Entries | Nukuoro Living Dictionary

Entries

maanu— to float in place (not drifting) on the surface of the water (with no anchor)
boongia— be caught by darkness unexpectedly
nanumia— the object of a complaint
hagasau madangi— to be exposed to the wind
hano— go
sula— appear (be sighted); succeed
hagadanu— sink below the horizon, burrow into the sand
baalasi saele— shine a flashlight indiscriminately on people
oaa— a sound indicating disagreement or displeasure; oh my gosh
denaa ai— therefore (with respect to this, there near you, or concerning, you)
datanu— fish sp. (a sort which burrows in the sand)
magi ilihia— gastritis (having one's stomach full of gas)
dua nnui— violence; a type of rope (thick, with thick strands)
daatugu— to curse (someone)
tilo ange— raise, look after; nurse
dumanu— appearance,situation
isi— to peel off in long thin strips
aamua— high-ranking
daadaaia ange— be in a hurry to
daasele— to swing a rope (in a jump rope game) so as to cause the jumper to trip
hau singano— garland of the flower of a pandanus tree
moe dolo— to sneak into another's house at night for the purpose of having sexual relations
hagabuni— gather together (people); have sexual relations
mada gi lodo— a point which is bent inward (toward its handle)
aalali— a type of coral which grows on the lagoon bottom
hagammae lodo— insult (someone)
hai me gaiaa— to be reluctant to express oneself openly (esp. to persons in certain types of relationship to one)
madaala— able to remain awake for a long time
mmanu— do (something)
mmala— bitter; sour; unlucky
moosee— not quite cooked (of anything but fish)
damaa me— small (sing.); little; tiny
bugubugunga— the slope of a swelling or protuberance
dai— west
laa manusomo— branch
hagabaabaagia— make no headway and be carried sideways (by a current or the wind) against a reef, etc.
bobo— rotten
bungadogi— unskillful (at difficult activities)
dugi— scare away, chase away
maadau mada bodobodo— a type of fishhook
hagaaoaoa— have purposely and habitually remainedup until daybreak
honu-uda— insect sp. (small and turtle-like)
maga de hoe— to paddle vigorously
pale age (iho)— steer toward (away from) land
ngadi gai— eat taro without fish (or fish without taro)
boo gi me— acquisitive (and acting on acquisitive impulses)
maamaane— light (in weight)
dalaehala— pricked
hagadau aaloha— love each other (esp. of persons of the opposite sex)
muna de henua— the Nukuoro language
gai lima lua— eat greedily (with both hands)
alohi— anything forming a semi-circle
mee abasasa— Western things (gear, etc.)
dili uda— an ocean current which comes towards the shore (and carries in driftwood, etc.)
gasigasia— rubbed against, scratched
ngalue— move, change position
hagadaga ange— increase in
uadanga— an intermittent downpour (considered an omen of birth, death, or the coming arrival of a ship)
lau kena— leaves (or hair) that have lost their natural healthy color
duu gee— out of alignment
bungubungu— plump (sing.)
hagamenedua— backward, reverse
sissisi— striped (having stripes)
dagisoa— many (people) at each (time or place, etc.)
galeva— fish sp.: shark sp.
gave ua podo— var. of sprint (footrace of short distance)
hakangi— sharpen
huuhuli— turn (plural)
haula— set fire to (causing large flames); light (a lamp)
hai daina— the relationship between siblings or cousins
hagabuu ange— blame (someone), incriminate (someone)
bolo iho— to make oneself the beneficiary of a will which one has made for another
tamaahine o dogu bodu— daughter-in-law
taina daane— brother
maanu iho— to begin to fish while maanu
kave dagi de momo— take a little (or few) at a time
dohu— sufficient, enough; able to cover a given area
mee hagasaga— a toy (made from a dried breadfruit leaf or a disk of coconut shell) which slides when thrown
ssala— look for, search, hunt for
dangage age— raise up one's head from a lowered position
dolodolo manu ligi— the physical sensation (like bugs crawling on one) after one's leg, etc., has been asleep
saesaele— to wander around continually (doing so at present and likely to be doing so in the future)
hagassoe— straighten out; decide an issue (by higher authority)
gaha uli— having brown (ripe) coconuts (of a coconut tree)
adi longo— to tattle
dugu— put, place; leave (put down)
laso— the posterior portion of the hermit crab
maamaanu— remain stationary in the air (like a bird or a helicopter)
dalepagi— fight hand-to-hand
aama— and, with
labelabe-uliuli— fish sp.: wrasse
dala mmea— redness or inflammation of the skin (e.g., a welt)
ilihia tinae— a stomach distended by gas
helii-lausedi— seaweed sp.
madagudagu— cowardly (concerning others or supernaturals)
