Home Introduction Grammar English-Rapanui
a e g h haka i k m n o p r t u v
- 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,
- to gnaw (of rats).
- 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,
- 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.
- 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,
- marrow.
- 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,
- 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.
- 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,
- intruder, suspicious person; ku-tu'u-mai-á te nanai-á i agapó, an intruder came in here last night.
- 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,
- chin-strap; he-nave hai hau i te ha'u, to secure one's hat with a thong (in way of a chin-strap).
- 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,
- to increase in number; he-nego te mahigo, the family has grown.
- to be much: nego-á, it's a lot.
- 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,
- to defecate.
- 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,
- sweet; kai nene, good food.
- 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,
- to sit, to stay, to remain, to live (somewhere), to wait; ka-noho, you stay! (i.e. "good-bye", said by the person leaving).
- 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,
- 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.
- 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,
- mother; this seems a more ancient word than matu'a poreko.
- blanket, clothing, cape formerly made from fibres of the mahute tree.
- nuahine,
- old woman.
- 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.