B - b

baeho   n. general term for breadfruit, many different kinds.

baeho oneone   n. a kind of breadfruit, red outside when ripe, white flesh.

baeho tamaute   n. a kind of breadfruit known as 'white man's breadfruit'.

baheo   n. general term for shark. Kamam kate han na baheo. We don't eat shark.

baheo masava   n. grey shark.

baheo roke   n. tiger shark.

bahisa   n. edge of something. ana bahisai reu at the edge of the water. See: imbese; tavalu.

bahoho   v. curve, bend something like a bow. Tawai, o bahoho na noku baka ku boi ku vano ku vinevine. My friend, bend my bow I want to go hunting.

bahuri   n. lizard. Bahuri le hao ana lovuhai aulu manihi. Lizards just crawl up high in trees.

bailitahi   vi. turn around and come back.

bainguru   n. feathers stuck in back of hair, used as body decoration for some Kastom dances (male only). Usage: In traditional custom times, these were worn to show wanduru, a sign of rank; feathers usually from rooster. See: tarere bainguru.

bairo   n. an enclosure, fenced yard, as for pigs.

baka   n. bow (of bow and arrow). Mo lai na bakana mana ivinena. He took his bow and arrow.

bakamalate   n. Grey-collared Fantail, a small bird about 15 cm, always on the move. Usage: Same in East dialect The bird has a dark grey head with a white stripe over eye, and a wide fantail with white tips. Rhipidura fuligininosa.

balamanjia   n. activity of fishing. Many different ways of fishing were traditionally practised, such as suvsuv, vuvuni, wake manji, melao, litilitu.

balangandura   n. rocks, rocky area.

balangandura   vi. be rough or uneven in texture, as with coral, or stones on the wall of a house.

balati   n. dry sticks from the vuvae (tree).

bala-   n. fins, tail of fish.

balehi   vt. bump, bang something. Ku balehi na batuku atano. I banged my head on the ground.

baliha-   n. son-in-law (female or male speaker referring to husband of their daughter), father-in-law (male speaker, referring to father of his wife). Mario nia balihaku. Mario is my son-in-law. Variant: bualiha-; bwaliha-. Usage: A reciprocal term. Same in East dialect.

balo   vt. place leaves on the fire before the laplap is placed on top.

balosuro   n. nowadays, present time. Balosuro mote sohena. Nowadays it's not the same.

baloti   vi.

balo-   n. front part of lower leg.

balua-   n. thigh.

bamba₁   n. 1 • boundary. Nian nia bambai noku tano. This is the boundary marker of my garden.

2 • defence, as with fighting sticks (manja) or a shield. Tamalohi na tuaniau na loli na bamba haramba. The men helped me to make a new fence. Kumbo vitia kure nora bamba moisoro nale losu tamalo' hinia. I would say it was their defence and so they were hitting people with it.

bamba₂   vt. carry baby or a small child in a calico sling around neck.

bambaha   vi. fenced. Nia bambaha moiso. It's already fenced.

bambaravu   adj.pl./ vi. be tall, long. tamalohi bambaravu tall men. See: baravu.

bangebangea   n. conception, pregnancy.

bangehi   vt. conceive, become pregnant. Niho o bangehi na uranji. You are pregnant with child/ you have conceived a child.

bangembange   vi. be pregnant. Vonatumam mota bangembange. Our daughter is pregnant again.

bange-   n. stomach. bangeku my stomach.

bangole   vi. blunt, as with knife. Noku simba mo bangole. My knife is blunt.

bangona   n. front part of house. Ravavine atolu nale turu ana bangonai rombu. Three women are/were standing at the front of the meeting-house.

bani   n. armband 5-10cm. wide, often woven with pit pit beads. Usage: Old word Such armbands were worn elbow to upper arm to show rank, as part of male traditional custom dress.

banoi   n. volcanic ash. Hambuhani mo lai lulusi na jara hina banoi. The volcano covered the place with ash.

