Opposites in Tahitian – Vocabulary of opposites in Tahitian

In this lesson, we will learn the vocabulary of opposites in Tahitian with nouns, adjectives and verbs by adding their opposite word, their antonym, to each.

The vocabulary of opposites in Tahitian

If you have been wondering how to say:

• start and end in Tahitian
• open and close in Tahitian
• the beginning and the end in Tahitian…

This lesson will help you enlighten and help you acquire new vocabulary.

We will see successively nouns, then adjectives, and then verbs with their opposite for each word.

Do you remember back in school the lessons where we learned:

• synonyms: words with similar meanings
• antonyms: words with opposite meanings

We will do the same thing, in Tahitian this time.

Let’s learn to say antonym and synonym in Tahitian

Let’s start with the beginning:

Tahitian	English
Te taa ê roa raa	The opposite, the antonym
Te hōê ā huru	The similitude, the synonym

Here are more details on the construction of these words.

Tahitian	English
Taa	To be separate, distinct, to be understood
Taa ê	To differ, different
Te taa ê raa	The difference
Taa ê roa	Inverted, opposite
Te taa ê roa raa	The reverse, the opposite, the antonym
Te huru	The gender, the condition, the ownership, the quality, the appearance, the kind
Hōê ā huru	Similar, Identical
Te hōê ā huru	The similitude, the synonym

We already know Hōê ā huru with the lesson:  Comparison in Tahitian – E mea … a’e … i/ia … – Hōê ā … e – Mai te …

Indeed, we learned previously that words could be created by affixing a prefix or suffix via the lesson:  Prefixes and suffixes in Tahitian – Faa, Haa, Raa, Hia – Tei hea

Noun antonyms

Let’s start with the opposite nouns, also with a few verbs to better understand the formation of nouns.

English	Tahitian	English	Tahitian
		Finished	Oti, hōpe
To start (the act of starting)	Haamata	To finish	Faaoti
Start (the fact of being placed in front)	‘Omua	To finish (until the end)	Faahōpe
The beginning	Te haamataraa, te ‘omuaraa	The end	Te faaotiraa, te faahōpe’a
		To wrap in a bag, to cover	Pū’ohu
The introduction	Te ‘omuaraa	The conclusion	Te pū’ohuraa
The first	Te… mātāmua	The last	Te… faahōpe’a
The day	Te mahana	The night	Te pō
The work	Te ‘ohipa	The resting	Te faaearaa ‘ohipa
The week	Te hepetoma	The weekend	Te hōpe’a hepetoma

Opposite adjectives in Tahitian

In this second chapter, we will see the adjectives and for each its opposite in Tahitian.

English	Tahitian	English	Tahitian
Good	Maita’i	Bad	‘Ino
Beautiful	Nehenehe, purotu	Ugly	Hā’iriiri
Hot	Ve’ave’a	Cold	To’eto’e
Short	Poto	Long	Roa
Strong	Pūai	Low (weakened) Weak (down, humble)	Paruparu Ha’ehaa
Easy	‘Ohie	Difficult	Fifi
Clean	Mā	Dirty	Reporepo
Big	Rahi	Small	Na’ina’i
Happy	‘Oa’oa	Unfortunate	‘Ati
Rich	Moni	Poor	Veve
Fast	Vitiviti	Slow	Tāere
Cheap	Māmā	Expensive	Moni
Kind	Maita’i	Bad	‘Ino
New (thing)	Âpī	Old (thing)	Tahito
Young (person)	Âpī	Old (nobody)	Rū’au
On top	I ni’a	Below	I raro
Inside	I roto	Outside	I rāpae
Raw	Ota	Cooked	‘Ama

Opposite verbs in Tahitian

In this third chapter, we will learn opposite verbs.

English	Tahitian	English	Tahitian
Open a door	‘Iriti, tātara	Close a door	Ôpani
Open with a key	Tāviri	Close with a key, lock	Tāviri
Open a tap, a store	Mahuti	Close a tap, a store	Tāmau
Open the eyes	Ara	Close eyes	Tāpiri
Turn on a light	Tū’ama	Turn off a light	Tūpohe
Start the fire	Tutu’i	Extinguish a fire	Tūpohe
Tidy up, put in order	Faanahonaho	Disturb, to mess up	Hue
Live	Ora	Pass away, die	Pohe
Come together, join in	Âmui	Separate	Faataa
Meet	Fārerei	Break up	Faataa

And after ?

With this lesson, we have just learned the vocabulary of opposites in Tahitian. And also, we learned 88 vocabulary words and expressions.