My name is in Tahitian – My, your, his – To’u, ta’u

First to introduce yourself, you want to say My name is in Tahitian !

During this lesson, we will learn to say: My name is … Tahitian. My first name is … Tahitian.

Also, we’ll see the possessive pronouns (my, your, his) and thus learn the difference between “to’u” and “ta’u”.

So you’re ready, it’s “reva.” (translation: let’s go)

My name is … in Tahitian

First, let’s start right away with a dialogue.

English	Tahitian
What’s your name?	E aha to ‘oe i’oa?
My name is Hina	‘O Hina to ‘u i’oa
And you, what’s your name?	E ‘oe, e aha to ‘oe i’oa?
Me, my name is Mere	‘O vau, ‘o Mere to ‘u i’oa

First, in this exchange of words, we identify the following keywords:

Tahitian	English
Te i’oa	The name
Te	The
E aha	What
To ‘u / ta ‘u (depending on the case)	My
To ‘oe / ta ‘oe (depending on the case)	Your
Reva	To leave

And then, after my, your, his, what’s next, will you tell me?

My, your, his, her, our, your, their

If you haven’t read the lesson Introduce yourself in Tahitian – I, you, he – Vau, au – Who , I advise you to do it first to better understand the next chapter.

Possessive pronouns (my, your, his…)

Second, the possessibe pronouns, below is the list.

Singular	Dual	Plural
To ‘u               my	To tāua       our To māua	To tātou       our To mātou
To ‘oe             your	To ôrua       your	To ‘outou     your
To na              his, her	To rāua       their	To rātou       their

And also,

Singular	Dual	Plural
Ta ‘u               my	Ta tāua       our Ta māua	Ta tātou       our Ta mātou
Ta ‘oe             your	Ta ôrua       your	Ta ‘outou     your
Ta na              his, her	Ta rāua       their	Ta rātou       their

Difference between “to’u” and “ta’u”

In Tahiti, to translate “my”, we use “to’u” or “ta’u” depending on the case.

So here’s the associated grammar rule:

Grammar Rule: To’u and ta’u

To translate “my”, if the next word has a bond of intimacy, a part of the body, a link of vital importance, we use “to’u”. Otherwise, we use “ta’u.” On the other hand, there is an exception: Ta’u vahine — My wife We’re talking about strong possession for “to’u” and weak possession for “ta’u.”

Here’s an example:

Tahitian	English
To ‘u fare	My house
To ‘u rima	My hand
To ‘u ‘ahu	My clothe
Ta ‘u pereoo	My car
Ta ‘u puta	My book
Ta ‘u vahine	My wife
To ‘u tane	My husband

What’s the next lesson?

So we’ve just learned 22 words and phrases. Not bad!

Quick, quick, you can’t wait for the next lesson? We’ll meet later for a vocabulary lesson.