N

ná
here; ná ku-tomo-á te miro, the boat has arrived here.
na'a
to hide, to guard secretly: e-na'a te me'e rakerake, ina ekó hakatikera, ki te mata o te ga poki, hide evil, don't show it to children.
naganaga
to squat, without resting the buttocks on the heels: ka-noho naganaga-mai koe, ina he pepe, sit on the ground, there is no seat.
naginagi
  1. to gnaw (of rats).
  2. to give a stabbing pain (of a tumour or an abscess about to burst).
nahonaho
comfortable, convenient: ku-nahonaho-á te nohoga o tou hare era, this house is comfortable; nahonaho-á te kona era mo tunu i te kai, that is a convenient place for cooking.
na'ina'i
  1. also: gorigori, o'i o'i small, a tiny little bit; to give someone a small share of something; ka-na'ina'i-atu, give him a little bit.
  2. the thread or the angling line with which the bait is tied to the hook; ka-to'o te na'ina'i, ka-here te maúnu mo te îka, take a thread and tie the bait for the fish.
nakinaki
ancient expression; some people remember that the oldsters used to say he nakinaki in the sense of: don't hurry, wait for me.
nako
  1. marrow.
  2. fat; nako-á te tagata era, that man is fat.
nakunaku
ancient word, nowadays unknown. It was probably used in the meaming of forgiving or erasing a misdeed; some native remember having heard very old people say in a tone of prayer: nakunaku tooku rakerake, and nakunaku tooku Atua, which seems to have meant: "forgive my misdeeds," and "forgive, oh my God."
namunamu
to chew; he-namunamu rivariva i te kai, to chew one's food thoroughly.
nanagi
  1. to chop something with the teeth, to bite off: tagata nanagi pito, the man in charge of cutting the newborn's umbilical cord with his teeth.
  2. to mark a chicken as one's property by biting one of its toes. See also reke.
nanahua
to be frightened to death; to frighten; he-nanahua-mai koe, you frightened me.
nanai
spider (open-field spider, not a house spider or a spider found in nooks).
nana'i
the straight line followed when making a mat of plaited totora reeds.
nanai-á
  1. intruder, suspicious person; ku-tu'u-mai-á te nanai-á i agapó, an intruder came in here last night.
  2. to eavesdrop; e-ûi koe, he-nanai-á te me'e era, look out, that fellow is listening.
nana'ia
to break (of waves). Hoa Hakanana'ia Master Wave-Breaker, name of a moai from Orongo, now in the British Museum in London.
nanao
to take out (nanao-mai); to take something out of a bag, a net, a basket, e.g. fish; to put something somewhere, e.g. fish into a boat: he-nanao ki te vaka.
nana'o
tattoo. tagata hakari nana'o, man with tattoos.
nanue
a fish (plentiful on the coast all around the island); nanue para, a yellow variety of this fish.
naonao
mosquito.
nape
to give a name to a person or to a thing: he-nape te igoa.
naponapo
shiny; shine, brilliance.
narínarí
mask anciently used in some feasts. I te nohoga tûai era-á e-uru-ró te tagata o te kaiga nei i te narinari mo te ate atua, in ancient times the men of this island put on masks for the ate atua festival.
nau, naunau
sandalwood which used to grow on the steep slopes of the coast: nau opata.
nave
  1. chin-strap; he-nave hai hau i te ha'u, to secure one's hat with a thong (in way of a chin-strap).
  2. to communicate something secretly to another person; to agree with one another before making a statement, in order not to contradict one another.
neganega
shrivelled, jump-backed, deformed. Figuratively: ina e-tahi neganega mo toe. there isn't anybody (anything) left; ina e-tahi neganega mo toe, ka-oho-tahi, tagata iti, tagata nui, vî'e iti, vî'e nui, poki iti, poki nui, no-one must stay behind, everybody must go, men, women, and children.
nego
  1. to increase in number; he-nego te mahigo, the family has grown.
  2. to be much: nego-á, it's a lot.
  3. to suffice, to be enough; ku-nego-á taaku, e-toe taau, this is enough for me, the rest is for you.
negonego
abundance, plenty: ai te negonego o te kai, there is plenty of food; tagata negonego means "rich man who lives surrounded by plenty", as well as "man of great learning" (maori negonego).
nehe
pleasant smell, fragance.
nehenehe
fern. (As an adjective, nehenehe pretty, is a Tahitian word).
nehunehu
to be dazzled; he-nehunehu te mata i te raá, dazzled by the sun.
nei
this, here; oira ka-tomo mai Hotu Matu'a ki te kaiga nei, he tagata o nei, before Hotu Matu'a came to this island, there were people here.
ne'i, nene'i
  1. to defecate.