banu   vt. See: buanu.

bao   n. Purple Swamphen, kind of bird about 30-37cm long, with a bright purplish-blue head, large red bill and red legs. Usage: Same in East dialect The bao eats mostly roots, fruit, also insects, lizards, and eggs; features often as a character in custom stories. Porphyrio samoensis.

baoitasi   n. double-headed parrot fish.

baololo   vi. bent over all the time, as with age. Vumbue mo baololo. The bamboo was bent over.

baoti   vi. walk about, 'hang out' in a place. Kale baombaoti manihi. We're just walking around. Variant: baombaoti. From: From Bislama.

bara   vi. walk on reef.

barahavamboe   n. manta ray (fish).

barakai   vt. wake up someone.

barambara₁   n. reef at low tide.

barambara₂   vi. walk on the reef, looking for shellfish. Tovon mo mati, nira nale barambara. When it was low tide, they would look for shellfish on the reef.

baranga₁   n. big rocks at the edge of sea. Bosinjivo mo noha baranga. The south-west area has big rocks.

baranga₂   vi. thin, skinny. Vuria niani mo baranga tina. This dog is really skinny.

barangaha   vi. (be) rocky.

barati   n. rocky soil, rocky ground.

baravita   n. outside part of house under the overhang of the eaves. Bulam vuria arua nale ate ana baravitai vanua. Your two dogs are sitting under the eaves of the house.

baravu   adj.sg/vi. long, tall. Nia tamalohi baravu. He's a tall man. Vavine mo baravu, the woman is tall. Usage: Same in East dialect See: bambaravu.

baravuliu   n. middle finger.

barindi   n. today. Matan tuai, nia mo soaria more mo duhu, ne barindi, na soaria nare mo sati matan mo komo na vevesai manji. Because in the olden days, it was seen as good, but today, they see it's bad because it destroys all the fish.

barisisi   n. walls of a house woven from bamboo strips.

baritasi   n. a kind of parrot fish.

baro   vi. raw, uncooked. Usage: Used mostly with reference to fruit

baroro   vi. noisy. Truk ana sala tawera na baroro. The trucks on the big road are noisy.

baroroa   n. noise.

barovi   n. bark section of the vutalaua (tree), can be used as a grater for root vegetables.

baru₁   vt. throw something at someone, such as stones. Na barua na dingia mo vano. They threw stones at it and chased it away. Variant: buaru; bwaru.

baru₂   vi. fat. Vavine rindi mo baru tina te. That woman is really fat eh. Usage: Same in East

barumbaru   vi. fit and healthy, in good condition. Heletu nira na barumbaru. The pigs are very healthy.

basi   vt. spread something.

basimbasi   vi. rub over, as with putting oil on body or hair.

batetiahi   vi. stumble, fall back. Mo tambuaviau ku batetiahi ku jivo. He slapped me and I stumbled over.

batiavu   n. wood ash. Usage: fv{mo batiavu} sometimes used wrongly by children, in place of fv{mo buiaha} to express 'it's dusty'. See: avu; banoi.

batu₁   n. head. Variant: buatu.

batu₂   n. stone, especially big round stone/s in the water. Usage: Old word.

batu₃   n. bush food, similar to manioc. Usage: Old word. Can be chewed like sugar cane in time of famine, but not used as a food at other times.

batuhe!   interj. An exclamation to express strong agreement or confirmation of what has been heard; That's right!Absolutely!

batui vanua   n. village. Nale ovi ana batui vanuani Avunavae. They live in the village of Avunavae.

batunao   n. widow. Atea a mai a lai batunao a vano. One would come to take the widow away.

batutu   n. young, green coconut or pawpaw used to mash roasted breadfruit in order to make savsav. The batutu is first warmed over fire to stop the sap then dipped in coconut milk, before being used to as a tool to mash the breadfruit.

baumbauhi   vi. kneel down.

bau-   n. knee. baum your knee/s.

bavuturu   Usage: East dialect See: uambute.

