Entries | Nukuoro Living Dictionary

Entries

siiviivii— a way of singing a child to sleep
mee hagadaahao— toy
ladi— initiate, begin, start
koomu— comb
hilo— mix; braid strands of sennit
huaaboo— the whole night long
maa— a sibling's spouse or spouse's sibling (brother-in-law or sister-in-law) of the same sex
dalangasau— be quick-witted in an emergency
daa de hagallogo— perform certain old religious ceremonies or chants
dee gide— blind
ganimago— mollusk sp.: malea pomum
anei ai huu— these only then
mada dangada ina— a person of importance (who is liked by the people)
bubu sala— move unskillfully
bangongo— fish sp.: rabbitfish
mau goloa— rich in material possessions
lili baasi gee— accuse someone (in an argument, usually between spouses) of taking sides with another family member
dangadanga— loose, not tight (sing.); sieve
dahido mada— inner corner of the eye
doo iho— fall
sao de looloa— rectangular (not square), oval
hagallogo— chant (in the old religious ceremony)
muli— debt, owe
sii diidii— urinate
hai goinga— aggrandizement of one's land holdings by moving others' stone boundary marker
maaidigi— August
hai me magua— sort of steal
tahi-malama— January (lit. 'first month')
diba iho— to tip down; go away from the atoll
dango— cat's-eye (of a shell); operculum of a gastropod
gubu vae— foot, ankle
laangi dabu— Sunday
mee osi— a coconut tree seedling
honua— filled with
hagalaudodole— cause to grow small
ngadi duu— naked
hagadali— accumulate (bring together); gather up; imprisonment (short term)
duu gili somo— the coconut meat remaining in a germinated coconut after the coconut apple has been removed
hale goloa— store
gubuvae— ankle
denei laa— this is that (is this that)
taina ahine o dogu damana— paternal aunt
moa-a-daila— bird sp.
aalaa ai laa— those there then were
sagea gee— extremely sagea
hooholo— swallow (pl.)
geegeno— crocodile
maangi— soar or glide in the air
hai modo— eat (or pick) when still unripe
hagallongo i muna— obey
dahido vae— the back of the thigh
lavasi— a leader (between the hook and the fishing line)
balagelage— crippled and unable to walk
hoea— covered with sunburn blisters
seni ange— rest up for (e.g., the next day's work)
luu aau— your (singular; for dual, alienable noun)
noho lalo— overloaded (almost to the point of sinking)
taiao daiao— tomorrow morning
dale— touch (two or more things being in contact); strike (a match)
diinonga— a spirit which is worshipped; bad character (of a person)
maadai— a cult official (who looked after the cult-house)
galemu— <preceded always by e or dee>
dama— children
sabiningaa lau— rolls of softened pandanus leaf
kii iho— smaller, lesser (in rank, importance, strength, development, etc.)
magau i togaa— die of shame
maagila— to appear to be barely separated (as islets on the atoll when seen from a distance); parted slightly
hagalava— finish (something); end (something)
vaaligi— small (for plural noun)
hadu de moana— a type of string figure
hano gi de maalama— transfiguration of ghosts or spirits into human form
deai donu angaanga— nothing at all
dagilagolago— many for each
hagammuni— hide (something) from
seaamonga— a unit of (twenty) coconuts for making huaahuu
duu-uli— sea cucumber sp.
laangi hagadaahao— field day
kalo— sharp (as a knife); a sharp pointed canoe (designed to ride easily in rough seas)
dengadenga— having many denga
hagaaha— cause to do what
hai huuhuaa me— sorcery
mele— to use a word or expression idiosyncratically in speech
dee haihai donu— that's for sure
hagadinana— to treat as mother, aunt; senior female relative, person in a mothering, or motherly, relationship
ssae de leo— to project one's voice better (e.g., after clearing one's throat)
nebua— be doing something so earnestly that one has no time to talk
hagademo— pout
gaa— burn (intransitive); to catch fire
dalabaimanugadele— sharp (as a knife)
paa ono maahana— receive one's punishment, suffer
ngaue age— increase (in rank or price, etc.)
iai sago— having special ability (strength, power, etc.) which others do not have, a strong or powerful (person)
