man or woman; He-oho te kope ra'e Ko Ira The first youth, Ko Ira, went; PehÈ korua ga kope? How are you, lads? Koho-mai korua ko ga kope, ka-maitaki korua ga kope! Welcome to you, lasses, what beautiful lasses you are!

kopeka

avenger; te kopeka o te îka, avenger of an assassination victim; îka kopeka also means cannibal avenger.
according to the report of the Spanish visitors to the island in l770, the paina statues were also called kopeka; if this is correct, the word kopeka would have been used in two senses, to avenge an offence and to distribute payments, as was done in the paina festivals.

kopiro

to ferment, to start rotting; maîka kopiro. rotting bananas; kopiro-á te rimu, a pile of miru seaweeds is rotting (and the insects on it are easily caught for using as bait).

kopú

belly; tagata kopú, slave (who belongs to another, body and soul); kopú tó, lazy, inactive, indolent.

kopuhia

to be blown away by the wind: he-kopuhia i te tokerau. Also said of someone who does not stay home, goes out and disappears, instead of dedicating himself to his work.

holes cut in the paega hare stones to hold the frame poles of the roof.

kore

to lack, to be missing; without (something normally expected), -less; ana kore te úa, ina he vai when rain lacks there is no water: vî'e kenu kore, woman without a husband, i.e. widowed or abandoned by her husband.

koreha

sea eel; several sorts are distinguished: koreha puhi. haoko, migo, tapatea.
Koreha o raro o te oone, earthworm; koreha henua, snake.

koreva

a fish.

kori

to play (also: kokori).
to steal, to pilfer.

koria

to harm.

koro

father (seems to be an older word than matu'a tamâroa).
feast, festival; this is the generic term for feasts featuring songs and banquetting; koro hakaopo, feast where men and women danced.
when (also: ana koro); ana koro oho au ki Anakena. when I go to Anakena; in case. koro haga e îa, in case he wants it.

korohu'a, korohua

old man; also used jokingly or affectionately of any adult man.

koroiti

slowly.

koromaki

to be lonely, to be aggrieved because one's love is not returned, to miss (someone).

korotea

a species of banana grown in ancient times.

string or ribbon used to tie the loincloth (hami).

kotetu

huge (tetunui).

kotikoti

to cut with scissors (since this is an old word and scissors do not seem to have existed, it must mean something of the kind).

koúra

flea; any small insect in general. Koúra tere henua, human being (ancient expression, lit. insect which runs on the ground).

kovare

mucous plug; he-poreko te kovare, the mucous plug comes out (before the birth).

koviro

newborn rat; familiarly: very young baby.

verbal prefix, used for past events the effects of which are still lasting. The verb then takes the suffix -ana which is very often contracted to -á . In familiar conversation the prefix -ku is often omitted and only the suffix -á is used.

kua

used preceding persons' names, or inserted between the article and the person's name, to mean "and others, and companions" e.g. A kua Ira, Ira and his companions.

kugukugu

to clear one's throat.

kuhane

soul, spirit, ghost; person or object seen in a dream and taken as an omen; see also: hakakuhanehane.

ku'iku'i

to disturb, to inconvenience, to feel uncomfortable, said for instance of a thief who has hidden the things stolen under his clothes: he-ku'iku'i i roto i a îa te me'e toke, the stolen things inconvenience him; he-ku'iku'i te vânaga-haga, his manner of talking betrays embarrassment.
to crowd together; he-ku'iku'i te gagata i te uruga mai ki te hare, the people are crowding to get into the house.

kuki

to cover oneself, to wrap oneself up in the nua cape; ka-kuki toou nua, wrap yourself up well in your cape.

kuku

to swathe, to swaddle: he-kuku i te tôa, to swathe the sugarcanes (with their large leaves, so they grow better and taller).

kukumu

cheekbone, knuckle, also finger joint; kukumu manege, finger joint; kukumu iti, falangina; kukumu ata iti, falangeta.
sugarcane knots: kukumu tôa.

kuku'o

a snail (very small, conical, found inland on rocks).

kukuro

handle.

kumara

sweet potato. The main varieties are: kumara pita, kumara rega moe tahi uriuri, kumara rega moe-tahi teatea, kumara rega vî'e, kumara aro piro, kumara paka taero, kumara ariga rikiriki, kumara uriuri, kumara ûka teatea, kumara ure omo, kumara ha'u pú, kumara ure omo uriuri.

kume

to extract, to pull out (e.g. a tooth, a thread from a fabric); to come out (of the sun's rays) ku-kume-á te tuke o te raá.

kumi

long, far; to grow long; maikuku kumi, long fingernails; larger share; he kumi maana, he iti maaku, the larger share (he keeps) for himself, the small one is for me.
fathom (also: maroa).

kupega

fishing net; kupega hônu, cobweb. The various types of fishing nets are: for fishing in the open sea kupega huti ature, described in the tradition about catching ature in preparation for tuna-fishing; for fishing near the coast and in the bays: kupega hura, a small, round net in the shape of a basket, used on the shore, handled by a single man; kupegaviri, net several metres long handled by its extremities by two men called hopu kupega stretched vertically down to the shore; kupega tuku rua trawling net, its lower end is dragged by two men, stretched horizontally on the sea bottom towards the coast (see also the explanation of the word tuku).

kupu

lyrics (of a song).

kura

also: poukura, the short, thin, multicoloured feathers of chickens and other birds.
the best of something, choice.

kurî

cat.

kutakuta

foam; teatea te kutakuta o te vai kava i te vave, the sea foam is white when there are big waves. ana vera te vai, he-kutakuta i ruga when water is boiling, foam appears on top.

kutokuto

apparently a synonym of kutakuta, at least in the meaning of foam produced by rinsing. (see hakakutokuto).

kutu

louse.
Kutu ivi heheu, remora, attached to the swordfish.

ku'uku'u

to call one's young (of hens).