bea   vt. lure something, as with enticing an animal into a closed space. Mo beae. He lured it in.

behoi   v. make small movements as if to dance.

bei   n. kind of small cabbage, harder than island cabbage (havera). The leaves can also be cut up and mixed with red taro (bueta) in laplap as a cure for dysentery.

beimbei   n. a kind of soft yam.

beleha   n. apple banana, laplap banana (many different kinds).

beluhimata   vi. wink one eye. Variant: belmata.

bembe   n. paper, letter.

bembei vitu   n. calendar. Ka lai na nomam bembei vitu. We got your calendar.

bengali   n. a small bird.

bere   vi. crooked, as with a pathway, sewing stitches.

beremberehahi   vi. twisting, curving around. Sala nian mo beremberehahi. This road twists around.

beru   n. housepost/s, the main supports in house structure. Mo vano mo lavo na beru atea. He went and put in a housepost. This is the first component in the building process; beru are often cut from the vumamaua (tree).

bihi₁   vt. crush something.

bihi₂   vt. add meat or fish to something. Ka bihi na handa wewe mana tomba. We added crab to our laplap to eat. See: imbihi.

bila   vt. shatter or break something. Tamalohi mo bilae. The man shattered it. See: mambila.

bilahe duhu   n. Buff-banded Rail, a bird about 30 cm., with a brown and white spotted back, black and white striped belly, and a reddish head. This bird lives in the bush, is shy and fast running, and often comes out at night. Gallirallus philippensis.

bilahe mo tetevi   v.phr. have small light clouds, cirrhus clouds.

bilahe tasi   n. Wandering Tattler, a kind of shore bird about 30cm; dark grey back, with light grey underbody with dark grey horizontal stripes. Heteroscelus incanus. Supposedly rare in Vanuatu so possibly an incorrect scientific identification.

biletei aka   n. stern, back of a boat.

bimbiho   n. mudskipper (fish), about 10cm. long, with eyes on top.

bimbisahi   vt. fall upon someone or something. Na bimbisahira mo suiha. They fell on each other very hard.

birave   n. Striped surgeonfish, a kind of ocean fish that grows to 35-39cm. Acanthurus lineatus.

biri₁   n. seed.

biri₂   vt. 1 • grate something but not coconut. Kule biri vetai. I am grating banana.

2 • sharpen, hone something.

birimbiri   vi. grate (with an imbiri), be grating.

biriresi   n. sea urchin.

bisi   vt. fall on something.

bisu   n. a white soft yam (dam malulum) regarded as a 'master' yam, harvested in May-June.

bisumbisu-   n. finger/s, toe/s. Bisumbisuna sangavulu na maututu naisonduhu. Her ten fingers were all broken.

bisuroi   n. a kind of soft yam (dam malulum) a 'master' long yam. Dam ri' hisana Bisuroi mo mandi avutehi Natamambo. That yam called Bisuroi just suddlenly appeared on Malo.

bita   n. cicada.

bita ngiringiri   n. dusk. Nia mo mule bita ngiringiri. He came home when it was dusk.

boe   n. male pig, boar.

boe vuota   n. pig, castrated. Variant: boe wota.

boehi   vt. make payment, especially with burial rituals.

boendihi   n. grasshopper.

boi   vt. like, want, love something or someone. Ku boia asena. I like it very much.

boi are sohen   v.phr. hope. Kumboi are sohen Vui mo evui na nona sahasahae. I hope that Vui has finished his work.

boimboia   n. love, liking. Nora boimboia motete telei te tamalohi nira nale mai. They had no liking for any of the men coming.

bolombolo   n. gate of yard. Mo lahautu ana bolombolo. He lifted his leg over the gate.

bombo   n. coconut, one that has matured and has a new shoot, soft tasty flesh and little or no water. haku bombo my coconut (to eat).

bombora   n. scar. See: boromborota.

bona   n. a kind of parrot fish.

bonambona₁   n. details, steps in procedure.

