Home Introduction Grammar English-Rapanui
a e g h haka i k m n o p r t u v
- ko,
- 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.
- koa,
- happiness, pleasure; to be happy; koakoa, to be very happy, very pleased.
- to rock a baby to quieten him. Also: hakakoa.
- koau, kokoe, see ko.
- kohau, 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; Pehé 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.
- kopuku, a fish.
- kora'e, forehead.
- korapú, 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.
- korua, you (plural).
- koruhi, west, west wind.
- kotaki, 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.
- ku, 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).