P

pe: (also: pa) like, as, similar to; he-mana'u Makemake mo aga i te tagata mo tu'u pe îa, Makemake thought about creating man in his own image (lit.: similar to him); requires the use of the article he when not followed by a pronoun: pehe me'e ena, for instance, suppose for instance that…; pehe me'e ena, he-moe ki te tagata e-tahi, suppose for instance that you get married. Pehé? how? Pehé koe? how are you? Pehé rá? how is that, how can it be? Pehé-peira, likewise, in the same manner; penei, pená, peira, thus; pemu'a, henceforth, in future;

towards, in the direction of: pe Vaihú, towards Vaihu.
pea, peapea: to go away with bits of food or mud sticking to one's face or garments.
pe'epe'e: to feel exhausted, worn out, ill-treated.
pegopego: thick (of garments); to wrap oneself up in thick clothing; kahu pegopego, thick clothing.
pehiva: to leave the coast, out at sea: ku-pehivá, it is already way from the coast.
pehiva-á: interjection: if only, would to God, I wish that…: pehivá-á koe ana-oho-ró ki Tahiti, if only you could go to Tahiti!
pei: grooves, still visible on the steep slopes of some hills, anciently used as toboggans. People used to slide down them seated on banana-tree barks. This pastime, very popular, was called pei-âmo.
pe'i: a fish.
pekapeka: starfish.
peke: to bite (of fish or lobster pecking at fishhook).

to repeat an action: he-peke te rua; ina ekó peke-hakaou te rua don't you do it a second time; ina ekó peke hakaou-mai te rua ara, don't come back here again.
penapena: to arrange the firewood for the fire to catch when preparing to cook in the earth oven.
pene, peneharatua: belt.
pepa, peparere: butterfly.
pepe: seat.
pepeke: to be chilled to the bone; he-pepeke i te takeo; to catch a cold.

to grow stunted (of plants), to wither because of cold weather: he-pepeke te kumara i te toga, [the leaves of] the sweet potato wither in winter.

person unworthy of trust, for being a liar and a petty thief: he-pepeke, me'e reoreo; he-pepeke me'e ra'ura'u.
pera: cemetary, taboo precinct.
pere: in singing festivals such as the êi, the line formed by the male singers, behind the seated women.
pia: a plant, resembling pua, but with white tubers (pua is yellow).

a banana, also formerly called maîka pia.
piere: thousand; ka-piere, ka-piere, thousands and thousands (meaning: many, lots and lots).
pige'i: chicken tail feathers; the longer ones are called vaero, the shorter pige'i.
pigoa: small cave, rat hole: pigoa kio'e.
pihi: time period (10 years according to some informants); to expire, to end (of a period of time); ku-pihi-á te ta'u, the year has ended.
pikea: crab; some varieties are tutu au, tura moa, vitiviti, paki-maroa.
piki: to climb a steep slope.

to contaminate, to infect, to pass on (a disease); e-ûi koe o piki-mai. be careful not to get infected.
pikipiki: frizzy, curly; puoko pikipiki (more correctly: rauoho pikipiki), curly, frizzy hair.
piko: to twist (vi); twisted, bent. haga piko, bend formed by part of the coast.

to hide (vi); hidden; kahi piko, tuna fish meant as a gift for someone, and which is kept hidden away from others. See na'a to hide (vt).

slip knot (used with fishing lines).
pikona: hiding place (possibly a misprint for pikoga).
pikopoko'o: traitor; person who hands over (poko'o) to the enemy someone who has gone in hiding (piko), taking asylum in his house or in his cave.
pini: nook, corner of a house, of a cave, etc.
pinipini, pipini: to become crumpled, wrinkled (of garments).
pi'opi'o: sweet juice of banana flowers.
pipi: bud, sprout; to bud, to sprout; ku-pipi-á te tumu miro tahiti, the trunk of the miro tahiti has sprouted.

a small shellfish, common on the coast.
pipihoreko: cairn, milestone.
pípipípi: mix of dark and white spots; moa pípipípi, chicken with multicoloured spots.
pipi vare: a slug.
piri: to join (vi, vt); to meet someone on the road; piriga, meeting, gathering.

to choke: he-piri te gao.

ka-piri, ka piri, exclamation: "So many!" Ka-piri, kapiri te pipi, so many shellfish! Also used to welcome visitors: ka-piri, ka-piri!