bonambona₂   n. round lumps on tree trunk (not coconut trees), where tree has been cut or damaged, and has grown over again.

bona-   n. nose. bonana his/her nose. Usage: Same in East

bongarua   n. two days from now. two days hence. Usage: Similarly with other numbers as in bongatolu three days hence; bongavati four days hence

bongi   n. day, time. Ana bongi tuai In olden times.

bongi asitalu   n.phr. harvest festival, held annually in March/April. See: asitalu.

bongi eli   n.phr. late spring, around November. Variant: bong eli.

bongi havuhavu   n.phr. time of distribution of money, yams, to relatives on the 10th day after a family death. Variant: bong havhav.

bongi helihelia   n.phr. yam harvesting time. O mai ana bong helhelia. Come at yam harvesting time. Variant: bong helhelia.

bongi hulia   n.phr. land clearing time to make a new garden.

bongi mambua   n.phr. holidays. O mule matai bongi mambua? Are you going home for holidays?

bongi ngandi   n.phr. autumn months.

bongi ngandi tawera   n.phr. month of Apri.

bongi ngandi vorivori   n.phr. month of March.

bongi rara   n.phr. winter to early spring.

bongi rara tawera   n.phr. month of September.

bongi rara vorivori   n.phr. month of August.

bongi suru (taesuru)   n.phr. month of July.

bongi viso   n.phr. late autumn to early winter.

bongi viso tawera   n.phr. month of June.

bongi visosola   n.phr. month of May.

bongi vivilo lesi   n.phr. examination time.

bongi vorae   n.phr. birthday.

bongiha   vi. sometimes, occasionally. Ka noha rais mo bongiha. We had rice sometimes.

bongnarua   n. two days ago. Usage: Similarly with other numbers as in bongnatolu three days ago, bongnavati four days ago

bongtikeli   n. chance, opportunity.

boni   vi. stink, smell bad. Nian mo boni! This stinks!

bonimboni₁   n. smell of something. Ku boi na bonimboni wewe tovon mole noha. I like the smell of laplap when it's cooking. Variant: bonboni.

bonimboni₂   vi. smell good. Nian mo bonbon! This smells good! Variant: bonbon.

borambora   n. coconut leaf mat, woven.

boromborota   vi. scarred all over.

borongi   vt. smell something.

boro-   n. See: bwero.

bosahe   loc.n. coastal area in 'up' direction, north-east from Avunatari area in west Malo.

bosi₁   vi. turn, change. Dondo mo bosi mo mahariri. The night turned cold. See: vohi.

bosi₂   n. attitude. Bosina mo duhu. His attitude is good.

bosimate   vt. extinguish lamp.

bosimbosi   vt. mix (food).

bosinjivo   loc.n. coastal area in 'down' direction, south-west from Avunatari village in west Malo.

bua   n. sea where it is deep, just past the reef. Na suvsuv' ana bua. They dive in the deep water.

buaha   vi. be deep, like the water past the reef, or a deep hole.

buahenja   n. sea where it is very deep well out past the reef. Na suv'suv' ana buahenja. They dive in the deep water past the reef.

buaki   adv. encircling, around. Na ate buaki na tahasi. They are all around the rock.

bualata   n. 1 • floor mat, woven from fine pandanus strips. See: evei.

2 • bedsheet/s.

bualbualtungu   n. rockpool/s left behind by the tide. Variant: tungu.

bualiha   n. See: baliha.

buanu₁   vt. pile up, as with leaves. Variant: banu.

buanu₂   n. group or bundle. O taura buanu sangavulu! Put them in bundles of ten!

buanumbuanu₁   n. a large quantity of something.

buanumbuanu₂   vi. be heaping up, piling up. Variant: banumbanu.

buara₁   n. spider.

buara₂   vi. be grey-haired.

buarambuara   n. a kind of strong yam.

buasa   n. penis wrapper, as worn by men in some parts of Malakula island.