tamadaane o dogu bodu— son-in-law
hagagubenga— to teach someone to use a large net for fishing
buu goede— worthless or useless 'like an octopus without a head'
vaivai daahili— a dirty song
dangau-daa-sissisi— fish sp., snapper
dahola— a method of fishing (night fishing on the reef with torches)
bani-gegeva— fish sp. (rare)
heohi— correct, right, just, fair, true
dao— spear, branch of
beaha— to be in a serious condition, critically ill or injured
madalima daalaa— fifty dollar bill
lodo lanea— large in volume
dagadagasala— be always blamed for
dee lago dae— not really good or sufficient, etc.
haidama— pregnant
dogo— classifier for counting humans
lodo mee muimui— in the bush (uncleared area)
sua age— dig up soil to uncover (something)
aahee donu— exactly which
hagamakaga— tie tightly, securely
kobu— splash (once)
daa de gaehala— to swing a jump rope made of an aerial root of a pandanus tree
sula de hegau— successfully completed work
alohi lima— palm (of hand)
degedege— to wiggle the hips repeatedly
anei ai— these (here) only
naivi— knife
dua pada— to plait with thick strands
dada gaehala— picking even small breadfruit (to avoid having to change one's position, which would be necessary in order to pick breadfruit of the proper size)
muu-madagao— fish sp.: snapper
midia ange— dream about
hoe gabegabe— a canoe paddle (for paddling)
hagabaubau— criticize; cause bad feelings; scrape taro inadequately
libo— drunk, get drunk (sg.)
sigo de muna— remember what one has heard
mamu-madohi-lua— fish sp.: parrotfish
paa de hatuli— rolling of thunder
lala gaadinga— to heat copra (to dry it)
magano— overripe (of pandanus only)
alualumia— send away
baasi lua— having two useful sides
ga dae ai— until
laangi adu laa— day after tomorrow
hagabalabala— make loose; make soft; be a defeatist
hagaodi— end of (e.g., time)
daa (dau)— chanting (of old chants)
mee hagasengasenga— riddle, parable
haangaa lodo i de gai— be continually hungry, owing to having a distended stomach from regularly eating too much
madaangahulu ma valu— eighteen
duu baebae— to appear in the distance as a row of small objects (like adjacent islets on the atoll)
degi— kind, generous, forgiving
baalanga— metal (any kind)
hhadi— snapped off
laagau-bala-uda— driftwood sp. (very soft)
dangada henua gee— foreigners, strangers
paa i daalinga— move in closely (of birds) to daalinga
tagudai— coast, shoreline
hagaaonga— way of staying up until daybreak
madohi boo— midnight
kave dahi— do at one time
dadau— hit repeatedly (on one occasion)
ngadaa mai— difficult for me; difficult to come
hai maadua— mention of one's elders by others
vaivai— too; overly
adi saele— disseminate information
dangada duaagau— an avid fisherman
mee mouli— living thing
gugu— to have the capacity (or size or strength) for; suited to
mee ssalu lau— a scraper for leaves
aalu— intercept; send for
moolau— fast, quick, hurry; early
solo luu lima— wash hands
madangi— air, wind, storm; gas, flatus
gaiaa— steal, dishonest, cheat; to ask or accept too readily
dolo bala— to climb a coconut tree without using a rope (on one's hands or feet) for assistance
manu dudu dangada— insect sp.
hiehie— a type of prepared food (made from breadfruit)
sua hadu— storm beach (i.e., an expanse of sand or gravel thrown up on the coast by storms)
tau ange— cause to be absorbed by
oohia— (for a canoe) to be able to navigate on the reef (i.e., the tide not being so low that it is too shallow)
dee kasi— perhaps
hagalaulau— make many hundreds
galo de laa— the reddish sky at sunset
dagaa de maadau— to tie a leader to a fish hook
de ia— the, thing, it
hagauda de hine— a certain method of delivering a child
hagalilo— take shelter, to shelter (something from the elements); block out (from sight); submerge, disappear
binaaina— cowardly (owing to weak-mindedness); afraid to assert oneself; not live up to one's obligations
sele gi tonu— make sure of
dau— to fasten (a rope, etc.) between two points; hung up, suspended from
io dua— the upper io
hai hua laa— do indifferently
ssoi— to foretell a death by words or actions (which cause death)
hagaaduadu iho— self-criticize
ssogaanga— <var. of ssogoanga>
golee— seed; testicles
degidegi— to jerk repeatedly; bawl out (speak harshly to)
sali saavale— salivate
maua laa— never mind
gili agau— a moss-like covering of the reef; fish which live on the reef
mada galisi— small green offshoots of the coconut tree trunk
hhano— wash (one's own hands or mouth)
aha-dea— driftwood, white in the center
umada— rainbow
sugi hagabolebole— the tip of anything slender and long (e.g., the tail of an animal)

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