hagadaahao ai— do something as though it were a game
hagadoonunga— meaning (of a word)
madalua— twenty
naamulolo— ramrod
malau age— free of hardship (after having had it)
unusi— pull off, rip off
paa— explode, burst
hagangalo— forget purposely
laavea— stumble on
sae— suffer, be in pain; crave for, desperate
longolongo iho dalinga— pick up information from others' conversation
dae mai— arrive
daabeduge mai— bring a lot of
bolengia— do something without reflection
tegi— aroused (sexually); tickled (esp. sexually)
bebe— nervous, anxious (for reasons not connected with other people)
i ono daha— at his place, with him
aalo— come by paddling
dau makaga— tightly stretched (not slack)
hagasugisugi— repeatedly shorten or abbreviate
kano avaavaa— porous
luu mee nei— these things (dual)
ssae aalanga— sore in the muscles
tala— say, tell
giliisi— fat, grease
muliagina— last, final
bidoa— lift or hold one end of something
madalua ma dahi— twenty one
gadigadi— itch
manege ma de --— better than (nothing, etc.)
siva— nine
hagatugu— crouch down
dahi-malali— the first number of a counting game played to determine who is "it"
dagaligiligi— broken into small pieces
hunehune— the fibers on the core of the breadfruit
langi— rain, heaven, sky
ganabu— the base of a coconut tree trunk
uaasei— a type of small knife
duge— either side of a recession in the top of a duludulu
gasi— mollusk sp.: asaphis dichotoma
tangada haiada— photographer
haha— mouth odor
diilevalevanoa— the fifth child of a couple
momo— a little, a small amount of
daulooloa— long time
hagasula tangada— successfully promote the candidacy of someone (or elect or appoint him) to a coveted position
dauleelage— fish sp.: blenny
pensele— pencil
dangada gaiaa— thief, thieves
manu-de-bua— bird sp.: sacred kingfisher (halcyon sancta) (the native term applies possibly to several spp.)
dae— arrive at
dangage dua— bend one's head backwards
oga— to husk (a coconut) with a sharp stick
mada-umanga— the bud of a cyrtosperma taro corm
duu podo— do something at short intervals; often, frequently
ma tua— besides
gabetili— parent-in-law
semuna— hundreds of millions
hagaaugau— cause infection
dagodoanga— expose oneself to the sun
manu gulu— breadfruit leaves
dahu— start a fire, build a fire
luuluu haha— gargle, wash one's mouth out
tili de maalama— shoot out a light into the distance
aladi— initiate, begin
bulobulou— to net flying fish
ala— the name of a name-group
dungudungu— have a good sense of smell
alodahi— all
gohugohu— becoming very dark (decreasing in natural light)
bakau doo— a dislocation of the shoulder joint
hagadonu muna— act as an interpreter
manamanava— breathing
danu bela— spade in organic matter (to enrich taro plantings)
goloa haangoda— fishing gear
hagaago— imitate; show, teach; to urge
malu— shade (under trees); lee (of wind)
daula baalanga— cable, wire (heavy)
dangada hua daahili— singer
magau baubau— die in agony (owing to having led a bad life)
duaa nui— hard middle ridge of the coconut palm leaf
ni aha— what (plural)
alili— mollusk sp.: turbo argyrostoma
madavaivai— a type of knot used in net-making
dagodo mahamaha— nice,pleasing
baagia— move sideways while moving forward (as a canoe slipping in the water); slap
silasila— look around for
gaadinga gaha dea— a coconut which is nearly mature; the stage of development of the coconut between modomodo madagii and gaadinga
inau— to look for coconut crabs at night
gede dua dahi— a type of basket
seene— money
onge— famine
daahinga— way of brushing off or sweeping
anaahi— yesterday
haahaangoda ange— prowl around (to attack)
dagoobala— fall on something and smash it
dae gi oona— be tops
huaa henua— community
laavasi— meat (or fish, or seafood) which is suitable as food
mamu-lalo-beau— fish sp.: wrasse
denei loo— this is it at last
hai de gubenga— to use a type of large net for fishing
doodou— your (plural; for singular noun)
buliaamou— long for, homesick
taha— a certain string in string figures
mee abadai— European things (gear, etc)
tagi ange— contribute (material things) to
masugi— having a hole, pierced

← →