Home Introduction Grammar English-Rapanui
a e g h haka i k m n o p r t u v
- vaai, to give (also: avai).
- vae, to choose.
- va'e, foot, leg; te va'e mata'u, te va'e maúi, right foot, left foot.
- va'e ruga, va'e raro, quick and light, without detour (lit.: foot up, foot down). Ka-oho koe ki a nua era va'e ruga va'e raro, ina ekó hipa-hipa, hurry straight to your mother, do not make any detours.
- va'e pau, misshapen foot, clubfoot.
- vaega, middle, centre; i vaega o, in the middle of.
- vaero, chicken's long tail feather; lobster's antenna (vaero ura).
- vaha, hollow; opening; space between the fingers (vaha rima); door cracks (vaha papare).
- vahavaha, to fight, to wrangle, to argue with abusive words.
- vahi,
- to separate, to part; ka-vahi, separate them; ku-vahi-ra-á, the separation has been done. O te Atua i-vahi-ai i te vai, i te henua, God separated the water from the earth.
- to pass (of the beginning of a season); ku vahi-á te toga, ku vahi-á te hora, winter is past its beginning, summer is past its beginning.
- vai, water, liquid, juice;
- vai tagata, semen, sperm (also:
- takatea);
- vai kava, saltwater, sea, ocean.
- vaiapuga, to be unsuccessful (when asking for a girl in marriage). I-vaiapuga-nó au, kai rava'a-mai te rega mo te poki, I was unsuccessful, I did not get the girl for my son. E-vaiapuga-nó tooku ara, i-oho-atu-ai hai kona uha, ina kai rava'a. My trip was useless, going to the girl's place, I didn't get her.
- vaiarega, celebration where men and women keep apart. Te me'e he koro vaiarega: e-tahi hiritoke o te hare mo te tagata, e-tahi hiritoke mo te ga vi'e, mo katikati i te ate-atua, i te rîu, ate rivariva. The festivals called vaiarega are this: one side in front of the house (built for the purpose of the feast) is for the men, the other is for the women, to practice ate-atua or rîu songs, which are serious, not frivolous, songs.
- vaihí, a tasty species of taro.
- vaiora, generous, munificent person; he vaiora tou tagata era, that man is a generous person.
- vairua,
- good fortune, good luck. o te vairua i rava'a-mai-ai-i tooku kahu, by a piece of good fortune I got myself some clothes.
- misfortune, bad luck; he uga koe e te maga i te vairua-á, you have been unlucky; o piría te vairua, so that no misfortune may happen to you. (Both expressions are ancient and almost unknown today).
- vaka, canoe, small boat; vaka ama, outrigger canoe.
- vaka-ivi, graves under ahu which hold skeletons (lit. "bone canoe").
- vaka-ure, to lay foundation stones in the outline of a canoe (e.g. for hare paenga); nowadays used in the more general sense, without reference to a special shape of outline.
- vakovako, rectangular; rectangle.
- vana, a sea-urchin, larger than the hatuke and with shorter, thinner spines.
- vanavana, radiate, said of any object with its parts radiating horizontally from a central axis, such as the feather hats on Thomson's Plate 54 [opens new window].
- ha'u vanavana belt adorned with multicolour feathers radiating out horizontally, used on occasion of important festivals.
Compare with:
- ha'u tara, ha'u teketeke the feathers of which stick out vertically.
- vánaga, to speak, to talk, to pronounce; conversation, talk, word, language; he vânaga i te vânaga rapanui, to speak Rapanui; vânaga reoreo, lies, lying words, falsehoods.
- vanavanaga, to talk at length; useless talk.
- varavara, to sow, to plant (seedlings) leaving adequete growing space between them.
- vare, spittle, drivel, any viscous liquid; viscous; vare mâmari, egg white; pipi-vare, slug.
- varegao,
- to have one's mouth water, to feel a consuming desire for, to crave (ki); ku varegao-á au ki te koreha, I have this sudden craving for eels;
- to crave, to desire, in a general sense: he-varegao ki te mee rakerake, to have evil desires, cravings.
- vari,
- menstruation, period (also: tiko).
- to tack, to veer (nautical); ku-vari-mai-á te miro, the boat arrives, have veered [around Rano Kau].
- varu,
- to cut one's hair (te puoko);
- to shave.
