Samoan Gender
Welcome to the fifth Samoan lesson about gender. This time we will view a list of people, feminine and masculine, followed by grammar rules, finally a list of expressions in Samoan to help you practice your daily phrases.
man tamaloa |
woman fafine |
husband to'alua(tamaloa) |
wife to'alua(fafine) |
boy tama |
girl teine |
father tama |
mother tina |
Gender Grammar Rules
In general, gender is used to distinguish between male and female, sometimes referred to as masculine and feminine. For example: my son and daughter are students the noun [son] is masculine, while [daughter] is feminine. The following examples use gender in different ways and places to demonstrate their behavior.
| Grammar + Rules - Samoan |
|---|
| my son is a student [masculine + noun] o lo'u atalii o se tamaititi aoga |
| her daughter is a student [feminine + noun] o lana tama teine o se teneititi aoga |
| he has a tall brother [adjective + masculine] e iai lona uso umi |
| she has a tall sister [adjective + feminine] e iai lona uso umi |
| his brothers are young [plural masculine + adjective] e laiti ona uso |
| his sisters are young [plural feminine + adjective] e laiti ona tuafafine |
The list below will probably provide more clarification. These are family members (males and females). I think it would be wise to memorize them as part of your important vocabulary list.
son atali'i |
daughter afafine |
brother tuagane |
sister tuafafine | grandfather tama o le tama/tama o le tina |
grandmother tina o le tina/tina o le tama |
child tamaititi |
children tamaiti |
Expressions in Samoan
Now it's time to practice expressions used in daily conversations. If you're a beginner in learning Samoan, then the phrases below are something you would want to know.
| English - Samoan |
|---|
| What do you mean? o lea le uiga o lau tala? |
| I don't understand ou te le malamalama |
| I don't know ou te leiloa |
| What is that called in Samoan? o le a le igoa fa'asamoa o lena mea? |
| What is this? o le a lenei mea? |
| What does that word mean in English? o lea le uiga o lena upu ile gagana peretania/o le a le fa'apalagi o lena upu? |
| Sorry (if you made a mistake) fa'amagalo mai |
I hope you enjoyed this lesson about the gender in Samoan. Please check out our main menu here for more lessons: homepage. To see the full menu, you can also click on the "Menu" icon on the left side.
Inspirational Quote: High achievement always takes place in a framework of high expectation. Jack Kinder |