T

tá
  1. to tattoo ( = tatú), to tattoo pictures on the skin, also: he-tá ite kona, tá-kona.
  2. to weave (a net): he-tá i te kupega.
  3. to shake something, moving it violently up and down and from one side to the other; he-tá e te tokerau i te maga miro, the wind shakes the branches of the trees; also in the iterative form: e-tá-tá-ana e te tokerau i te tôa, the wind continuously shakes the leaves of the sugarcane.
  4. to pull something up suddently, for instance, an eel just caught, dropping it at once on a stone and killing it: he-tá i te koreha.
taaku
my, mine. See the grammar for how to use this possessive pronoun and the difference with tooku.
taau
this, precisely this; apparently, it used to be a very common demonstrative in ancient times; he reoreo taau, this is not sure, it is a lie; o te aha koe i-ta'e-too-tako'a mai i taau? why haven't you taken this too for me?
ta'e
  1. negation used in conditional and temporal clauses: ana ta'e hoa te ûa, ina he vai, when it does not rain, there is no water. Also used with some verbal forms such as: o te aha koe i-ta'e-oho mai-ai? why didn't you come? Otherwise its use is limited to adjectives or verbal adjectives: tagata ta'e hupehupe, person who is not weak, hard worker; nohoga ta'e oti, endless existence, eternity.
  2. Interjection expressing admiration, always used with he: ta'e he tagata! what a man! Ta'e he aga! what a great job! Ta'e he tagata koe mo keukeu i te henua! what a good farmer you are!
taéa
to lace, to trim, to tie with bows [Spanish is lacear, perhaps a misprint for lacerar "to lacerate"].
taga
adolescent, youngster; moa taga, young chicken.
tagapoki
  1. to annoy someone with demands; ina koe ekó tagapoki-mai i a au, don't bother me with your demands.
  2. apprentice: ta'e au he tagapoki aau, I am not your apprentice (meaning: mind your own business).
tagata
man; human being in general; the plural is gagata.
tagataga
to be loose; niho tagataga, loose tooth. Ku-tagataga-á te manava, to feel hungry (familiar).
tagi
to cry, to weep, to moan; tatagi, to cry much; to cry loudly: he-tagi te karaga; tagata rava, tagi karaga, bawling, vociferous person.
taha
to lean; to go down (of the sun in the evening).
tahaga
adverb: without any particular reason, just like that.
taha-taha
  1. side, edge; shore: taha-taha tai.
  2. to move from side to side (of a boat), to swing.
tahe
fish sperm.
taheta
name of the concave stones used as water tanks in many of the ancient hare paega houses.
tahi
other; te tahi tagata someone else; te tahi hoki… and others again…; te tahi… te tahi…, some… others; te tahi atu, the rest of them.
tahitahi
to scrape with a sharpened stone.
tahito
  1. part of a tree or a plant level with the ground or below it;
  2. hidden or almost invisible part of something; te tahito o te ragi, the horizon.
  3. tahito kará quill; he-haha'u i te tahito kar† moa te kohou mo te tapani hahari, they used to tie chicken quills to sticks to make combs. combs.
tahoga
figurine made of wood or of stone, in the shape of a heart, which used to be worn on the chest.
tahu
to serve food to work helpers; to cook for work helpers on a daily basis; umu tahu , food taken home by a work helper he tahu mo te maori aga kupega, to cook for the fishnet-making experts.
tahua
sloping stone surface of ahu.
tahuga
to share out, to distribute (food, gifts); distribution; ka-tahuga i te kai, go distribute the food.
tahuri
of a new-born baby, to move from side to side: ku-tahuri-á te poki. This is one of the five words anciently used to describe a child's progress during the first months of its life. See also: mahaga, kaukau, puepue, tororo.
tahuti
to run, to hurry; e-tahuti-á te ragi, the clouds are hurrying by; ka-tahuti koe, ka rere te va'e, va'e ruga, va'e raro, hurry, let your feet fly, foot up, foot down.
tai
  1. ocean, sea (often used without an article); he-turu au ki tai hopu, I am going down to the sea to bathe.
  2. to be calm, good for fishing: he tai. There exists a surprisingly developed terminology for distinguishing the phases of the tides:
    • tai pâpaku, low tide;
    • ku-gúgú-á te tai, tide at his lowest, literally "the sea has dried up";
    • he-ranu te tai, when the water starts rising again; this is a strange expression, since ranu means "amniotic liquid," the breaking of the waters which precedes birth; in this phase of the tides the fish start coming out of their hiding places and swim to the coast in search of food;
    • tai hahati, rising tide
    • tai hini hahati, tide as it continues rising.
