o o interjection
oh! expression of surprise
O, ebele piene, mwalik' iote i-bu!Oh, really! Someone just died!
~oburo (i·)oᵐburo
Lvn~lebure
Tnm~vilada bura
Averb, intransitive
sing
Kape ba-woi okoro, bai-oburo, dapa na kape le-mako i-ka.The two of us will play bamboos and sing, while they will come dancing.
Bverb, transitive
sing ‹a song, buro
Ngele nga i-ko i-oburo buro ae pon, kape i-obur’ i-le.Whoever wants to sing a song, they can go ahead and sing.
~odo (i·)oⁿdo verb, transitive
Lvn~eke
Tnm~akado
seek, look for ‹s.o., s.th.›
Ni-odo eo i-le ra bogo, ia eo a-te tae.I looked for you on and on till night, but you weren't there.
Le-le ne touro li-odo aero?Shall we go to the reef shore and look for seashells?
Et’ aidi li-odo uko ñe basa damiliko iadapa.The mothers are looking for lice in their children's hair.
Li-le li-odo ka li-sune tae.treasurePeople have searched for it, but never found it.
see~sunefind
oi oi interjection
Lvnoi
Tnmoi
Oh! interjection coding for surprise
Oi! Ebel' ini (me)!Wow, that's wonderful!
Oi! Somu tamwase!Hey, that's very far!
synonymei
oie oie noun, relational
Lvnaie
Tnmaie
1treecentral part, trunk
oie balethe trunk of a breadfruit tree
seeutelebase
2s.o.size of body, stoutness
Oie ini aplaka.[her stoutness is small] She is slim.
Oie ini tae.[she has no stoutness] She is skinny.
Oie ini ka wako.[her size is good now] She has put on weight now.
see~karaugrow stout
okae okae noun
Birds
Striated heron, Mangrove heronButorides striatus.
seeoveneheron
oko oko noun
POc*qauR
bamboo
📘 Shorter variant of okoro, used in some compound forms.
oko mwaliko noun
Flora
male bambook.o. bambooBambusa spp.
oko woko noun
Flora
k.o. bambooBambusa spp.
okoro okoro noun
Lvnokaure
Tnmbulnira
POc*qauRbamboo
poss. classifierenaka
Flora
1bambooBambusa spp.
mulusa okorobamboo knot
okoro moli noun
Flora
empty (?) bamboovariety of bambooBambusa spp.
okoro mulusa pine noun
Flora
large-internode bamboovariety of bamboo, larger and strongerBambusa spp.
2name of certain artefacts made of bamboo
Li-panade okoro awoiu li-si telemwoe peini mwoe.You split the bamboos, and then you make the wallings of your house.
synonymjokoro
Music
3a heavy bamboo, used as a stamping tube. Singers of buro bula okoro ‘bamboo songs’ stamp (~woi) the bamboo on the ground, thereby producing a deep sound as they sing along
buro bula okoro song genreSongs for Bamboos
Le-woi okoro awoiu l-oburo i-katau.They pound bamboos, and then they sing along.
derivative~woi okoro
4espa traditional knife made of bamboo; hence (modern) knife; bushknife, machete
Ni-aka okoro ne ero.I washed the knife in the river.
okoro aplaka noun
Lvntoki
Tnmtoki
small knifemetal knife, esp. used for cooking, peeling, etc.
I-ta balawe ñe okoro aplaka.He's peeling a pineapple with a small knife.
📘 It is called ‘small knife’ by comparison with the ordinary bushknife or machete.
olaekuo olaekuo noun
Tnmwawe
Anatomy
tendon, nerve
olawo olawo noun
Sea
gencoralAcroporidae spp.
ole ole noun
Lvnpwanteka
Tnmonola
POc*qone
1sand
Nara ole i-somoli!Make sure it's not damaged by the sand.
Va li-tabulu dapa ne ole.children playingThey roll in the sand.
seetanoe
2area covered by sand; esp. sand beach
pwama olealong the beach
Ini i-le i-katau ole.He was walking along the beach.
synonymnom’ olebeach
~oma (i·)oma verb, intransitive
Tnm~oma
Fishing techniquesLi-iui teuko
teuko fishing equipment
naka teuko ; jokoro▻② fishing rod
iula teuko fishing line
kangele teuko fish hook
~ioi teuko ; ~katei ⓑ go angling
~mede lure, bait ‹fish›
temounu bait
pele fishing net
~makui practice underwater fishing
tepao a spear
~ago spear ‹fish›
nuduro ②▻① scareline for fishing
~lui nuduro fish with scareline
genfish or forage for seafood
Le-le tetake ne touro l-oma!Let's walk to the shore and find some seafood.
ome1 ome adjective
head hairfrizzy
Viabasa ini ome.She has frizzy hair.
antonymero ③long, soft hair
ome2 ome noun
vine; string
synonymtero
synonymtenuro
one one possessive classifier
Lvnanga
Tnmie
Morphology of the Kin classifierone
one of me
of you
iape ② of him/her
akia ② of you and me
aba ② of me and him/her
amela ② of you two
ada ② of them two
akapa ② of us (Incl.)
upa ② of us (Excl.)
aipa ② of you
adapa ② of them
ie ② of X
Grammar
my (relative): form of the possessive classifier used for kin terms with a 1st singular possessor
et’ onemy mother
ai’ onemy father
uk’ onemy uncle
lek’ onemy cross-cousin
contrasts withenone
contrasts withenaka
ono ono possessive classifier
Lvnami
Tnmei
Grammar
your (food+): form of the possessive classifier used for food, tools, customary possessions etc. (enaka*), with a 2 singular possessor (see eo)
Ni-mumu none ono.I wish I had your food.
Ni-la piene ono.I’m recording your language.
