Māerui dictionary

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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).

  1. ānea; an. — butterfly
  2. āpo; mn. — tomorrow
  3. arī; in. — street
  4. ariki; in. — alley, pathway
  5. āroha; mn. — love
  6. auna; in. — ounce
  7. āva; an. — river, current (in open waters)
  8. āvariki; an. — stream
  9. hērei; in. — coconut (fruit)
  10. iki; mn. — smallness (physical)
  11. kaerereā; mn. — transport
  12. kāete; an. — lord
  13. kāeterōa; an. — king
  14. kāmēa; mn. — God
  15. kavu; in. — hill
  16. kāno; in. — seed
  17. kāo; an. — shop, store
  18. kapua; an. — cloud
  19. kau; in. — forest
  20. kea; mn. — openness, limitlessness
  21. kere; mn. — darkness
  22. kitsi; mn. — pettiness (spiritual)
  23. kīra; an. — girl
  24. kiri; in. — sand
  25. koro; in. — mobile phone
  26. korōmā; in. — smartphone
  27. mana; an. — bird
  28. mano; in. — airplane
  29. mānu; mn. — tiredness
  30. marāe; an. — meeting hall
  31. marāerui; an. — legislature
  32. matsa; mn. — green
  33. mauna; in. — mountain
  34. meiā; in. — banana
  35. mōana; in. — lagoon, calm waters
  36. motu; in. — island
  37. motuki; in. — atoll
  38. moturania; an. — galaxy
  39. muna; an. — spring (hydrology)
  40. nara; in. — castle, fortress
  41. nguava; in. — guava
  42. nōki; an. — angel
  43. nōku; mn. — godliness
  44. nui; mn. — greatness (physical)
  45. nuku; mn. — change
  46. ōne; in. — islet, desert island
  47. ōraìki; in. — 90 deg turn
  48. pāoa; mn. — eruption
  49. pore; in. — tower
  50. porenōki; in. — pole shrine
  51. rae; in. — cape, point
  52. rāe; in. — harbour
  53. ranga; in. — port
  54. rangamano; in. — airport
  55. rani; in. — sky
  56. rania; an. — heavens, space
  57. raniarui; an. — universe
  58. raniarōa; an. — the infinite
  59. rara; an. — smoke
  60. raro; mn. south
  61. rau; mn. — loftiness
  62. rāmea; mn. — light
  63. rapi; in. — basket
  64. rauva; an. — council
  65. rauvo; in. — graveyard
  66. rave; an. — service
  67. reanga; an. — volcano
  68. reā; in. — road
  69. reānui; in. — highway
  70. reau; in. — tree
  71. reāvūa; in. — fruit tree
  72. reva; an. — time
  73. rōa; mn. — greatness (spiritual)
  74. rutsui; mn. — blue
  75. tāe; in. — mast, post
  76. tama; an. — boy
  77. tane; an. — man (vs. woman)
  78. teāmā; mn. — intelligence
  79. teāmāi; mn. — transcendence
  80. tōniki; an. — ministry
  81. tōnui; an. — government
  82. tsaru; in. — dew, moisture
  83. tsāru; in. — air
  84. tsī; mn. — lowness (physical)
  85. tuvu; in. — ridgepole
  86. vai; mn. — water
  87. vatsareva; an. — ferry
  88. varu; in. — grave
  89. vatsa; an. — boat
  90. vēa; in. — telephone
  91. vera; an. — blood
  92. vero; mn. — red
  93. vine; an. — woman
  94. vūa; in. — fruit
  95. vitsu; in. — banana tree
  96. vuatsi; an. — child
  97. vuatsiki; an. — baby
  98. 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]

  1. āveava — to rush
  2. ikeaki — to decrease
  3. keāngo — to plant, sow
  4. kīhā — to fill
  5. kīu — to run, sprint
  6. nōkeaku — to bless
  7. nukeaku — to change
  8. peāpoa — to erupt
  9. reārōa — to increase
  10. rere — to flee
  11. rongō — to understand
  12. tsāu — to refuse
  13. — to stand
  14. 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
  • — 1DU inclusive
  • tsō — 1DU exclusive
  • koi — 2DU
  • ōai — 3DU animate
  • heai — 3DU inanimate
  • ea — 1PL inclusive
  • rea — 1PL exclusive
  • keō — 2PL
  • ro — 3PL animate
  • — 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
  • — 2PL
  • tāra — 3PL animate
  • meā — 3PL inanimate

Particles[edit | edit source]

Definite articles[edit | edit source]

  • ke — singular; animate
  • kei — dual; animate
  • — plural; animate
  • — singular; inanimate
  • rai — dual; inanimate
  • — 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
  • — genitive
  • — instrumental
  • rou — dative
  • me — sociative

Tense/voice particles[edit | edit source]

  • korā — past
  • rava — future
  • kana — conditional
  • kama — habitual
  • kerafuture-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."