DIRECTIONALS
There are four directionals in Tahitian. These tell us in which was the action is moving, and are very common in everyday usage.
| mai | "come; action towards speaker" | |
| atu | "leave; action away from speaker" | |
| a'e | "upwards, rising, sideways" | |
| iho | "down, downwards, come down" |
Iho is also often used with words like mana'o, 'inu and 'amu.
| Fa'aro'o mai 'oe i teie himene | "Come and listen to this song" | |
| Ua haere mai te ratere i Tahiti | "The visitor came to Tahiti" | |
| Mai Havaiki mai | "(Coming) From Hawaii" | |
| Ninamu mai te ra'i | "The sky becomes blue (Lit: Blue come the sky)" | |
| Ua hapu atu vau i téná motu. | "I swam (away) to that island" | |
| Parau atu 'oia i nehenehe te vahine. | "He is telling everyone (lit: saying out) that the woman is beautiful" | |
| Ma hiti a'e te rá, ua pure au i te Atua | "As the sun rose (up), I prayed to God" | |
| Hina'aro 'oe e pa'uma a'e te mou'a? | "D'you want to climb (up) the mountain?" | |
| Te haere iho nei tátou i te pae tahatai. | "We're all going down to the beach " | |
| Mana'o iho vau tei e 'ori maita'i 'oia | "I think that it is a fine dance" |
Let's practice directionals. Use this picture to help you, and use as many grammatical structures as you know. Two examples are done for you.
| E 'ite mai 'oe i teie tiare | "Come and look at this flower" | |
| Fa'ahi'o atu vau i te 'ori | "I was made to watch the dancing (there)" |
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