    • tai u'a, tai u'a parera, when the tide has reached its high.
    • tai hini u'a, tide all throughout its full phase.
    • tai hori, tide as it starts receding.
    • tai ma'u, tide during its decreasing phase, right until it becomes tai pâpaku again.
    • tai raurau a riki. the slight swell, or effervescence of the sea at a change or the moon.
  3. good spot for raising chickens; the stone chicken coops called hare moa, were built in places "tai moa". Ahé te tai o taau moa? whereabouts are the raising grounds of your chickens?
  4. song in general; song executed by a group of singers; ku-garo-ana i a au te kupu o te tai, I have forgotten the words of the song.
taía
to clap hands, to applaud; taía eve, a euphemism for sexual intercourse.
taîko
to fertilize; henua taîko mo oka o te kai, land fertilized for the sowing of staples.
taína
brother, sister; taína ké, cousin, or, more generally, close relative.
taitai
tasteless; said especially of sweet potatoes and other produces of the soil which do not taste good for being too watery; kumara taitai, watery, tasteless sweet potato.
taka, takataka
circle; to form circles, to gather, to get together (of people).
takapau
  1. to go to sleep (of a limb).
  2. shroud; he-viri te pâpaku hai takapau to wrap a corpse in a shroud. Such shrouds were made of woven totora or of nua mahute.
takapú
umu takapú, earth oven made for certain persons, such as the family of the deceased, or as an omen of good luck for certain people.
takatea
semen.
takatore
sea mollusc (Actinea), black, found sticking to the rocks of the coast; it is edible when cooked in water or in the earth oven.
takaúre
fly; horse-fly.
take
  1. to tie, in the ancient manner, the two upper extremities of the nua cape over a shoulder, or over the chest, using a slip-knot: he-take i te nua;
  2. to tie the ribbon or the cord (kotaki) of a loincloth (hami) in the same manner: he-take i te kotaki;
  3. to tie one's topknot (pukao) in the same manner, either with a ribbon or with a strand of one's hair: he-take i te pukao.
  4. large root of the taro plant;
    5. in general, the uppermost part of trees and plants.
takeo
cold, to feel cold, to grow cold.
taki
  1. to economize, to use sparingly; e-taki-ró-ana i taana kai o horou te pae, he uses his supplies sparingly so that they last longer.
  2. to spread a fishing net: taki kupega; anciently the expression he taki-ó te kupega (i.e. o te ákuáku) referred to places where spirits from the other world were believed to pass through (he ara o te ákuáku) and to spread nets, like on their beaches (he haga o te ákuáku) to catch their victims.
  3. bolt-rope, rope sewn into the edges of fishing nets.
taki eve
coccyx.
taki tu'uhaho
name which used to be applied to people who would wander far from their homes.
tako'a
also.
tama
  1. shoot (of plant), tama miro, tree shoot; tama tôa, shoot of sugarcane;
  2. poles, sticks, rods of a frame;
  3. sun rays;
  4. group of people travelling in formation.
  5. to listen attentively (with ear, tariga, as subject, e.g. he tama te tariga); e-tama rivariva tokorua tariga ki taaku kî, listen carefully to my words.
tamahahine
female;
tamahine ( = tamahahine)
female, when speaking of chickens: moa tamahine, hen.
tamâroa
male;
tano'a
a creeper (Ipomea pescaprae).
tanu
to cover something in the ground with stones or soil; to bury a corpse; tanu kopú, to bury completely; this expression is mostly used figuratively: ka-tanu kopú te vânaga tuai era, ina ekó mana'u hakaou, forget those old stories, don't think of them again.
ta'o
  1. to cook food in the earth oven.
  2. to denounce, to accuse someone.
taokete
brother-in-law, sister-in-law.
taomi
to roast something, sweet potatoes for instance, on the stones being heated for the earth oven, so as to give the children something to eat in advance.
taoraha
whale.
tapa
  1. side, corner, edge; he-hakarere a te tapa, to leave aside, to abandon; a te tapa mata'u o te haga, on the right-hand side of the bay.
  2. tapa mahute, piece of mahute material; this term is very common nowadays, but it seems probable that it was borrowed from the Tahitian in replacement of parehe mahute.
  3. to recount the years, the months; to recount happenings of many years ago, in verses called manu,in which a murderer confided his crime to his victim's relatives; the murderer himself asked a brother or a friend to compose those verses: e tapa koe itooku manu, compose my manu. The expression tapa ite manu was also used of a group of people expressing the desire to kill someone.
