Tahitian is not as difficult to pronounce as it looks. The vowels are sounded as in Italian: a as in art, e as in epic, i as in machine, o as in orb, u as in ruby. Every vowel in the word is pronounced. Two or more vowels together are run into a smooth combination, unless separated by an apostrophe, which represents the glottal stop. The plural is generally the same word as the singular.
To Tahitian-speaking readers, I apologise for any mistakes I have made.
| ae | yes |
| ahi | fire |
| ’ahi | sandalwood |
| ahia hia | longing |
| ahime! | alas! |
| ahufara | barkcloth shawl |
| ’ahune | plenty, bounty |
| aita peapea | never mind, no problem |
| aito | ironwood tree |
| Aotearoa | New Zealand |
| ari’i | aristocrat, person of high birth, descended from the gods |
| arioi | old Tahitian religious sect devoted to pleasure and entertainment |
| aroha | love, |
| aroha nui, | all-embracing love |
| ’ata | laughter |
| atua | god |
| aue | an exclamation used in many circumstances |
| aute | paper mulberry |
| ’ava | mildly narcotic beverage brewed from plant root |
| fa’a’aro | barkcloth, now called tapa |
| Farane | France, French |
| fare | house |
| fare tupapau | a shelter for the embalmed corpse of an important person, lit. ghost house |
| fau | red hibiscus |
| fe’e fe’e | elephantiasis |
| fei | mountain banana |
| fenua | land |
| feti’i | relations, family |
| haere mai | a call of invitation and welcome |
| hara | wrongdoing, shame |
| hau | wind, breath of life |
| hei | garland, necklace or chaplet |
| heiva | festivity, party, celebration |
| himine | hymn (transliteration) |
| hina | woman or girl |
| hina’aro | desiring admiration, admiring desire |
| hina tini | descendants |
| hine | girl, young woman e hine form of address to her |
| Hina te marama | the moon |
| Hiti a Reva Reva | old Polynesian name for Pitcairn, lit. ‘border of passing cloud’ |
| i’e | cloth-beating mallet |
| ihu | human life force |
| ’iore | small native rat |
| kaue | no (Pitcairnese) |
| maeva | welcome |
| mahu | a male who has lived as a female since childhood, from his own inclination |
| mana | spiritual power, prestige |
| mamu | quiet |
| manahune | the common people |
| Maohi | Polynesian |
| mape | Tahitian chestnut |
| mara’amu | south-east wind, trade winds |
| marae | outdoor temple |
| maro ura | A long belt or girdle, stitched with sacred red feathers, worn by the high chief at his inauguration ceremony, and added to with each generation |
| mati | Tahitian fig |
| mauriuri pee va’a | a wind of ill omen, lit. the wind that detaches canoes |
| mauro | longtailed tropic bird |
| Matari’i | the Pleiades |
| miro | tree, held sacred, often growing around the marae |
| moia | pandanus weaving |
| monoi | perfumed coconut oil |
| mo’o | lizard |
| ni’au | coconut palm |
| nono | plant used medicinally, with perfumed white flowers |
| opuhi | scented ginger flower |
| Oro | old Tahitian god of war |
| paepae | house terrace |
| pahi | large double canoe |
| pahu | drum |
| paoniho | shark’s-tooth scarifier |
| paoti | scissors |
| pareu | length of cloth worn as skirt or dress |
| pau | finished, over |
| patea | form of address to older woman |
| Paumotuan | native of the Tuamotu islands |
| Peretane | Britain (transliteration) |
| pia | arrowroot plant |
| pilhai | Pitcairn word for a sticky pudding baked in banana leaves |
| pirimomona | virgin |
| Popa’a | foreigner |
| pua | flowering tree, sacred to Tane |
| puaru | infanticide, practiced as a form of population control in pre-European Tahiti |
| purau | beach hibiscus |
| ra’atira | underchief, of lower rank than ari’i |
| raho | female genitals |
| rahui | a prohibition on food supplies, for sacred or practical purposes |
| rama | rum (transliteration) |
| Rapanui | Easter Island |
| re’a | turmeric, native to Tahiti |
| revareva | a decoration of fluttering white strips worn on special occasions |
| tafifi | native jasmine |
| tahua | priest, person who communes with spirits |
| tahua mori | healer or doctor who uses massage |
| tahua ra’au | doctor who uses herbal medicines |
| taio | a friend with whom names were exchanged, and everything shared, including hospitality, gifts, and even sexual partners |
| tama | boy |
| tamanu | tree used medicinally |
| tane | man, men, also Tane, god of pleasure |
| tapairu | handmaids and companions of a chiefess |
| tapu | sacred, taboo |
| taro | starchy root vegetable |
| tatau | tattoo |
| tau’ arearea | carefree years of youth, lit. ‘yellow years’ |
| Ta’urua e hiti i Matavai | lit.‘Ta’urua rising over Matavai’, the star Venus |
| te ao marama | the world of light, this world |
| te oho matamua | first fruits, a sacrifice |
| te po | darkness, the afterworld |
| teu teu | servant |
| tiare | Tahitian gardenia, scented flower |
| ti’i | carved image which can be inhabited by a spirit |
| tiputa | barkcloth cape |
| tiri a pera | secret pit where a family threw its personal discards, such as hair, nails etc |
| to’erau | north, or the north wind |
| to’ere | slit gong |
| Tohu | old Tahitian god of tattooing |
| tou | cordia tree |
| tui heanano | an eczema-like skin condition which can become severe |
| tuna | eel |
| tupapau | ghost |
| tupu | discarded items of a personal nature, such as nail clippings, hair or uneaten food, all of which could be used for sorcery and therefore had to be carefully secreted |
| tutae auri | rust, lit. iron shit |
| tu’tui | tree with oily nuts which can be burnt for light |
| upa upa | pleasure, especially sexual |
| ure | penis |
| uru | breadfruit |
| u’upa | native pigeon |
| va’a | canoe |
| vini | native Tahitian parrot, now extinct |