buatawahi   vi. have an accident. Vavine rindi mo buatawahi. That woman had an accident. Variant: buatavuahi.

buatawahia   n. accident. Mo tinomaliohi na buatuwahia. S/he forgot about the accident. Variant: buatavuahia.

buatui vanua   n. village (lit. head of house). Variant: batui vanua.

buatuliu   n. hill, mountain.

buatundira   vi. naughty, strong-willed. Balosuro vauranji na buatundira asena. Nowadays children are very naughty.

buatusari   n. thunder and lightning. See: buiri.

buatu-   n. head. Variant: batu-.

bue   n. mast of boat.

buea   n. slitgong. Variant: bwea.

bueka   vi. sleepy, dropping off to sleep, head nodding forwards while still sitting up.

buele   idiom. 1 • where? Buele Viran? Where's Viran?

2 • well then, so then. Variant: bole. Usage: Often used to begin a question

bueliru bambaravu   n. a kind of soft yam.

bueliru bumbusohi   n. a kind of soft yam.

bueli-   n. gravesite, the house where someone has died. buelini bumbu my grandfather's house where he is buried.

buelumbuelu   vi. close eyes. Tanumue mo viti mo re 'No buelumbuelu!' The devil said 'You both close your eyes!'.

buembuero   n. mushroom.

buembuetu   n. big heavy dark clouds.

buere   n. top shoot/s of leaves, as of cabbage. Buerei ravae mo tisu mo vano asana. The top shoots of the vae leaves point away from his place.

buerembuere na lima-   n. wrist.

buerombuero   vi. (be) deaf. Variant: bwerombwero.

buero-   n. ear. Variant: boro-.

bueta   n. taro (general term).

bueta daeha   n. red taro, the traditional taro. Six known varieties on Malo. Colocasia esculenta.

bueta tamaute   n. new world taro, introduced species. Different kinds such as bueta lulu, bueta joli. Xanthosoma sagittifolium.

buetai reu   n. water taro.

buhoni₁   n. long bamboo supports, running length wise to support roof, lower than haikarawalau. Not always necessary in smaller buildings.

buhoni₂   vi. be heavy.

buhuru   n. bamboo stalk; the long cylinder, up to 2m long, can be used to keep rhythm in dancing by banging vertically on ground; can also used as container, about 80cm. long, to cook muatamuata.

buhuru masoke   idiom. young person 'cut off in their prime', someone in their teens or early adulthood that has died unexpectedly.

buia   n. dust. Variant: bwia.

buiaha   vi. be dusty in the air, as when truck goes along road. Variant: bwiaha. See: batiavu; mekomeko.

buili   n. muddy water. Variant: bwili.

buili-   n. shoulder. builiku, builina my shoulder, his shoulder. Variant: bwili-.

buiri   vi. rumble of thunder closeby. Le buiri. It's thundering. Variant: bwiri.

buito-   n. navel, belly button. buitona his/her navel.

bukere   n. naughty little gnome-like creature, thought to steal food and make mischief.

bula   vt. hunt shellfish or small birds at night with a light. Philip mo bula daui. Philip went hunting for coconut crab.

bulahi₁   vt. throw, hurl, toss something at someone or something. Mo bulahia mo vano ana mesu. He threw it away into the bush. Tarusa mo bulahira mo mai auta. The sea tossed them up on to the shore.

bulahi₂   v. call out a greeting, or farewell. Mota bulahia more hinda avuho. He again called out a farewell.

bulahitusi   vt. toss or hurl something across somewhere, throw across.

bulambula₁   1. a kind of insect with light, bigger than firefly (vuvombu).

bulambula₂   vi. hunt shellfish/birds at night with a light. Vui mole bulambula. Vui is out hunting.

bulambulahi na batu   shake one's own head.

bulambulahi na lima-   wave. Ku bulambulahi na limaku teleira. I waved at them.

bula-   gramm.part. possessive classifier for living things which belong to someone. bulaku toa my chickens. bulara dam their yams.