ai-ka-piri ta'a me'e ma'a, expression used to someone from whom one hopes to receive some news, like saying "let's hear what news you bring."

kai piri, kai piri, exclamation expressing: "such a thing had never happened to me before". Kai piri, kai piri, ia anirá i-piri-mai-ai te me'e rakerake, such a bad thing had never happened to me before!
piripiri: a slug found on the coast, blackish, which secretes a sticky liquid.
piriu: a tattoo made on the back of the hand.
piro: stench, smell of putrefaction.

pus; to suppurate: he-piro te harakea, the boil is suppurating.
pitipiti: weak (of knees): ku-pitipiti-á te turi o te korohua.
pito: umbilical cord; navel; centre of something: te pito o te henua, centre of the world. Ana poreko te poki, ina ekó rivariva mo uru ki roto ki te hare o here'u i te poki; e-nanagi te pito o te poki, ai ka-rivariva mo uru ki roto ki te hare, when a child is born one must not enter the house immediately, for fear of injuring the child (that is, by breaking the taboo on a house where birth takes place); only after the umbilical cord has been severed can one enter the house.

also something used for doing one's buttons up (buttonhole?).
po: night; to get dark, to fall (of night): he-po, it is getting dark. Formerly used, with or without raá, in the meaning of a whole day: po tahi, one day; katahi te kauatu marima po, fifteen days; po tahi raá, first day of the week; po rua raá, po toru raá, second, third day, etc.

alone or aspo nui , used to express the idea of good luck, happiness. He-avai-atu au to'ou po, I wish you good luck (when taking leave of someone). Very common was this parting formula: aná po noho ki a koe! good luck to you!
po-á: morning; i te po-á, in the morning; i te po-era-á, very early in the morning.
poá: to touch (hai rima, hai va'e, with the hands, with the feet).

to tie a boat.
po-ará: quickly, rapidly, swiftly: he-iri po-ará, go up quick; he-ta'o itau umu era po-ará, he cooked it quickly.
po-e-mahina: formerly used of sleep-walkers (haha a po).
poepoe: flat-bottomed boat; poepoe hiku reoreo, boat with flat (snub-nosed) poop and prow.
poga: nose (also: ihu).
pogeha: noise, racket, hubbub; to make a noise, a racket. ina koe ekó pogeha-mai, don't break my ears; tariga pogeha, deaf person (also tariga po).
poha: the four feathers which chickens and other birds have in the extremity of the forearm of their wings (pinions?).
pohahá: dark; dark night; figuratively: forgotten; ka-hakarere te me'e nei a te kona pohahá. forget this, do not mention it again (lit: abandon this in a forgotten place).

te pohahá o te mata, shortsightedness, myopia.
pohi: to shout, to challenge, to threaten; ka-pohi ki te ga poki, ina ekó pogeha, tell the children not to make a noise.
pohutu: dirty, filthy: pohutu-á te kahu o te poki rava kori i te oone, the clothes of a child who always plays on the ground are dirty.

larva of dragonfly, also called pohutu tere vai magaro (because it swims in freshwater). Certain small stone figurines were also called pohutu.
poíhoího: prow of boat.
poki: son, daughter; in wider sense: nephew, niece, child in general. Poki atariki, eldest child, first-born; poki hagupotu, youngest child; poki hâgai, adopted child.
pokino: place of squalor, of extreme poverty, of darkness.
poko: fragrant; to smell, to give off a smell: he-poko te eo, it gives off a pleasant smell.

to hunt, to catch with a trap, to snare. He-kî e Tori: maaku-á e-ea ki te manu, e-poko i te po i ruga i te opata. Tori said: I shall go and catch birds at night, up on the cliff.

thunder (also hatutiri).
poko, pokopoko: hollow, hole, depression, any deep, concave object; to leave in a hole, in a depression.
pokoga: chasm; summit.
pokohata: female rat: kio'e pokohata.
poko'o: to hand over (in war times) a refugee to the enemy (also pako'o).
pokopoko: woman bent under the weight of her years: vî'e pokopoko.
pona: to tie fishing nets in a circle (called tutu kupega).
po'oi: to raise chickens; vî'e po'oi. woman dedicated to chicken-raising.
po'opo'o: a fish (according to some: Trachurus symmetricus).
po-ora: snack eaten at night (sometimes during the day) outside normal eating hours.
popo: to put something into something else, for instance, stones in a boat before going fishing.

