Tab tin kuluvi i gan? Is there a tin for
spitting (betelnut juice)
in?
Kamwasa hi kuluve. They spat on the road.
kunika
plant, kind of
medicinal, plant with
long leaves
.
Kunika lamwana i waisa bon ana sawasawal. The
leaves of the kunika are
good as salve for sores.
kunis
skin of humans, animals,
fish, food, bark of trees,
scales of fish, husk of
coconut
.
Melumelu kuni- sina i meimei. The
baby's skin is soft.
kusai
tree with edible, dark-
green, glossy leaves
growing in pairs.
kuwa
cane
.
kuyab
flying fox
.
51
L - l
la
Yam (Greater)
.
La abwe ya ken no eyowaa. I
have just dug up the
yams in my garden.
labe
assistance, help
.
Labe ga na aheya? Where will I
get help from?
Heliya hi labela tuwalali elana. They helped us with the
work.
labena
beside something or
someone, near
something
.
Han iyahe labewa. That thing is
here next to me.
labi
side, region, area of
responsiblity
.
Panayawi labena gegewena elal The four corners of the
earth; all the regions of
the earth
Tohouwa toto ya iya wana labi. That is
the responsibility of this
leader here.
labose
practise, try, test
.
Wama wona ha labobosa. We practiced
our song.
Nuwau bugul etega toto nige ya aatena na labose. I want
to try something that I
don't know (how to do).
labui
two, few
.
Kalehe eluwa ya u pem. Just give me a
few mangoes.
labulabum
sky, heaven
.
laesi
rice
.
laewa
pandanus plant,
pandanus leaves, mat
(woven) made from
pandanus
.
Laewa etega hi palupalul. They were
weaving a mat.
laon
partner, spouse, husband,
wife
.
Sibwaowa toto yaka he lagona abwe i yaomal ya. That
widower, his wife only
just died.
lauman
red
.
lahena
answer, reply, replace-
ment, punishment
.
I loyaloya tage wana neli ana lahena ni pwawa. He was searching, hoping
to find the answer to his
question.
Un wali tonowak bwabwatana lahena te wana geman. The successor to the chief
man of the clan is his
sister's son.
lahi
answer, pay back, punish,
punishment
.
Wana baaba i lahe. He answered him
(his words).
mwahalahi- lahi exchange of pots
Ebo ta pagan naknak nasi ana lahi ta pwawa. If we
do the wrong things we
will be punished (we will
find the punishment for
it).
lake
overtake, beat
.
lala
radiate heat, branch out,
sprout new leaves
.
Sabwelu i lala. The sun
is hot.
Ebwakil lalana
52
Tree branches
Kamwasa lalana Crossroads
lalasala
slippery
.
Kamwasa i lalasala kehe kaiwena. The path is slippery
because of the rain.
lamumu
boil
.
Vavahan iyaka i lamumu, u hin palo. The
hot water is boiling, lift it
down (off the fire).
lamwa
leaf, page of book
.
Ebwakil lamwanaWala vavasili nuku kite buki lamwana ten elana. Find our reading on page
ten of our book.
lamwan
forehead
.
lan
day, day (become)
.
Lan ebe Today
Lan i gan The
next day
Panuwa i lan. It
became day at the
village.
lan
flower (of a tree), flower
(of a tree)
.
Kalehe i lan bubun, mulaa abwe eno-wana ni gewi. The
mango tree has lots of
flowers, later it will have
many fruit.
Bwekuku lanina frangipani bud or
flower
las
peel (of yams)
.
Aanan u pem na laslas. Give me
the yams and I will peel
them.
latahin
lift up (hand, other
objects ), raise
.
Bahi ba tagitagil, nimwamiu nuku latahin. Don't just
speak out, put your hand
up.
lau
come down, go down
.
Hi laulau limiya. They were
going down from the
house.
Ha na abuabul wana lau ha kite. We
went and saw the
widow's coming out
(having finished her
period of mourning).
laum
crab
.
laumwal
calm, peace
.
Hoga i laumwal. The sea is calm.
I huga yaka baaba lalau-mwalina ya baunan eliyana. She was
angry so I spoke calming
words to her.
Laumwal i gan atena elana. She has
peace in her heart.
lawakik
persistent (be ~),
persist, not give up,
tempt, temptation
.
Natu i lawakik nuwana ni nem. My daughter was
persistent, she wanted to
come.
Redup: lawalawa- kik.
lei
step out of the way, move
aside
.
Tulak i nenem, ku legi! There is a truck
coming, move off (the
road).
lehi
betel nut
.
Lehi u pem na ol. Give me betelnut and
I will chew.
leke
break, undo, erase (of
writing), take off (of
clothes)
.
Logugui hi leke. They broke the rules.
Wali leleli hi leka-lekaan. They erased
what they had written.
lelam
poison, bad taste
.