- to paint, to put on make-up: he varu te kiea.
- varua, spirit, soul; sleep, dream. This is a Tahitian word, but the same term may have been used in ancient times.
- varu a-roto, to have diarrhoea.
- vatavata, merry, happy; kope vatavata, poki vatavata, merry youngster, merry child, of smiling, pleasant temperament.
- vavae, to separate, to part, to be divided into groups; ku-vavae-á te tagata, the men are divided into several teams (see vae).
- vave,
- coastal wave (waves in the open sea are called pari).
- not yet (used in the imperative, following the verb); ina koe ekó oho-vave, ka-tiaki-no mai, don't go yet, wait for me.
- vavovavo, echo; to echo.
- vehi,
- song in someone's honour; ka-hoa-mai te vehi o te repa. sing us a song in our friend's honour.
- to form a circle, to sit in a circle;
- ku-vehi-á te ga kope, the youngsters are seated in a circle;
- ku-vehi-á te gogoro, the assistance is seated in a circle;
- ku-vehi-á te mahigo i tau raá tomo era te Matu'a the people formed a large circle on the day the Padre arrived;
- vehi-á te taro, the taros are planted in a circle.
- vekeveke, eyelash.
- vekuveku,
- wet (said of birds wet from the rain).
- disshevelled: ku-vekuveku-á te oho (oho, hair).
- messy, full of garbage (of houses); ku-vekuveku-á te hare, the house is a mess.
- veo, nail; to nail.
- vera, heat, hot, to feel hot; veravera, to burn, to be consumed. The following two terms are of obscure meaning: vera pipiro was said of person who did use face powder and vera hati was said of those did.
- vera-paka, scar; to heal (of scars).
- vere,
- to cut (plants).
- hair, beard;
- vere gutu, moustache;
- vere kukumu, whiskers, mutton-chops;
- vere kauva'e, beard;
- vere ha'iga (or haíga), armpit hair;
- vere puku, pubic hair.
- verepaka, moa gao verapaka, chicken with featherless neck .
- verevere, down, fine hairs; moa va'e verevere, chicken with feathers on its feet.
- verehiva, drizzle (also: ehu ûa).
- veretaûeve, servant, employee.
- veri,
- fly eggs.
- pretty; he-veri-nó te kope era, this youth is really pretty; ko te veri te vî'e, how pretty this woman is!
- veri arahu, scorpion.
- veri-gao, a sort of scarf made of human hair.
- veriveri, puddle, small pond; to get wet going through puddles; veri-veri-á te va'e, I got my feet wet.
- vero, to throw, to hurl (a lance, a spear). This word was also used with the particle kua preposed: koía kua vera i te matá, he is the one who threw the obsidian [weapon].
- verovero,to throw, to hurl repeatedly, quickly (iterative of vero) .
- veta, a seaweed.
- veti, neighbour; also seems to mean a stranger who has come to settle, an immigrant.
- veu, root of certain plants: veu kumara, veu uhi.
- veu te va'e, to run; ka-veu te va'e ruga, va'e raro, run as fast as you can.
- veveke,
- dragonfly.
- to arrive early; e-veveke koe; do come early. E-haaki koe i te gagata tupa o te rago mo veveke mai! Tell the stretcher-bearers to come early at dawn!
- vevete, to untie, to release.
- veveveve, to be in a hurry, to hurry; he-veveveve au mo oho ki te aga, I am in a hurry to get to work.
- vî'e, woman, female; matû'a vî'e, mother.
- Vî'e hoa, ancient name of a spirit of the other world..
- vihaviha, uninhabited, deserted, abandoned.
- viri,
- to wind, to coil, to roll up; he viri i te hau, to wind, coil a string (to fasten something).
- to fall from a height, rolling over, to hurl down, to fling down.
- viriviri, round, spherical (said of small objects).
- viviri te henua, to feel dizzy (also: mimiro te henua ).
- viví, partridge (modern onomatopoeia).
- vo'u, to raise shouts (te karaga); vo'u vo'u, to raise continual shouts or groans.
- vovo, girl, daughter (term of endearment used by parents to their daughters, brothers to their sisters, or more generally to any female).
- vuhi, water puddle; to get dirty; ku-vuhi-á (ku-vuhivuhi-á) te kahu, I got my clothes dirty.