Pasefika Polynesian Dictionary


English to Polynesian Dictionary



English Sāmoan Hawaiʻian Tongan Tahitian Māori Scientific
Back Tua Kua Tuʻa Tua Tuarā
Bamboo ʻOfe Sāmoa ʻOhe Schizostachyum glaucifolium
Banana Faʻi Maiʻa Siaine Maiʻa Maika Musa
Banyan or small-leaved fig ʻAoa Ficus obliqua
Basket Ato ʻEke
Bat (Flying Fox) Peʻa ʻŌpeʻapeʻa Peka ʻIore Pererau Pekapeka Chiroptera
Bay Faga Hana Kōmaki ʻŌʻoʻa Whanga
Beach cabbage Toʻi toʻi Scaevola taccada
Beach heliotrope Tausuni Tornefortia argentea
Beach morning glory Fue moa Ipomoea pes-caprae
Beach pea Fue sina Vigna marina
Beach sunflower Ateate Wollastonia biflora
Birth Fānau Hānau Fanauʻi Fānau Whānau Parturition
Bishop wood ʻOʻa Bischofia javanica
Bitter yam Soi Dioscorea bulbifera
Blacktip Reef Shark Malie Alamata Manō pāʻele Carcharhinus melanopterus
Bluespotted stingray Fai Tala Neotrygon kuhlii
Bottle Gourd Ipu Lagenaria siceraria
Breadfruit ʻUlu ʻUlu Mei ʻUru Kuru Artocarpus altilis
Bring ʻAumai Lawe mai ʻOmai Āfaʻi Mau
Brown noddy Gogo Anous stolidus
Burrowing Sea Urchin Tuitui Echinometra Mathaei

Sāmoan to English Dictionary



Hawaiʻian to English Dictionary



Tongan to English Dictionary



Tongan to English Dictionary



Tahitian to English Dictionary



Māori to English Dictionary



Welcome to the Pasefika Polynesian Dictionary. This dictionary is meant to be a comparative dictionary to quickly view similarities, differences and cognate relationships between words across Polynesian languages. The dictionary includes a format that will display english to polynesian translation into words from Sāmoan, Hawaiʻian, Tongan, Māori, and Tahitian languages.

Most knowledge in Polynesia was communicated and passed on through language, legends, and songs.

The Sāmoan alphabet constists of these letters

Sāmoan written Alphabet: A E F G I L M N O P S T U V (K H R are additonal)

Vowels in Sāmoan language

  • A (ʻA A ʻĀ Ā) - pronounced (ˈä) AAh, like "AAh"
  • E (ʻE E ʻĒ Ē) - pronounced (ˈe) Eh, like net
  • I (ʻI I ʻĪ Ī) - pronounced (ē) EE, like see
  • O (ʻO O ʻŌ Ō) - pronounced (ō) oh, like "Oh"
  • U (ʻU U ʻŪ Ū) - pronounced (u̇(ə)) oo, like oops
  • A glottal stop and/or macron indicate short, normal, long sound and/or a brief pause in the sound of each vowel).

A glottal stop and/or macron indicate short, normal, long sound and/or a brief pause in the sound of each vowel).

Consonants in Sāmoan language
F G L M N P S T V

Comparison of consonant letters of Sāmoan language to languages of other Polynesian cultures

  • Sāmoa s or f = Aotearoa (Māori) h = Hawaiʻi h = Marquesas h = Tahiti h = Tonga h
  • Sāmoa g = Aotearoa (Māori) ng = Hawaiʻi n = Marquesas k = Tahiti = Tonga g
  • Sāmoa l = Aotearoa (Māori) r = Hawaiʻi l = Marquesas = Tahiti r = Tonga l
  • Sāmoa t = Aotearoa (Māori) t = Hawaiʻi k = Marquesas = Tahiti t = Tonga t
  • Sāmoa v = Aotearoa (Māori) w = Hawaiʻi w = Marquesas v = Tahiti v = Tonga v
  • Sāmoa f = Aotearoa (Māori) wh = Hawaiʻi h = Marquesas f or h = Tahiti h or f = Tonga f

The letter K in Sāmoan language

K
The letter K is a consonant than notes the use of the "K" style of Samoan language and/or used for words introduced with translation from other languages.

Additional Consonants in Sāmoan language

H R
Additional consonants (introduced with translation)

Some English letters informally are translated to Sāmoan Language with the use of additional consonants and rarely with vowels.

  • English b = Sāmoan p
  • English c = Sāmoan t/k or s
  • English d = Sāmoan t/k or s
  • English d = Sāmoan t/k
  • English g = Sāmoan t/k or s
  • English j = Sāmoan s or i

In studies of linguistics, Sāmoan language has been catagoriezed within the Austronesian family of languages.

Linguistic classification

  • Austronesian
  • Malayo-Polynesian
  • Oceanic
  • Central Pacific
  • Polynesian
  • Samoic
  • Sāmoan