Ebo kusai nige ta liliga bubun, he ni lelelam. If
we don't cook kusai
properly, it will not taste
good.
lelewaa
crocodile
.
leli
write, writing
.
Wana buki i lelelian. He wrote in his
book.
Wana leleli i waisi, i mwananal. His
writing is good, it's
legible.
lelu
spread of news
.
Diyon wasana i lelu tage iyaka i yaomal, yaa nige tunahot i oola. The news
of John spread, the fact
that he was dead, but it
was not true.
leuleu
breeze, wind
.
Leuleu i towa, panuwa i patultul. The wind is
blowing, it is making the
place cold.
leunan
itchiness (causes), itchy
(make)
.
Natun i leunan. Ebo ni tupa tuwau elana, nasi tuwau ni samwa-ligaliga. Sitnging
nettle causes itchiness. If
it touches my skin, it will
be itchy.
leva
paddle
.
lewi
fan, blow
.
leyau
shell valuables
.
Leyau yayapona hi pakuki to- yaomal pwatanaa. They
(in-laws) hung a long
leyau over the dead
person.
lib
catch, grab, rape
.
Bobu hi lib. They caught a pig.
lia
cook (in water), cooking
.
Aanan i liga bubun, nige i lolobwasi. She cooked
the yams well, they are
not too soft.
Ges ana ligaliga i mweyaha. Cooking with gas is
quick.
liin
spill (of liquid), pour out
.
U na aanan suina u ligin yoho paiya. Go
downstairs and throw out
the water the yams were
cooked in.
lika
up and over (go ~)
.
Nolu ha lika ha na Im Bwabwatana. Yesterday
we went up to the Im
Bwabwatana (a river).
liki
old
.
Iyaka ta liliki nawa. We are already on the
way to being old.
tonowak lilikena an old
man
limi
house
.
limwan
deep
.
Hoga i limwan. The sea is deep.
liwaliwan
conversation (have
a), tell a story
.
Wana liwa-liwan i esowal. He
talks a lot.
54
liwan
story, tell a story
.
Liwaniu na liwanan nuku hago. I will tell my
story for you to hear.
liyan
pregnant
.
Vaini i liyan kelaubwa ni ab. The
woman is pregnant, she
will give birth soon.
lo
cane
.
loba
grass skirt
.
Evenakau wali loba hi galoi, hi sasaga. The women put
on their grass skirts, they
are ready to dance.
lobek
submerge, sink (out of
sight), set (of sun), dive,
(final) mortuary feast
.
Waga i lobek. The boat
sank.
Sabwelu iyaka i lobek. The sun has set.
Lobek hi ginol, bobu hi gewi hi tagapaaligal.. They made the mortuary
feast called lobek, and
killed many pigs..
lobwal
eel (fresh water)
.
lobwasi
soft (of vegetables
when cooked), falling
apart (of cooked
vegetables)
.
Aanan ebo ta liga nabiyan nasi ni lobwasi. If we cook yams
too much they will fall
apart and be too soft.
loebwakil
get firewood
.
loasisi
work hard
.
Wana eyowa i logasisian. He
worked hard at his
garden.
loi
fish with a net
.
louui
decide, decision, law,
rule, judge, control
.
Tonowakau hi logulogu- gui. The men were
making
decisions/
rulings.
Wana logugui i henapuan. She obeyed
his ruling.
Wali pagan ana waisi ge ana nak ku hile yaka ana logugui nuku ginol. Assess the
good and bad of their
behaviour and then make
a ruling.
Bahi bugul etega yawalim elana ni loguguiagiwa. Don't let
anything in your life
control you.
lohaveyan
fight (with words or
fists), fighting, test
.
Guleid 6 abwe wali lohaveyan hi ginol. The
Grade 6 (students) have
just done their exam.
lok
westerly direction (move
in a)
.
Hi lok pai. They
went down in a westerly
direction.
Hi loem nati. They came in a westerly
direction from the east.
Tulak ana loki i pulowan. The
truck's loading is heavy.
55
lol
hit, strike, kill
.
Gita ana lolol i atena. He knows
how to play a guitar.
Wana bobu i lol. He
killed his pig.
lolon
swell up, swelling
.
Aena i lolon kaiwena bugul etega i howa. His foot is
swollen because
something pierced it.
lomwan
hurt, ache, pain,
suffering
.
Kaununa i lomwan. His head hurts.
Atena i lomwan. He is
suffering (his liver hurts).
Lomwan i bwata iya i kalivai kaiwela. He
carried a great deal of
pain on our behalf.
lopahi
roof (put a ~ on)
.
Tonowakau limi etega hi lopahi. The men put a
roof on a house.
lopwal
forbid, refusal
.
Hi lopwali, bahi ta tutuk heliya wali bakubaku elana. They have
forbidden us to go into
their yard.
