Home Introduction Grammar English-Rapanui
a e g h haka i k m n o p r t u v
- rá,
- there. Is used with prepositions: i rá, mai ra, ki rá.
- particle expressing doubt: koia rá who could that be?
- raá, sun; day; i te raá nei. today; raá îka, good day for fishing.
- ra'ara'a, very rough and rugged. Ko te Ra'ara'a name of part of the coast near Hanga Piko where it is difficult to walk through because of the many sharp rocks in the water.
- raau, medicine, remedy, drug.
- ra'a'u, scratch on the skin.
- ra'e, first (always follows the noun): te tagata ra'e, the first man; (the other ordinal numerals, second, third, etc., precede the noun. Translator's note: ra'e is likely the noun which means forehead, face, in other Polynesian language, e.g. Tahitian rae).
- raga,
- to run together, forming small lakes (of rainwater) ku-raga-á te vai.
- fugitive (in times of war or persecution); to take refuge elsewhere; to move house; homeless; poki poreko raga, child born while its parents were fugitives.
- said of fish swarming on the surface of the sea: he-raga te îka, ku-mea-á te moté, te nanue para..., you can see many fish, fish are swarming, mote, nanue para, etc....
- ragaraga,
- to float on the surface of the sea: miro ragaraga i ruga i te vai kava, driftwood floating on the sea.
- to move ceaselessly (of people), to pace back and forth ( te eve o te tagata); to be restless: e-ragaraga-nó-á te eve o te tagata, the man is nervious, worried, he paces back and forth
- e-ragaraga-nó-á te mana'u is said of inconstant, fickle people, who cannot concentrate on one thing: e-ragaraga-nó-á te mana'u o te ga poki; ta'e pahé tagata hônui, ku-noho-á te mana'u ki ruga ki te aga, children are fickle; they are not like serious adults who concentrate their work.
- ragi,
- sky, heaven, firmament; ragi moana, blue sky.
- cloud
- ragipuga, cumulus;
- ragitea, white, light clouds;
- ragi poporo, nimbus;
- ragi hoe ka'i cirrus (literally: like sharp knives);
- ragi viri, overcast sky;
- ragi kerekere, nimbus stratus;
- ragi kirikiri miro, clouds of various colours.
- to call, to shout, to exclaim.
- rago,
- stretcher.
- of two people, to lock arms together in order to carry a child or a sick person seated.
- to put poles at a certain height, so they can be used for holding things like garments or sweet potatoes to dry in the sun.
- raha,
- dandruff.
- to bend over, to bow.
- rahai, a fish, flat and roundish like a sole.
- rahau, to come just at the right time, unexpectedly. This word is little known today; it seems to be synonymous with the verb mana. Me'e nei he-hakarere au mo te matu'a, mo hakama'u. He-tu'u-mai te matu'a, he kî au; Ka-riva koe, i-rahau-mai-ena koe. I put this aside for the Padre, to send it to him later. And then here comes the Padre and I say to him: "Good! you are just in time."
- rahi, much, many: tagata rahi, many people; me'e rahi te ma'ea, there are many stones. This expression, me'e rahi , in often used in the meaning of "a great number or quantity".
- rahuga, leftovers from a meal, a feast: he-ma'u mai au te rahuga mo tooku matu'a, I'm taking the leftovers for my mother. (These are always small quantities).
- rahui, term equivalent to tapu , but very likely borrowed from Tahitian: to declare a place, or an object as taboo or sacred (rahui pera = tapu pera); to reserve a place or an object for the Ariki , making it forbidden to other people.
- ra'ira'i, thin, slim.
- ra'ira'i-ogo, a fish, with white, tasty flesh.
- raka, smooth, level, polished, without asperities, without roughness; ka raka te aga, let it be a perfect piece of work, with a smooth shape and surface.
- rakau, a plant.
- râkau, goods, property.
- rake, rakerake,
- bad, ugly, unjust; to turn nasty (of a situation); ku rakerake-á a haho a te tai, the sea has turned rough.
- to be abudant: ku rakerake-á te îka, there are lots of fish.
- rakerakega,wickedness.
- râkei,
- to adorn, to embellish, to dress, to tidy up; to season (food); e-râkei rivariva toou kahu, ana uru, tidy up your clothes well when you enter (someone else's house).
- to exercise diligence in getting, in obtaining: e-râkei koe e-tahi kiri va'e mooku, do get me a pair of shoes.
- rako,
- to make prayers, supplications for something: tagata rako ûa, those who, in ancient times, made supplications to Hiro (a divine being), asking for rain.
- to curse, to make curses to cause someone's death.
- group of experts, of master craftsmen involved in a work.
- raku, particle used with the negation ta'e, in the meaning of rascal, rogue, scoundrel: ta'e raku.
- rakuraku, to scratch, to scrape off: e rakuraku-á te uha, the hen is scratching the ground.
- Rakutia Maikuku Meamea, name of an ákuáku.
- rama, bunch of dry leaves used as a torch when lit (probably a Tahitian word).
- rana, sharp, pointed piece of obsidian used as a weapon.
- rano, volcano; crater and lake of a volcano; i-agataiahi i-hopu-ai i te rano, yesterday I bathed in the lake of the volcano.
- ranu, amniotic fluid, waters; he-pakakina te ranu, the waters break.