  2. to lay (eggs): he-nene'i i te mâmari.
ne'ine'i
frequentative of nene'i.
neke
to move out, to withdraw; he-neke eve, to move back, to retreat; ka-neke-atu koe, move out over there.
nekeneke
to limp.
nemo
to roam, to wander; tagata nemonemo, restless person, someone who keep moving house constantly.
nemunemu te kaúha
"(his) buttocks are restless". Said of people worried by a bad conscience, who fear that their misdeeds may become public. [Perhaps a misprint for nemonemo].
nene
  1. sweet; kai nene, good food.
  2. to shake, to tremble, to shiver; e-nene-á te rima o te tagata korohua. the old man's hands are shaking.
neneku
to pinch someone.
nenera
sleepy (used with eyes, mata, as subject): nenera-á te mata.
nero
children of both sexes who in ancient times lived isolated in two caves of Poike gully. Ana More Mata Puku was the boys' cave, Ana o Keke the girls' cave.
niau
to mew (of cat).
niganiga
to feel like eating something.
nihi, nihinihi, ninihi
arch, vault, arch-like, bow-shaped thing; te nihi o te ragi, celestial vault; the word is more often than not reduplicated: nihinihi, except when referring to a specific place; ka-iri ki te kona nihinihi era, go up that hillock (lit.: arch-shaped place); tua ivi nihinihi, hump; also used to describe the continual undulating movements of waves: ku-ninihi-á te vave; for persons bent over their work, one uses ninihi when referring to several, but nihinihi when referring to one; ku-ninihi-á te tagata e-aga-á, e-oka era, with their shoulders bent, these people work, making plantations; ai nihinihi era te vî'e i ruga i te umu, here is a woman bent over the oven; ku-ninihi-á te tagata era i ruga i te umu mo maoa mo to'o-mai i te kai, those men bend over the oven to open it and take out the food.
niho
tooth; niho tara, eye tooth, canine.
nikiniko
also: nokinoki, to wind, to meander.
nina'a
to be disgusted, put off by (food); ku-nina'a-á au i te kai ena, that food puts me off.
nini
to spin rapidly, for instance a top around its axle.
níniníni
to suffer from diarrhea.
ni'o
to keep a fire going by throwing firewood onto it; he-ni'o ahi, to put something on the fire to roast it; he-ni'o au, to smoke; mo taki o te kiko oru, moíra ana-ni'o au, to preserve pork, they smoke it.
nire
virgin girl.
nironiro
coiled, tangled; nironiro kokoma, guts, intestines.
niu
palm tree, coconut tree; hua niu, coconut.
niuhi tapaka'i
hammerhead shark (symbol of fierceness).
nivaniva
madman, idiot;
nó
just, only, merely, still; ka-oho-nô, just go! e-tahi nó i-ora-ai, only one survived; e-haúru-nó-á, he is still sleeping; e-aga nó, he just works (i.e. he always works).
noatu
no matter, never mind that…, although, even though; noatu te hoa-mai o te ûa, e-oho-nó tatou, even though it is raining, we'll still going.
noho
  1. to sit, to stay, to remain, to live (somewhere), to wait; ka-noho, you stay! (i.e. "good-bye", said by the person leaving).
  2. figuratively: he noho te eve, to be calm, at peace; he noho te mana'u, to concentrate on something, to fix one's attention on; ku-noho á te mana'u o te tagata ki ruga ki te aga, the man thinks constantly of his work.
nohoga
stay, sojourn; lifetime; times, ages, epoch: i te nohoga tûai era-á, in ancient times.
nohu
a fish (small, pink); poki rima nohu, nickname of those who catch only small fish like the nohu, and are incapable of catching big fish.
no'i
to lean.
nokinoki
to wind, to meander, e.g. of a path.
noma
to shine suddenly, like a flash of lightning.
nono
  1. any fish thrown onto the beach by the waves; lobster come out of the sea to die on the beach; any fish which jumps out of the water into a boat (except flying fish). They are seen as bad omens and are not eaten.
  2. exclamation: ko te nono! how awful, how horrible!
nono'i
to ask, to request.
nonoki
to wind, to meander in wider undulations than nokinoki above.
nonoma
very shiny, sparkling.
nónonóno
to weep: he-nónonóno te matavai.
nua
  1. mother; this seems a more ancient word than matu'a poreko.
  2. blanket, clothing, cape formerly made from fibres of the mahute tree.
nuahine
  1. old woman.
  2. Ko te Nuahine ká umu a ragi kotekote , ancient name of "the woman in the moon" inspired by the resemblance of its landscape with the likeness of a woman sitting, lighting the fire of her oven.
nui, nuinui
big, long, important, numerous; great size, greatness.
nukura mean
northwest wind.