to enter, to go in; he-popo-mai kiroto ki te hare, he enters the house.

bundle, bag made of leaves; to make a bundle, a parcel, to leave something in a bundle, a parcel.
pôpo: ball; to make small balls: kete pôpó ki'ea, small basket with balls of coloured earth.
popohaga: to dawn; he-popohaga, dawn breaks (one does not say: i te popohaga, but: i te po-á).
poporo: a plant (Solanum forsteri); poporo haha, a sort of golden thistle.
pora: buoy made of totora reeds formerly used to swim to Motu nui.

large basket for keeping things: he-to'o i te pora kai kiroto ki te ana, he took a basket of food to the cave.
poreko: to be born; to give birth;
porekoga: birth, parturition.
poremo: to rub out, to erase; to become erased, to be rubbed out; poremo-á te ki'ea i te úa, the ki'ea powder has been rubbed out by the rain.

to be hungry; poremo-á te tagata hai kai mo kai, the man feels hungry for food.
poriko: liar, cheat; to trick, to deceive.
poro, poroporo: to chip (vt), to nick, to notch; chips, nicks, dents, splits, gaps, breaks; hoe poro, broken knife, with nicks; poroporo, blunt; poroporo hata, nicks or notches on the edge of something.
pororeko: to slip; slippery.
porou: special gift. According to ancient custom, a gift of very special meaning made by grandchildren to their grandparents, by nephews and nieces to their aunts and uncles, by sons and daughters-in-law to their parents-in-law, sometimes when they are still living, sometimes on the day of their death, in which case the gift is deposited on the corpse. This gift is always accompanied by the express declaration that it is meant as a "porou," and not a mere gift, and is a sign of gratitude, of union between giver and recipient, and a token of perpetual memory. Those who receive a "porou" do not keep it for themselves, but give it to close relatives, parents, spouses, sibling; a woman gives it to her husband or his close relatives, a man to his wife or her close relatives.
potahi: to get erased, rubbed out, to run off, said of the coloured earth (ki'ea) anciently used to powder or paint oneself: ku-potahi-á te ki'ea i te rima (i te ûa, i te paahia). the ki'ea was rubbed off by hand (ran off in the rain, in perspiration).
poto, potopoto: short; ara poto, shortcut; he-poto te hagu, short breath, to have difficulty breathing.
potu: small stick (toothpick?); extremity or remainder of something.
pou: post, vertical stake of wood or stone, coastal landmark, for instance a high rock used for orientation (in front; one by the side is called tapa atua).

Te pou, Sirius (in the constellation of Canis Major).

chickens' middle toe.
poukura: chickens' short, multicoloured feathers.
pouo: anciently, a hat made of totora reeds.
poúrí: see pohahá.
pú: to come forward to greet someone met on the road; to walk in front, to go in front: ka-pú a mu'a, let them go first.

pú a mu'a, to intervene, to come to someone's rescue; he-pú-mai a mu'a, he-moaha, he came to my rescue and saved my life.

ancient expression: ai ka-pú, ai ka-pú, tell us frankly what you think.

hole, opening, orifice; well; circumference, rotundity; swirling water; pú-haga, vaginal orifice; pú-henua (also just henua), placenta. He pú henua nó te me'e aau, he-oti-á; ina-á me'e ma'u o te rima i-topa-ai koe, a placenta was all you had, it is a past thing now; you held nothing in your hands when you were born (stern words said to children to make them realize that they must not be demanding, since they were born naked and without possessions).

to dig out (tubers): he-pú i te uhi, to dig out yams.
pua: a zingiberacea (plant of which few specimens are left on the island).

flower: pua ti, ti flower pua taro, taro flower pua maúku pasture flower; pua nakonako, a plant which grows on steep slopes and produce red, edible berries.

pua tariga (or perhaps pu'a tariga), anciently, hoops put in earlobes.

the nanue fish when young and tender.
pu'a: (modern form of pu'o), to cover up something or oneself, to put on; ka-pu'a te ha'u, put on your hat; ka-pu'a-mai te nua, cover me up with a blanket.

to respond to the song of the first group of singers; to sing the antistrophe; he-pu'a te tai.