  4. tagata tapa ta'u, according to traditions, this term referred to the scribes who recorded births on the tablets.
tapani
comb: he-haha'u i te tahito kará moa te kohou mo te tapani hahari, they used to tie chicken quills to sticks to make combs. combs.
tapatea
a variety of eel. See also koreha puhi, haoko, migo.
tapau
  1. lead weight used in fishing; in ancient time this was a smooth, ball-shaped stone, with a groove around its circumference to tie a string.
  2. liquid from the bark of banana trees.
tapona
shoulder blade.
tapu
holy, sacred, forbidden, taboo, off-limits; to declare holy, forbidden, taboo, off-limits. he-tapu te pera, to declare a burial ground taboo.
tapuraki
cowlick.
taputapu
to pace up and down.
tara
  1. thorn: tara miro.
  2. spur: tara moa.
  3. corner; te tara o te hare, corner of house; tara o te ahu, corner of ahu;
tarai
to carve, to sculpt (wood).
tarake
maize (modern word).
tarakuero
a fish.
Tare
a spirit from the other world, considered benevolent and whose name was associated with that of Rapahango: ko Tare Rapahago, Tare and Rapahango. According to the beliefs of the ancients, he would appear in houses to chat, to bring gifts of food, to help etc.
tari
  1. to take from one place to another; he-tari-mai, to bring.
  2. upper end of the sugarcane, which was used in military training as a harmless weapon.
tariga
ear; tariga pogeha, tariga pó, sordo; tariga maîka, bunch of bananas.
taro
taro (Colocasia esculenta). Some varieties are: taro harahara hiva, taro teatea, taro vai ho iti, taro pia, taro tui ko vero, taro ketu aga mea, taro gaatu apó, taro guhu haha tea, taro magó, taro ketu takarua, taro ketu tuvítuví, taro vaihí, taro harahara rapanui, taro horehore tapatea, taro kape.
taropa
basket, larger than the one called kete.
tarotaro
to curse.
tarupu
to restrain something or someone firmly, for instance, to restrain a child from leaving; to make firm, to give strength to something.
tarúrirúri
to swing, to move from side to side.
tata
  1. to wash something.
  2. to go; he-tata-mai, to come, to appear, to show up.
tátá
see tá.
tá-tá-vena-vena
ancient witching formula.
tatake
to argue, to quarrel, to have a dispute.
tataki
vagina.
tataku
to count, to calculate, to bear someone in mind.
tatari
of hens, to go about with their chicks: he-tatari i te maaga. (also: hakatari, hakatatari).
tatau
to squeeze, to wring wet clothing.
tatou
we (inclusive, i.e. you and us; we, excluding you, is matou).
tatú
to tattoo (also: tá).
tau
pretty, lovely; ka-tau! how pretty!
tau, tautau
  1. to hang;
  2. to perch (said of chickens on tree branches at night);
  3. tau kupega, rope from which is hung the oval net used in ature fishing.
  4. rock on the coast, taller than others so that something can be deposited on it without fear of seeing washed it away by the waves; hakarere i ruga i te tau, to place something on such a rock.
ta'u
  1. year.
  2. he-hoa ite ta'u,, to confess to a crime committed long ago, by publishing it in the form of a kohau motu mo rogorogo (rongorongo tablet).
táû
to carry out military exercises, wargames; he-táû i te taû'a to do military maneuvres; taûtaga, militia of young men training for war.
taûa
you and me.
taû'a
war, battle, combat; enemy, warrior, group of combatants, army; taû'a taútaga, battle between youngsters training for war; te îka o te rua taû'a. the enemy of the other army.
taûaki
to leave something in the sun to let it dry; he-taúaki te ivi, to dry the skeleton in the sun before burying it.
tau a mimi
bladder.
tauate
elder son (also: poki atariki).
taueve
lid made of leaves or grass, put on top the earth oven to retain the heat and the steam and ensure proper cooking.
taupoto
short.
taúra
  1. string, rope;
  2. taúra noke, man's belt.
  3. taúra rega, woman's belt, also: string hung from the neck used to carry something on the shoulder;
  4. to become entangled; he-tapu te ara roa o te hanau tama o taúra te poki they forbid pregnant women to take long walks, lest the baby gets entangled [in the umbilical cord].
tauroa
long.
tauromi
to knead, to massage.
tavake
sea bird, white, with rosy tail; its feathers were used to decorate hats and belts.
tavatava
pale.
taviri
to turn around.