Tongan
From Lojban
Order of words
- In Tongan you put an adjective after, not before a noun, i.e. big house becomes literally house big in Tongan:
| fale lahi big house house big [literally] |
- fale = house
- lahi = big
- In Tongan first you put a verb, then a subject, then an object. This might be confusing for speakers of English since in English usually you put a subject, then a verb, then an object:
| Ko e fale lahi eni This is a big house. this house big is [literally] |
- ko e = this
- eni = is
- fale = house
- lahi = big
Wrong: *Ko e lahi fale eni
Tongan alphabet (Koe 'A Faka-Tonga)
- A E F H I K L M N NG O P S T U V '
Normal Vowels (Vauele)
- a e i o u
Long Vowels (Vauele Loloa)
- ā ē ī ō ū
Thus each long vowel can has a macron, bar above it (faka'ilonga toloi).
The effect of having a bar on top makes each sound as if it is doubled. E.g. mama means chew whereas māma with a long vowel (ā) means light. Obviously the effect of having either a normal vowel or long vowel definitely affects the meaning.
Note
The following characters are not in the Tongan alphabet:
- b c d g j q r w x y z
Also ng are counted as one, they must always go together. The n can be by itself but g can't.
This explains why the name Tonga is spelled as such. You can't have Toga (illegal syntax - can't have g by itself). However, you can have Tona - meaning "wart" , well different meanings, aren't they?
Numbers: Decimal System
| Digits | Numerical Names |
| 0 | Noa |
| 1 | Taha |
| 2 | Ua |
| 3 | Tolu |
| 4 | Fa |
| 5 | Nima |
| 6 | Ono |
| 7 | Fitu |
| 8 | Valu |
| 9 | Hiva |
"Weights" or Place Values
| Tongan | English | Examples |
|---|---|---|
| Matelau | Units | e.g. taha, ua, tolu, .... |
| Ngofulu | Tens | e.g. taha ua, ua nima, tolu ono, .... |
| Ngeau | Hundreds | e.g. teau, teau ma ua, teau ma tolu, .... |
| Afe | Thousands | e.g. tahāfe, tahāfe ma ua, tahāfe ma tolu, .... |
| Mano | Tens of Thousands | e.g. taha mano, tahamono uāfe, tahamano toluafe, .... |
| Kilu | Hundreds of thousands | e.g. tahakilu, tahakilu uamano, tahakilu uamano toluafe, .... |
| Miliona | Millions | e.g. tahamiliona, tahamiliona uakilu, tolumiliona, .... |
| Sample numbers | Expressions |
| 10 | hongofulu, you may also say taha noa as in "one zero" |
| 11 | hongofulu ma taha or simply taha taha (one one) |
| 20 | oofulu or simply ua noa,the rest follows a similar pattern |
| 28 | ua valu |
| 100 | teau or taha noa noa |
| 500 | nima ngeau |
| 1,000 | taha afe |
| 6,000 | ono afe |
| 30,000 | tolu mano |
| 90,000 | hiva mano |
| 400,0000 | fa kilu |
| 800,0000 | valu kilu |
| 7,000,000 | fitu miliona |
Frequently used words and phrases
| Tongan | English |
|---|---|
| Malo e lelei | Hello |
| Fefe hake | How are you? |
| Sai pe | Fine, Alright,well |
| Malo | Thank you |
| Malo 'aupito | Thank you very much |
| 'Ikai | No |
| 'Io | Yes |
| 'Api | Home |
| Feitu'u | Place |
| 'Omai | Get, bring |
| 'Ave, 'oatu, foaki | Give |
| 'Oku ou;au | Am |
| Taimi | Time |
| Kai | Eat |
| Inu | Drink |
| 'Alu | Go |
| Ha'u | Come |
| Ako | Study, learn |
| 'Uhinga | Because |
| Sio | Watch, look |
| Va'inga | Play |
| 'O e | Of |
| Ngāhi | Plural word(s) to go with any noun e.g house = fale <> houses, cars etc = ngāhi fale, ngāhi ka |
| Ko hai ho hingoa ? | Who are you? What is your name? |
Questions (Fehu'i)
| Tongan | English |
|---|---|
| Koe ha ? | What ? |
| Fakaku ? | When ? |
| I fe ? Ko fe ? | Where ? |
| 'Uhinga ? | Why ? |
Tongan Currency (Tongan Pa'anga (TOP))
| Tongan | English |
|---|---|
| Seniti | Cents |
| Seniti e nima noa | Fifty cents |
| Pa'anga | Dollars |
| Pa'anga e taha nima | Fifteen dollars |
Putting together what you have learnt so far
| Tongan | English |
|---|---|
| Kataki ha'u o' kai | Please come and eat |
| Malo 'oku ikai keu fiekaia | Thank you, I am not hungry |
| Ko fe pangike ? | Where is the bank ? |
| Koe ha e taimi ? | What is the time ? |
| 'Alu 'o sio Televisone | Go and watch Television |
| Ha'u 'o Va'inga | Come and Play |
| 'Omai e pa'anga 'e tolu nima | Bring thirty five dollars |
| Ko e ha e totongi 'o e sitapa? (ngāhi sitapa?) | What is the cost of one stamp? (stamps ?) Can also specify the number of stamps |
