Māerui dictionary
This is a dictionary of Māerui, the native language of the King Christian Islands in the South Pacific. While each island has its own dialect with minor and some major differences, this dictionary uses the dialect as spoken on Reangarōa, the largest and most populous island in the archipelago and home to the capital Mōana Rāe.
Nouns[edit | edit source]
Note: mn. means "mass noun", ie. that the noun does not have a plural form and is uncountable; an. is "animate" and in. is "inanimate". All mass nouns are inanimate by default, and do not take an article (ie. definite/indefinite).
- ānea; an. — butterfly
- āpo; mn. — tomorrow
- arī; in. — street
- ariki; in. — alley, pathway
- āroha; mn. — love
- auna; in. — ounce
- āva; an. — river, current (in open waters)
- āvariki; an. — stream
- hērei; in. — coconut (fruit)
- iki; mn. — smallness (physical)
- kaerereā; mn. — transport
- kāete; an. — lord
- kāeterōa; an. — king
- kāmēa; mn. — God
- kavu; in. — hill
- kāno; in. — seed
- kāo; an. — shop, store
- kapua; an. — cloud
- kau; in. — forest
- kea; mn. — openness, limitlessness
- kere; mn. — darkness
- kitsi; mn. — pettiness (spiritual)
- kīra; an. — girl
- kiri; in. — sand
- koro; in. — mobile phone
- korōmā; in. — smartphone
- mana; an. — bird
- mano; in. — airplane
- mānu; mn. — tiredness
- marāe; an. — meeting hall
- marāerui; an. — legislature
- matsa; mn. — green
- mauna; in. — mountain
- meiā; in. — banana
- mōana; in. — lagoon, calm waters
- motu; in. — island
- motuki; in. — atoll
- moturania; an. — galaxy
- muna; an. — spring (hydrology)
- nara; in. — castle, fortress
- nguava; in. — guava
- nōki; an. — angel
- nōku; mn. — godliness
- nui; mn. — greatness (physical)
- nuku; mn. — change
- ōne; in. — islet, desert island
- ōraìki; in. — 90 deg turn
- pāoa; mn. — eruption
- pore; in. — tower
- porenōki; in. — pole shrine
- rae; in. — cape, point
- rāe; in. — harbour
- ranga; in. — port
- rangamano; in. — airport
- rani; in. — sky
- rania; an. — heavens, space
- raniarui; an. — universe
- raniarōa; an. — the infinite
- rara; an. — smoke
- raro; mn. south
- rau; mn. — loftiness
- rāmea; mn. — light
- rapi; in. — basket
- rauva; an. — council
- rauvo; in. — graveyard
- rave; an. — service
- reanga; an. — volcano
- reā; in. — road
- reānui; in. — highway
- reau; in. — tree
- reāvūa; in. — fruit tree
- reva; an. — time
- rōa; mn. — greatness (spiritual)
- rutsui; mn. — blue
- tāe; in. — mast, post
- tama; an. — boy
- tane; an. — man (vs. woman)
- teāmā; mn. — intelligence
- teāmāi; mn. — transcendence
- tōniki; an. — ministry
- tōnui; an. — government
- tsaru; in. — dew, moisture
- tsāru; in. — air
- tsī; mn. — lowness (physical)
- tuvu; in. — ridgepole
- vai; mn. — water
- vatsareva; an. — ferry
- varu; in. — grave
- vatsa; an. — boat
- vēa; in. — telephone
- vera; an. — blood
- vero; mn. — red
- vine; an. — woman
- vūa; in. — fruit
- vitsu; in. — banana tree
- vuatsi; an. — child
- vuatsiki; an. — baby
- vutsu; in. — palm tree
Adjectives[edit | edit source]
Māerui does not make use of proper adjectives; instead, a mass noun which describes a certain quality, ie. rōa ("greatness") is attached to a normal noun via the genitive case, without the use of a definite or indefinite article with the adjectival noun.
So, for example, "a large mountain" is rendered as o mauna kā nui; literally "a mountain of largeness".
Verbs[edit | edit source]
- āveava — to rush
- ikeaki — to decrease
- keāngo — to plant, sow
- kīhā — to fill
- kīu — to run, sprint
- nōkeaku — to bless
- nukeaku — to change
- peāpoa — to erupt
- reārōa — to increase
- rere — to flee
- rongō — to understand
- tsāu — to refuse
- tū — to stand
- veai — to hydrate, drink
Pronouns[edit | edit source]
Pronouns have no regard to case, which is marked by a secondary particle. They do differ by level of respect, as well as by animacy in third person. As for dual and plural first-person pronouns, inclusivity and exclusivity are distinguished.
Casual[edit | edit source]
- ko — 1SG
- keo — 2SG
- ōa — 3SG animate
- hea — 3SG inanimate
- eō — 1DU inclusive
- tsō — 1DU exclusive
- koi — 2DU
- ōai — 3DU animate
- heai — 3DU inanimate
- ea — 1PL inclusive
- rea — 1PL exclusive
- keō — 2PL
- ro — 3PL animate
- rō — 3PL inanimate
Deference[edit | edit source]
- no — 1SG
- to — 2SG
- tara — 3SG animate
- mea — 3SG inanimate
- noi — 1DU inclusive
- hau — 1DU exclusive
- toi — 2DU
- tarai — 3DU animate
- meai — 3DU inanimate
- kita — 1PL inclusive
- kima — 1PL exclusive
- tō — 2PL
- tāra — 3PL animate
- meā — 3PL inanimate
Particles[edit | edit source]
- kō — copula
Definite articles[edit | edit source]
- ke — singular; animate
- kei — dual; animate
- mā — plural; animate
- rē — singular; inanimate
- rai — dual; inanimate
- rā — plural; inanimate
Indefinite articles[edit | edit source]
- a — singular; animate
- ai — dual; animate
- ā — plural; animate
- o — singular; inanimate
- au — dual; inanimate
- ō — plural; inanimate
Case particles[edit | edit source]
- re — topical
- (nominative unmarked)
- kea — accusative
- kā — genitive
- rī — instrumental
- rou — dative
- me — sociative
Tense/voice particles[edit | edit source]
- korā — past
- rava — future
- kana — conditional
- kama — habitual
- kera — future-past
Example phrases[edit | edit source]
- Ō re vūa rea ke rou kāo kō. — "We bring fruit to the shop."
- Rē rani kā rutsui kīhā rāru ā rī raro. — "The blue sky is filled by clouds."