to help; ka-pu'a toou rima ki a Timo ite aga, help Timothy with the work.

pu'a-hare, to help a relative in war or in any need; ka-oho, ka-pu'a-hare korua, ko ga kope, go, give you relative a hand, lads.

to speak out in someone's favour; e pu'a-mai toou re'o kia au, speak in my favour, intercede for me.
puapua: summit, top, upper part; te puapua o te maúga, the top of the mountain; te puapua kupega, the upper part of a fishing net.
pu'apu'a: to hit, to beat.
puaka: cow, bull, bovine (modern word).
puepue: said of a newborn baby when, a few weeks old, it begins to distinguish people and objects: ku-puepue-á te poki.
puga: a coral.
puga, pugapuga: grown, mature but not yet ripe; fat, full, chubby; ariga pugapuga. full, chubby face; maîka puga, fully developed banana, but not yet ripe (ku-oko-á te maîka); ragi pugapuga, bulky clouds, cumulus.
pugaehu: covered in dust; dust in the air.
puhapuha: to rise (of the sea, flooding the land).

to grow fat (of animals).
puhi: to blow; to light a fire; to extinguish, to blow out; he-puhi te umu, to light the fire for the earth oven.

to fish for lobsters at night using a bait (but during the day one calls it hî); puhiga, night fishing spot.
puhia: (also kopuhia), to fly about, like ashes in the wind.
puhiga Orogo: southeast wind which blows from Orongo.
pukao: bun, topknot, the hair itself done in a bun.
puke: to earth or bank up: puke i te oone; he puke i te uhi , to earth up the yams.

to pile up, heap up stones or other objects

anciently an artificial hillock for children to race around: te puke mimiro.
pukou: to rise up (of a smell).

to escape (of a fugitive); he-pukou, he-tere, he escapes, he runs away.
puku: to feel an urge to defecate or to urinate, etc.: ku-puku-á te mimi: to need to urinate.

rock, boulder: puku ma'ea; puku oone, hillock, earth mound;

puku tagata, pubis.
puku-ine: to get stuck in the oesophagus (of food).
pukupuku: joints, bones of a joint; pukupuku rima, wrist bones; pukupuku va'e, ankle.
pukuraga: followers, disciples, students.
puna: water hole, well (natural or artificial).
puneki: running knot, slipknot.

to escape, to slip out of (said of a chicken out of the the coop, of a prisoner out of his prison).

to break out (of boils): he-puneki te harakea.

to form, to break out (of bruises from blows) he-puneki te uri o te hakari (body bruises), te uri o te mata (black eye).
punene: full to the brim.
puni, punipuni: to become blunt; toki puni, blunt axe.
punua: of hens, to peck at the eggs to help the chicks break free; manu punua, newly hatched bird.
pu'o: (also pu'a); pu'o nua, one who covers himself with a nua (blanket), that is to say, a human being.
pu-ohirohiro: waterspout.
puoko: head; tagata puoko hiohio, hard-headed, opinionated person.

skull (also: pakahera puoko).
pupa: nest.

to be chilled to the marrow: he-pupa i te takeo.
pupuhi: cheek.
pupupa: line from which hangs the kupega ature, a round or oval fishing net.
pupura: the part of the sugarcane or of the ti plant which is cut off and planted again: pupura tôa, pupura ti.
pupura rautoa: saltwater millipede.
pupure: freckle; freckles (also: guregure).
pura: to turn white; glow, brilliance; he-pura te mata, the eyes twinkle (said of someone who looks at something with great interest).
pura pura: descendent; koau he purapura o Miru, I am a descendent of the Miru tribe.
pure: cowrie (Cypraea caput draconis); pure vaka , another type of cowrie, which can float on the sea like a diminutive boat (vaka).
pu-reirei-hua: to touch one's penis with intention to masturbate.
pureva: rock, stone (small enough to be thrown by hand).
purína: a plant (verbenacea).
puru: to lock up (a person or an animal); to protect oneself with a shield: he-puru hai papae; to protect one's eyes with a sort of goggles: puru mata (when diving for fish).
putití: to blister (of the skin, from burns) ku-putití-á te kiri i te ahi.

wind, flatulence; he-putiti te eve , to fart.
putu, putuputu: of plants, to grow thickly, very close together, with hardly any space in between.