THE SUFFIX -RA'A
The suffix -ra'a is commonly used in Tahitian to turn a verb into an active noun - meaning it describes the noun of the action of the verb ("living"), rather than the abstract noun of the verb ("life"). It's roughly equivalent to "-ing" in English, and it has a great derivational power. Here are a wide range of examples for you, to see how much this suffix can do.
| ora | "life; to live" | orara'a | "living" | ||
| 'inu | "drink" | 'inura'a | "drinking" | ||
| púai | "power, strength" | ha'apúaira'a | "making power, acceleration" | ||
| pure | "pray, prayer" | purera'a | "praying" | ||
| párahi | "sit" | párahira'a | "chair" | ||
| pápa'i | "write" | pápa'ira'a | "writing" | ||
| hi'o | "look" | hi'ora'a | "looking; a lookout" | ||
| tama'a | tama'ara'a | "feast, party" | |||
| hopu | "enrich, prosper" | hopura'a | "prosperity, richness, enriching" | ||
| vau | "exist" | vaura'a | "existing, existence" | ||
| 'arue | "admire, praise" | 'aruera'a | "admiring, admiration, praise" | ||
| mo'e | "forget" | mo'era'a | "forgetting, passing from memory" | ||
| 'ori | "dance" | 'orira'a | "dancing" |
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