- rao, verb expressing rapid movement of the feet or of the hands; he-rao-mai te va'e, va'e ruga, va'e raro, he came running (literally: the feet move swiftly hither, feet up, feet down); he-rao te rima mo to'o mai, to snatch (lit.: the hands move swiftly to take hither).
- raohaga, footstep, step; e-tahi raohaga, e rua raohaga..., one step, two steps....
- raorao, to take too much, to grab avidly; kope raorao, unruly youngster who helps himself to anything he sees, or who comes to feasts uninvited.
- rapa,
- to shine; shiny, polished; he-rapa te moai miro, the wooden figurine is shiny, polished.
- emblem, badge of timo îka (person entrusted with putting a death spell on an assassin).
- rapahago, a fish.
- Rapahago, name of a spirit (akuaku), anciently considered as benevolent.
- raparapa, to dazzle; dazzled: he-raparapa te mata. Marîa raparapa, calm, smooth shiny sea.
- raperape, a large shrimp the size of a lobster.
- rapo, coloured clay: oone rapo.
- rapu,
- to weed a pasture; to prune bananas, sweet potatoes, etc., cutting off their superfluous leaves.
- to signal to someone with the hand; he-rapu ki te tagata mo oho mai, to signal to someone to come over. Tagata rapu rima o te vaka (o te miro), signaller of a boat. Ko Tuki te igoa o te rapu rima o te miro o Hotu Matu'a, Tuki was the name of the signaller of Hotu Matu'a's fleet.
- rapurapu, to give continual hand signals; to fan oneself; to swing, to flutter (of clothes in the wind): he-rapurapu te kahu i te tokerau.
- rara,
- side; rara mata'u, rara maûi , right side, left side.
- to scorch, to singe.
- to warm (clothing) near a fire so as to dry it: he-rara i te nua ki ruga ki te ahi mo hakapakapaka.
- to treat a wound: he rara ite haoa.
- Timo rara koreha, man in charge of drying a corpse (literally: eel) before burying it in the niche of an ahu.
- to investigate; he rara i te toke, to investigate a theft.
- of a judge, to deliver a sentence in a litigation, to make an arrangement between litigants: he rara, he hakarivariva i te taûa.
- rárá, rough.
- raraga,
- scorched part of something.
- iterative of raga, to float.
- to weave mats or baskets (using totora reeds or fibres of other plants).
- to report a crime; raraga i te toke, to report a theft.
- raraku,
- to scratch the ground, to score the ground (like hens do looking for food for their chicks); to dig for yams, sweet potatoes: he-raraku i te uhi, i te kumara.
- to score, to scratch; to carve a moai: he-raraku i te moai. The name of Rano Raraku (according to some: Rano a raruku) might possibly mean "Sculptor's Volcano", or "Raraku's Volcano" (Raraku would then be the name of a sculptor).
- rarama, to check, to examine, to inspect; e-rarama a au tooku hare, I am checking my house.
- rarapa, shining, sparkling; to shine, to sparkle.
- rarape, lobster's tail.
- rarerare, muddy (of ground): rarerare-á te oone.
- rara'u, scratch.
- rari, wet, to get wet.
- raro, bottom, bottom end, lower part; when used as a locative adverb, it is preceded by a preposition: a raro, down (lit.: along down); ki raro. downwards; mai raro, upwards (lit.: from down); o raro, lower (lit.: of down). When used with a noun the same preposition is repeated: ki ea-mai mai raro mai te rano, when coming up from the bottom of the crater.
- rau,
- (also: raupá) leaf of a plant, stem and leaves.
- hundred: e tahi te rau, e rua te rau, etc., 100, 200... Also seems to have been used in the meaning of "many". Tu'u henua rau, someone who has travelled to many countries (such were called in the 19th century natives who had travelled abroad, employed as sailors). Compare with: tai raurau-á riki.
- ra'u,
- to take something without the owner's permission; to seize something forcibly.
- ra'u maahu, ancient expression, literally: to appropriate the steam (maahu) of the food just taken out of an earth oven. It refers to intruders coming to help themselves uninvited. Warriors off to a battle used to be told: E ra'u maahu no koe, o pagaha'a! meaning: "Eat little, lest you be heavy (and lose your agility)."
- raûa, they.
- rauhiva, sickly. See also: ga rauhiva.
- rauoho, hair: rauoho puoko.
- raupá, leaf; raupá tôa, sugarcane leaves.
- ra'ura'u, to steal things of little value; to pilfer.
- rautú, barren (of soil): kaiga rautú, barren land, barren place.
- rava,
- enough, sufficient; ku-rava-á, that's enough, it is sufficient.
- to be satiated, to be satisfied; ku rava-á te tagata i te kai, the man has eaten his fill.
- used very commonly before verbs to express someone much inclined towards this action: tagata rava taûa, quarrelsome person; rava kai, glutton; rava haúru, sleepy-head; rava kî, chatterbox; rava tagi, cry-baby; rava keukeu, hard-working; vara is often used insteaf of rava.
- rava'a,
- to take, to get, to obtain, to pillage; ina kai rava'a, I didn't get anything.
- to pass, to go by (of time); ina ekó rava'a te ta'u ana-mate-ró, a year won't pass befor he dies; he rava'a e rua marama, two months went by.
- to pass, to happen; ekó rava'a (te me'e rake rake), let nothing bad happen to you (an expression of good wishes to someone).