Home Introduction Grammar English-Rapanui
a e g h haka i k m n o p r t u v
- tá,
- to tattoo ( = tatú), to tattoo pictures on the skin, also: he-tá ite kona, tá-kona.
- to weave (a net): he-tá i te kupega.
- 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.
- 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,
- 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.
- 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,
- to annoy someone with demands; ina koe ekó tagapoki-mai i a au, don't bother me with your demands.
- 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,
- side, edge; shore: taha-taha tai.
- 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,
- part of a tree or a plant level with the ground or below it;
- hidden or almost invisible part of something; te tahito o te ragi, the horizon.
- 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,
- ocean, sea (often used without an article); he-turu au ki tai hopu, I am going down to the sea to bathe.
- 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.
- 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?
- 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,
- to go to sleep (of a limb).
- 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,
- 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;
- to tie the ribbon or the cord (kotaki) of a loincloth (hami) in the same manner: he-take i te kotaki;
- 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.
- large root of the taro plant;
- in general, the uppermost part of trees and plants.
- takeo, cold, to feel cold, to grow cold.
- taki,
- 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.
- 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.
- 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,
- shoot (of plant), tama miro, tree shoot; tama tôa, shoot of sugarcane;
- poles, sticks, rods of a frame;
- sun rays;
- group of people travelling in formation.
- 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,
- to cook food in the earth oven.
- 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,
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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,
- 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.
- 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,
- thorn: tara miro.
- spur: tara moa.
- 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,
- to take from one place to another; he-tari-mai, to bring.
- 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,
- to wash something.
- 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,
- to hang;
- to perch (said of chickens on tree branches at night);
- tau kupega, rope from which is hung the oval net used in ature fishing.
- 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,
- year.
- 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,
- string, rope;
- taúra noke, man's belt.
- taúra rega, woman's belt, also: string hung from the neck used to carry something on the shoulder;
- 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.