Buka ono po tivi?Your notebook, how much (did it cost)?
see lexical list atenaka
onole onole noun
Tnmanala
POc*kanase
Fish
Bluespot mulletValamugil seheli.
onoro onoro noun
Tnmonara
POc*qonos
Fish
BarracudaSphyraena genie.
onoro woro noun
smaller variety of barracuda
onpuro onpuro noun
Fish
Green JobfishAprion virescens.
~opogo (i·)opoᵑgo verb, intransitive
jump, leap
Ini i-opogo i-le i-vio re, ne lema aero ne makone pon.He jumped in, and stood in inside the dancing fence.
ote ote noun
POc*qatop
Flora
sago tree: shorter form of otovo, used in some compoundsMetroxylon warburgii.
ba otestem of sago palm
waluko ote [sago bole] k.o. drum
otelo otelo noun
Birds
Royal AlbatrosDiomedea epomophora.
otovo otovo noun
Lvnwalue
Tnmvaove
POc*qatop
Flora
1sago tree (Arecaceae)Metroxylon warburgii.
Velebie peini otovo, peini melevele pine.Sago starch is good in case of a major famine.
uie otovosago leaves
synonymote
otovo kangilo noun
Flora
variety of sago tree, characterised by a smaller trunk and smooth leaf sheathsMetroxylon warburgii.
otovo kotekote noun
Lvnole
Tnmvaove goe
Flora
spiny sagovariety of sago tree, characterised by a larger trunk and spiny leaf sheathsMetroxylon rumphii.
Otovo kotekote, utele pine.Spiny sago trees have large bases.
2metonsago leaves, esp. used for roofing houses
~wete otovo [lit. pin sago] put together a set of sago leaves, in preparing the roofing
sodo otovo thatch of sago leaves
3metonthatch, roof of a house, typic. made of sago leaves
Otovo iupa ka tamwaliko, pi-tabo pi-wete kula motoe.Our roofing has been damaged, we are making [lit. pinning] a new one.
Okoro 'naka i-vio ne otovo iu tae?Can you see my knife, hanging from the roof?
~ou (i·)ou verb, intransitive
Lvn~arai
Tnm~oko
dogbark
Kuli i-ou pe bogo.The dog is barking because it's night.
ova ova noun
steam
ova revosteam of sea water (on fire)
Pon kaiawo tae, ova revo.That's not smoke, that's steam.
~ovei (i·)ovei
Lvn~lonei
Tnm~wo
Averb, transitive
1know ‹s.o., s.th.›; be aware (that, ~ko ② ⓑ▻③)
Ai-ovei Cindy?Do you know Cindy?
Ai’ one i-ovei piene Tetevo.My father knows the language of Utupua.
Ni-ovei ni-ko ngatene abia teve eo.I know you have a lot of work.
antonym~muinot know, forget
2dynamicunderstand, recognise
Basavono po kape awoiu, dapa li-ovei.And when that was finished, people began to understand.
Li-ovei li-ejau anoko iadapa.They recognised [lit. knew well] their itinerary.
3know how to; hence be able (to, pe ②▻③)
Ini i-ovei pe i-vete piene ñe piene adapa Teanu.He can speak Teanu.
Ai-ovei pe u-vi jokoro?Do you know how to play the panpipe?
Li-ovei pe li-tomoe, li-ovei pe li-tabo li-ka, nga ponu.magic powerThey know how to disappear, how to appear again, that sort of thing.
Synt.The subordinate verb can be either Realis or Irrealis.
antonym~muibe unable
4be allowed to
Ai-ovei pe u-lebie.You can bathe (if you want).
Daviñevi wopine li-ovei pe li-anu kava.Adult women are allowed to drink kava.
see~re ②allow
5epistemic modalitymay (do V)
Miko i-ovei pe i-wai mwoe.Earthquakes can shake houses
6be prone (to, pe ②▻③); do V habitually; used to (do)
Dapa kula li-ovei pe li-vete piene kiane.Some people tend to speak fast.
Dapa noma, li-ovei pe li-loko uie woubo pe le-vei bavede peini.People before used to weave sails out of pandanus leaves.
Li-ovei pe li-la tepulu li-lateli ne teipu me le-su nga buluko.impersonal subject li-▻③Kauri resin can be stored in an empty coconut shell, and lit as a lamp.
Dapa Lovoko na li-ovei pe li-la ngatene iune.The Lovoko people are inclined towards mutual cooperation.
Bsecond verb, transitive
after perception verb V1recognize
Ni-romo noma ini ni-ovei.[I saw her face I knew] I recognized her face.
ovene ovene noun
Lvnove
Tnmove
Birds
Reef HeronArdea sacra.
derivativeangede ovene[heron tracks] writing
seeokaeMangrove heron
ovene boro noun
black heronReef Heron, dark variety or phase
ovene koro noun
white heronReef Heron, white variety or phase
~ovili (i·)ovili
Averb, intransitive
Lvn~abeu
be slow; take a long time, drag on
antonymkiane
Bsecond verb, intransitive
(do V) for too long
Eo a-mokoiu ai-ovili pe ive?Why are you sleeping late? (i.e. sleeping in)
La-vet' piene lai-ovili.They've been talking for too long.
~ovo (i·)ovo verb, intransitive
liquidbubble up, gurgle, boil
matavo pe i-ovo i-kea bubbling spring [a spring that comes out bubbling]
owene owene noun, relational
Anatomy
liver
synonymowo
owo owo noun, relational
Anatomy
liver
synonymowene
owopana owopana noun
owo ‘liver’ + pana ‘hot’
Flora
hot liverk.o. of wild kavaPiperaceae spp.
Owopana li-e i-pono.Wild kava has a sour taste.