R - r

rae-   n. forehead. Usage: Same in East dialect

raha   n. a shoot or sucker from a plant. rahai baheo a breadfruit shoot.

rahai vavine   n. family line (sisters' daughters' family line). Usage: Old word.

raharaha   n. a kind of strong yam.

raiere   n. a kind of grass, tall and thick with stalks up to 1metre; small white feathery flowers dry to a red-brown colour.

raka   vi. be shallow, not deep. Usage: Same in East dialect.

rakakarai   n. 1 • Originally the name for a small shrub about 1metre high, with stalks covered in tiny <1cm. sword-like prickles; soft to touch going down the stalk, very prickly going up the stalk.

2 • Name given to introduced species of blue 'bean' flower; grows prolifically by the side of the road.

rakaraka   n. shallow water. Usage: Same in East dialect.

rake   v. grab or snatch at something with fingers.

rako   n. bundle of several things together.

ralihomboe   n. a kind of grass, erect and with 3 or 4 prongs at top; about 20cm. high.

ramalausi   n. Yellow-margined snapper, an ocean fish to about 40cm. Lutjanus fulvus.

ramarongi   n. a kind of low growing creeper; strong-smelling 'hot' leaves can be crushed and used for medicine.

ramate   n. 'sensitive grass', 'gras nel': a type of flowering spreading plant with small fluffy pink flowers about 1-2 cm. diameter; leaves close up when touched, hence name.

ramba   vi. walk side by side. Nale ramba. They are 'going together'.

rambaehosari   n. a kind of traditional fighting stick (manja).

rambe   n. size.

rambu   vt. break, as with rope.

ramburambu   vi. drizzly, misty light rain.

ramesumesu   n. grass. Many different kinds e.g rai heleu baranga; raiere; rairevu; rakarakarai; ralihomboe; ramahotu; ramarongi; ratukaharivi; ravalivalisi; ravingovingo. Variant: ramesmesu.

randa   vi. 1 • be clear, or transparent, as with water, 'see through' cloth, sounds.

2 • light-coloured. daeha randa; henjaha randa light red; light blue-green.

randaranda   n. laplap roll/s. Put about two tablespoons wewe on a single island cabbage leaf, fold over, roll into shape about 10-12cm long, 4cm thick, then cook quickly in hot water.

ranga₁   n. branch (of a tree). Rangai vuhai rindi le turu matua. That tree branch is firmly attached.

ranga₂   n. sweat, perspiration. See: raranga.

rangai mambue   n. a kind of soft yam.

rangoe   vt. put in the pole/s for the yams, begin training the yams on the rango poles (irango). Moiso ku vano ku rangoera. Then I went and started training them (the yams plants) up along the poles.

rangorango   vi. train yam vines up along the support poles (irango).

rani   n. 1 • daytime.

2 • light.

rani tawera   n. mid-morning. Turuvui a maturu a hisi rani tawera. He would always sleep until mid-morning.

ranjaranja   vi. circling. Baheo mo mai le ranjaranja auta. The shark came circling the shore.

ranju   vt. unload many things from a boat, truck or plane.

rara   n. flower of the coral tree. Erythrina.

rarai   vt. make tired, as from hard work, or being in the sun for a long time. Ku rongo mo raraiau. I feel tired.

rarambese   vi. stretch out, as with arms above head, or as when getting up.

rarave₁   vt. push out through, force a way through somewhere. Heletu na rarave na bamba. The pigs pushed through the fence.

rarave₂   vi. commit adultery.

rasa   vi. bare, as with branches of trees when leaves have fallen off. Lovuhai na rasa. The trees are bare of leaves.

rasi   vt. go through something or somewhere.

rasitaka   vi. poke out, stick out. Mo rasitaka ana oneone. It stuck out of the sand. Variant: rasrasitaka.

rasu   vt. scoop out water or other liquid with cup, hand, bucket.

ratalaua   n. leaves of the sago palm (vutalaua), widely used for roof thatch.

ratavoa₁   n. Pink squirrelfish, a kind of small red ocean fish about 15cm. Sargocentron tieroides.

ratavoa₂   n. leaves of the tavoa tree.

ratukaharivi   n. a kind of shrubby grass with thick bean pods about 4cm.long.

rausahe   loc.n. See: tausahe.

ravalivalisi   n. a kind of thin grass, about 50cm. high.

ravavine   n. women, girls (plural of vavine).

ravingovingo   n. a kind of grass, with a soft yellow flower growing up single stalks like miniature wheat stalks; each stalk about 30-> 45 cm. tall.

raviravi   n. afternoon. Variant: ravrav.

raviravi manji   n. revoru fish.

ravravihi   adv. every afternoon. Le maturu ravravihi tene motete? Does s/he sleep in the afternoons or not?

ravue   n. intersex male/female pig (hermaphrodite pig), regarded as being of high value on Malo. Variant: rawe.

ravue lakolako   n. lunar-tailed red cod, kind of ocean fish.

ravuonji₁   vt. exorcise, take evil spirit from someone's body. Variant: rawonji.

ravuonji₂   n. leaf used for Kastom medicine. Variant: rawonji.

ravusahi bambaravu   n. a kind of soft yam.

ravusahi bumbusohi   n. a kind of soft yam.

rawe daeha   n. Coronation grouper, a kind of ocean fish about 50-75 cm long. Variola louti.

rawe revereveha   n. kind of grouper, an ocean fish.

rawe tambale   n. giant groper, an ocean fish.

rawe tutuha   n. Dwarf-spotted grouper, a small ocean fish about 18-20cm. Epinephelus merra.

ra-₁   gramm.part. prefix to indicate leaf. raniu; ramoli coconut leaf; leaf of orange tree. Mota dehi na atolui rambora. The he picked the third wild pandanus leaf.

ra-₂   gramm.part. prefix to indicate female plural. Ravavine nale vindivindiri. The women are picking up leaves. See: vavine.

re   vi. say.

rendi-   n. ankle. Rendiku mo hanjiau. My ankle is hurting.

renje   vi. slow. O sorahia a renje. Say it slowly. Batuna mo renje. He's slow (as in not quick at learning). (lit. his head is slow).

rere   vi. 1 • tip over, almost overbalancing.