bulembule   n. foam.

bulembulele   vi. lively, be into everything, touches everything. Suzy mo bulembulele. Suzy's into everything. Usage: Often used to describe children's behaviour.

bulo   vt. bang hard against something, impact on something so that it breaks, like a machine or boat. Aka mo buloa. The boat is shipwrecked.

bulombulorua   vi. hollow.

bulu₁   vt. hold tightly onto something or someone, especially a child. O bulua! Hold onto him! See: bulutahi.

bulu₂   vi. be together. Nale bulu. They are walking together/ going out together.

bulua   n. special friend, one who 'sticks' by you in time of trouble. See: vumbulu: 'sticky' tree.

buluhi   vt. shake hands with someone. Ku buluhira moiso. I've already shaken hands with them.

bului   vt. paint something. Nale bului na skul. They are painting the church.

bului niu   n. coconut cream, no water added.

bulumbuluhi   vt. shake hands with one another. Ka bulumbulihi kamam moiso. We've already shaken hands with each other.

bulumbului   vi. be painting.

bulutahi   vt. join together, as with people in marriage, or in peace ceremony.

bumbu   n. grandma, grandpa; familiar or address term for maternal mother or father (M. or F. speaker); mother's brothers' sons, mother's father's brothers.

bumbusohi   adj.pl./vi. be short. Nira manja bumbusohi. They are short fighting sticks.

bungora   n. top flat part of a post. O laia ana bungorai beru niala. Put it on top of that housepost.

buni   vt. choke, throttle someone.

bura   vi. elephantiasis, be affected with elephantiasis.

burasa   vi. numb, feeling of 'pins and needles', 'gone to sleep', as with arms or legs when blood circulation is poor.

bure   n. puffer fish.

buria   n. bundles of strong yams, placed behind long yams in custom ceremonies.

buria hani na vauranji   n. a kind of strong yam.

burohi   vt. cover over something with a hard covering, such as a basin, cup, coconut shell. See: ronjoi.

burohi na mata-   n.phr. eyelids.

burongi   vt. smell something. Ku matavosai ku burongi na kakao mole noha. I can smell the cocoa beans drying.

buru   n. 1 • earth oven, a cooking hearth dug into the ground.

2 • eating fireplace, as in sumbue system, which indicates the rank of the sumbwe (chief). Sumbwe system obsolete by 2009, only some ranks remaining in the 1990s Levels 1-7 dug below ground; levels 8-16 made above ground. After level 16, system repeated. Buru duhu level 1. Buru maranda level 2. Buru hanisahe level 3. Buru serehi level 4. Buru karai ngalalilima level 5 (still had members in 1976). Buru ngalusanguvulu level 6. Buru hanjahi livusi level 7. Buru livusi level 8 (still had members in 1976). Buru bato level 9. Buru moli level 10 (a few members in 1996). Buru karai vaharua level 11. Buru karai vahatolu level 12. Buru karai vahavati level 13. Buru karai vahalima level 14. Buru bwereinjihi level 15 (still had members in 1976). Buru vahasangavulu level 16. Buru kekelu regarded as a dangerous man with much power; has completed all levels and now restarts, but never sits again at the eating hearths of levels 1-16.

burui reu   n. well for water.

burutung   n. sea cucumber, about 25 cm. long, mainly red or brown but marked with other colours.

busai   n. leopard eel.

busohi   adj.sg/vi. be short, in size or time. Ku busohi tina. I'm really short. Workshop mo duhu tina, ne wik atea mo busohi tina. The workshop was really good but one week was too short.

busu-   n. cheek (of face). busuku my cheek/s.

bute   vi. die from lack of air, suffocate, drown.

butengi   n. midday. See: alo vosa.

butengihi   n. every midday.

butu₁   vi. 1 • dumb, unable to speak.

2 • silent, as when a child stops crying. See: jele.

butu₂   n. shoe/s. From: From English 'boot'.