Ala lopwal i gan, bahi ga ta tutuk ana siga nihi talam. We
have been forbidden, we
are not to go in until they
say.
losa
twist (of rope or twine)
.
lou
run away, escape
.
Wanuka hi lopetaki, yaka hi lou egon. They
chased the dogs away, so
they ran off.
lovakun
frightened, fear
.
Hi lolovakun sauga gege- wena. They are always
fearful.
Gogou ana lovakun i bwata wawaya elana. The child has a
great fear of the darkness.
lovivina
ready, prepare,
organise, preparation
.
Ta lovivina bubun ga, mulaa abwe ta papaatena gamagal mataliya. We must
prepare properly first,
then later we can preach
in front of people.
Wana lovivina i waisi. She has
made a good preparation.
lowakeb
squabble, fight
.
Wawayau hi lowakeb wali siga opop baena. The children were
squabbling over their
toys.
loya
look for, search
.
Wawaya toto i tatayaomal hi loyaan. They searched
for the child who went
missing.
luluya
mushroom
.
lum
room
.
Limi wana lum i gewi. There are many
rooms in the house.
lumen
mention
.
lut
get up, stand up, wake
up
.
Ewasi ya lut pwamweyaha. I got up
early this morning.
luvi
sweet, sweetness
.
Wana baaba i luvi atelaa. His
words are sweet for our
hearts.
Luvi etega nasi ta pwawaa uleya. We'll
find a sweetness (a kind
56
of honey from bees) in
the bush.
luvi
measure, level
.
Wewel i luvi bubun, ketel i kalaopop. She measured
the water well, the kettle
is full.
I panpankiti ya ala luvi eliyana. He was
teaching at our level.
luwan
plant
.
Ebwakil i luwan. He planted the tree.
M - m
maamaa
dirty, muddy (with
silt and run-off in the
water )
.
Wewel i magamaga kaiwena kehe abwe i lau. The
water is muddy because it
has just been raining.
maebal
broken (of things with
thin shells, e.g. eggs),
cracked
.
Kamkam pouwina i magebal. The
egg is broken.
Ulun mamagebalina ya. (I
only have) broken clay
pots.
mainum
fine (of weather),
calm (of sea)
.
Yaka abwe hoga i mainum, mana i mwatomwa. So now the
sea is calm, the wind has
dropped.
maisena
one (in counting),
same
.
Wana pagan i mamaisena sauga gegewena. His
behaviour is always the
same.
U nana eyowaa, henala alom? Maiseu ya. Are you going to the
garden, who is going
with you? Just me on my
own.
mal
inland
.
Hi tukik mala. They went inland.
maleleya
inside (a house)
.
U teli maleleya, lum gamwanaa. Put it inside,
in the room.
maleli
torn
.
Kaliko i maleli. The dress is torn.
maliin
spilt (of water),
overflow
.
Wewel i mama-ligin tenki elana. The water is overflowing
in the tank.
maloka
stuck, choke
.
Moti tutuwana nu matahikan eba nu maloka. Be
careful of the bones, you
might choke
mamanuvi
vomit
.
Saliya i mamanuvian. She
vomited blood.
mana
wind
.
Mana i gasisi lan e. The wind is strong
today.
manamana
wide
.
Panayawi mamanana the whole
earth.
57
maninin
face
.
Maniniu ya ul. I
washed my face.
manun
tender and sore, sour??
Aeu i manun. My foot is
hurting.
masal
appear, become
.
Yeisu Keliso i masal Bedeliema. Jesus Christ
was born (appeared) in
Bethlehem.
matahikan
look after, care
for, charge of, be in --
.
Wana eyowa i matahikan bubun. He
looks after his garden
well.
Wawayau ali matamatahikan i pulowan. Taking care of
children is hard (heavy).
matamatan
wait for
.
Ga i ola ge u matamatan? Why
are you waiting?
matan
eye
.
Matau i kenukenu. I am sleepy.
Wewel matana where a
river opens into the sea
matuwa
developed (of fruit),
grown up (of people),
middle-aged
.
Atena i matuwa. He is confident
(his liver is fully
developed).
maya
fire
.
meimei
soft, gentle
.
Wana pagan i meimei. He has
a gentle way with him.
melteli
trust in, rely on
.
Wala tonowak wana baaba ta meltelian. We should
put our trust in the words
of our chief man.
melumelu
young, infant,
youngest child
.
Ama melumelu alana Pita. Our youngest child's
name is Peter.
memen
tongue, flame (of fire)
.
Baaba toto ya memeu elana i pulowan. That
word is hard for me to
say (heavy for my
tongue).
Hiwo memena The flames of the fire
mesinale
village pastor
.
Mesinaleyau wali mi- gogo heiya waikena i nenem. The meeting for
pastors is next month.
mioo
meeting, gathering
.
Wik i nenem mesinaleyau nihi migogo pai. Next week
the pastors will meet
together down west.