2 • be bent low, as with a tree heavily laden with fruit.

rerehi   vt. do the opposite from what was agreed.

rerehia   n. disobedience, not doing something as agreed. Ku ngarahia natalanovi matani nona rerehia. I got cross with her a while ago because of her disobedience.

resi₁   n. kind of small apple-size fruit, yellow-green when ripe, from vuresi (tree).

resi₂   vt. gnaw, chew at something. Harivi mo resi na sowa. The rat gnawed at the pawpaw.

resiresi   n. spotted rock cod, a kind of ocean fish.

reti₁   vi. complain, whinge about something. Mo sora reti teleinda hinia. He complained to us about it.

reti₂   vi. talk. Usage: An East Malo word. See: sora.

retinduhu   vi. be true, truthful; tell the truth. Sorae nian mo retinduhu. This story is true. Nia tamalohi retinduhu. He is a truthful (kind of) man.

retinduhua   n. truth.

reu   n. water.

reuhi   vt. moisten something, water something. Mo reuhi na alolona rindi. S/he watered the garden.

reureuha   vi. teary, eyes brimming with tears.

revei   vt. pull or drag something. Na reveia mo sahe aulu. They pulled her up high.

revo   v. dissolve, melt.

riba   Usage: East dialect See: rimba.

rihi   vi. be insufficient or not enough. Tamalohi mo rihi. There's not enough people.

rimba   n. axe. Usage: Said to have originally meant 'tomahawk' in olden days.

rindi   dem. the, that (referring back to something already mentioned). Vavine rindi mo sahe aulu moiso. The woman has already gone up to the gardens.

ringo   n. kind of poisonous fish.

rio₁   n. dwarf.

rio₂   vi. peep, take a little look at something.

riolesi   n. dragonfly.

rioriobili   Usage: East dialect See: riolesi.

riri   vt. make a hole in something, as with a knife.

rito   n. mosquito wriggler/s.

riu   vt. replace, change, s.t. Tamalohi rongorongo vono mote boi a riua. The stupid man didn't want to fix it.

ro   conj. thus, so.

roa   n. small black lizard. Roa rindi le ovi ana ruhuruhui tano tene tahasi tene vuhai. These lizards live under the ground or stones or trees.

roai   vt. pull down, break down something. Tamalohi na roai na vanua. The men pulled down the house (to repair, replace it).

rohai   n. leaves of a tree (general term).

rohaina   n. leaf medicine.

rola   adv. over there. Usage: Used primarily in the East dialect See: niala.

rombu   n. men's meeting house, traditional style with angled roof reaching to ground, and with many eating hearths inside; no longer built, but some still in existence inland on Malo island. Turu, tamara mo loli na rombuna. Then, their father made his meeting house.

romi   vt. suck in something. Mo romi na tarusa. S/he sucked in the saltwater.

rongo   vt. hear or feel something.

rongorongovono   vi. have no idea, be stupid. Mo rongrongvono mote rongovosai ambo loli sava. He had no idea what he would do. Tamalohi niala mo rongrongvono. That man is stupid. Variant: rongrongvono.

rongovarihanjia   n. sorrow.

rongovosai   vt. know or understand something.

rongovosaia   n. knowledge, wisdom.

roni   adv. here. Usage: Originally a word from East dialect.

ronjo   vi. (be) sick.

ronjoa   n. sickness.

ronjoi   vt. cover over or partially cover over something with a leaf. See: burohi; novohi.

ronjoronjo   vi. sickly, sick all the time.

ronovosahi   Usage: East dialect See: rongovosai.

roro   vi. make a lot of noise like wind roaring through trees, or a truck rumbling along. Truk mo roro mo vano ana sala. The truck roared along the road.

roroa   n. roaring or rumbling noise. Ku rongo na roraoi truk atea. I heard the noise of a truck.

roroaha   vi. be well-known, renowned, much spoken about. Nira tamalohi roroaha. They were well-known men.

rorongo   vi. be possible. Ro a rorongo teleiho ro o lai te atea? So then would it be possible for you then to get one?

rosi   vt. scrape along something, as with the burnt part of a yam, or to make soft as with pandanus leaves. Na rosi na have. They scraped the kava.

rosrosi   Usage: East dialect See: sarosaroi.

rotoroto   v. heat up.

rotorotongi   vt. heatlaplap leaf over fire, for a longer time than alungi.

rova   n. wooden dish, used especially for savsav (breadfruit pudding).

rovi   vt. steal something. Mo soari bulana maniok atea le rovira. He saw that as for his maniok plants someone had stolen them.

rovituhu   vt. return something to its proper owner.

rovo   vi. be picked bare of fruit, as of a tree.

ruhui   v. duck down under something, go down into a small space, get something into a small space.

ruhuruhu   n. underneath part of something.

ruma   n. leech.

ruru   1 • n. clothes, dress.

2 • vt. dress s.o. Ku rurua moiso. I've already dressed him/her.

3 • vi. have clothes on, be dressed. Ku ruru moiso. I'm already dressed.

rurusi   vt. pull out something long, as with extracting a bush knife from a wall, or laplap (mwatamwata) from bamboo.

-ra   pron. 1 • their (3PL possessive pronoun). Tamara mo male mai. Their father just came back.

2 • them (3PL object pronoun). Ku soarira nananovi. I saw them yesterday.