Time & Dates

1. E hia te hora i teie nei?

   What time is it?

   Usage

   Basic phrase for asking the current time

   Grammar Note

   'ea on its own means "path". The hour is a quantity, so it takes E hia? "how many", not "what". "This" is teie (tēia is the Rarotongan form)

2. Eaha te mahana o teie hepetoma?

   What day of the week is it?

   Usage

   Used to ask what day of the week it is

   Grammar Note

   'Ea aha is a mis-spacing of Eaha ('ea alone means "path"). For the day names themselves use Monire, Mahana Piti … Tāpati; French lundi / mardi are also widely heard

3. I teie mahana / Ānānahi / Inanahi

   Today / Tomorrow / Yesterday

   Usage

   Basic vocabulary for referring to today, tomorrow, and yesterday

   Grammar Note

   'āpōpō is the Māori / Cook Islands Māori word for tomorrow and does not exist in Tahitian, which uses ānānahi (tomorrow), inanahi (yesterday), i teie mahana (today). With the preposition i, ananahi means yesterday. nehinei is not confirmed as a Tahitian word

4. Teie hepetoma / Te hepetoma i mua / Te hepetoma i ma'iri

   This week / Next week / Last week

   Usage

   Vocabulary for referring to this week, next week, and last week

   Grammar Note

   hope roa means "the very last", not "the next". Relative time uses mua "ahead" and ma'iri "to elapse"

5. I te po'ipo'i / i te avatea / i te ahiahi / i te pō

   In the morning / at midday / in the evening / at night

   Usage

   Basic vocabulary for parts of the day

   Grammar Note

   Midday is avatea; morning is po'ipo'i (spelled poipoi where the 'eta is not written)

6. Eaha te mahana e te 'āva'e i teie nei?

   What is today's date?

   Usage

   Used to ask for today's date

   Grammar Note

   'āti means "the tamanu tree", "a difficulty" or "a haul of fishes", not "a date". Tahitian has no single word for "date", so the question asks for the day and the month together. 'āva'e means "the moon, also a lunar month"

7. E hia te hora e matara ai / e 'ōpani ai?

   At what time does it open / close?

   Usage

   Used to ask about opening and closing times

   Grammar Note

   The hour is a quantity, so E hia? "how many" is used rather than "what". matara is "to be loosened / opened" and 'ōpani is "to shut a door"

8. E hia te roa no te tae i reira?

   How long will it take to get there?

   Usage

   Used to ask how long it takes to reach a destination

   Grammar Note

   'ia is not an interrogative but a subordinating particle. Duration is a quantity, so it is asked with E hia te roa …?

9. E fārerei tātou i te hora 3 i te avatea.

   Let's meet at 3 pm.

   Usage

   Used to arrange a meeting time

   Grammar Note

   tūtū means "the name of a tree / a pole on a fishing net", not "to meet"; "to meet" is fārerei. Afternoon is avatea. "E … tātou" = "let's ..."

10. Te hora piti 'āfa / Te hora maha 'āfa

    Half past two / Half past four

    Usage

    Used to give a time as "half past" the hour

    Grammar Note

    'āfa is the English loan "half". "hora + numeral + 'āfa" gives "half past". Numerals: piti (2), maha (4)

11. E matara ana anei i ni'a i te hope'a hepetoma?

    Is it open on weekends?

    Usage

    Used to ask if something is open on weekends

    Grammar Note

    "E ... ana anei" forms a present-tense yes/no question

12. 'Aita 'ā i tae i te hora / 'Ua ma'iri te hora.

    It's too early / too late.

    Usage

    Used to say something is too early or too late

    Grammar Note

    pō means "night", not "late". There is no Tahitian adjective for "too early / too late", so this is rephrased as "the hour has not yet arrived / the hour has passed", using tae "to reach" and ma'iri "to elapse"

13. E hia te hora e ha'amata ai / e oti ai?

    When does it start / end?

    Usage

    Used to ask the start and end time of an event

    Grammar Note

    tīmata is the Māori verb "to begin"; the Tahitian word is ha'amata. The hour is asked with the quantity interrogative E hia te hora …?

14. Eaha te 'āva'e i teie nei?

    What month is it?

    Usage

    Used to ask what month it currently is

    Grammar Note

    huru mahana means "the appearance of the day", not "month"; the calendar month is 'āva'e. The month names themselves are usually said in French (janvier, février …)

15. E hina'aro vau e tāpe'a i te hora no ...

    I'd like to make an appointment for...

    Usage

    Used to make an appointment for a specific date and time

    Grammar Note

    fa'a'ite means "to teach, make known", not "to book". Reserving is tāpe'a. taime is an English loan, so hora is used instead

16. Hō'ē mahana.

    One day

    Usage

    Word for a duration of one day

17. Hō'ē hepetoma.

    One week

    Usage

    Word for a duration of one week

18. Hō'ē 'āva'e.

    One month

    Usage

    Word for a duration of one month

19. Hō'ē matahiti.

    One year

    Usage

    Word for a duration of one year

20. Monire.

    Monday

    Usage

    Word to point at when indicating the day of the week

21. Mahana Piti.

    Tuesday

    Usage

    Word to point at when indicating the day of the week

22. Mahana Toru.

    Wednesday

    Usage

    Word to point at when indicating the day of the week

23. Mahana Maha.

    Thursday

    Usage

    Word to point at when indicating the day of the week

24. Mahana Pae.

    Friday

    Usage

    Word to point at when indicating the day of the week

25. Mahana Mā'a.

    Saturday

    Usage

    Word to point at when indicating the day of the week. Saturday is literally "food day" — the day meals are prepared ahead of Sunday worship

26. Tapati.

    Sunday

    Usage

    Word to point at when indicating the day of the week

27. I teie mahana.

    Today

    Usage

    Word to point at when indicating today

28. Ānānahi.

    Tomorrow

    Usage

    Word to point at when indicating tomorrow. 'āpōpō is Māori; Tahitian uses ānānahi

29. Inanahi.

    Yesterday

    Usage

    Word to point at when indicating yesterday

30. I teie nei.

    Now

    Usage

    Word to point at when indicating "now"

31. Hō'ē hora.

    One hour

    Usage

    Word for a duration of one hour

32. Po'ipo'i.

    Morning

    Usage

    Word to point at when indicating morning

33. Avatea.

    Midday

    Usage

    Word to point at when indicating midday

34. Ahiahi.

    Evening

    Usage

    Word to point at when indicating evening

35. Pō.

    Night

    Usage

    Word to point at when indicating night

36. Teie hepetoma.

    This week

    Usage

    Word to point at when indicating this week

37. Te hepetoma i mua.

    Next week

    Usage

    Word to point at when indicating next week

38. Te hepetoma i ma'iri.

    Last week

    Usage

    Word to point at when indicating last week

39. Hope'a hepetoma.

    Weekend

    Usage

    Word to point at when indicating the weekend

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