Wondering how to say hello in Tahitian?
This post covers how to greet people in Tahitian and teaches you some essential phrases including ‘hello’, ‘good morning’, ‘good afternoon’ and ‘good night’.
It also covers some other greeting etiquette such as the traditional honi greeting.
Hopefully you’ll leave this page knowing some essential Tahitian greetings.
Table of Contents
How Do You Say Hello In Tahitian?
If you want to say hello in Tahitian then you can do so with the following phrase:
- Hello – ‘Ia ora na (Yo-rah-nah)
Literally this phrase means ‘may you live’ but it is commonly used to say hello in Tahitian.
It can also be used to give any type of greeting in Tahitian including good day, good morning, good afternoon, good evening etc.
This phrase is sometimes shortened to just ‘ia ora (yo-rah).
Click here to hear the pronunciation of this phrase by a native Tahitian speaker.
How To Say Other Greetings In Tahitian e.g. ‘Good Morning’
You may want to use some other greetings in Tahitian such as ‘good morning’, ‘good afternoon’ and ‘good night’. Check out these other Tahitian greetings below:
How To Say Good Morning In Tahitian
To say good morning in Tahitian, you can say:
- Good morning – ‘Ia ora na i teie po’ipo’i (Yo-rah-nah ee teh-ee po-ee-po-ee)
This phrase literally means ‘I wish you a good morning’ but is used to say good morning in Tahitian.
Use this phrase during the morning before 12PM noon.
This phrase is often shortened to just ‘ia ora na which as you saw above also means ‘hello’.
How To Say Good Afternoon In Tahitian
To say good afternoon in Tahitian, you can say:
- Good afternoon – ‘Ia ora na i teie avatea (Yo-rah-nah ee teh-ee avah-teya)
This phrase literally means ‘I wish you a good afternoon’ but is used to say good afternoon in Tahitian.
Use this phrase any time in the afternoon after 12PM noon.
This phrase is often shortened to just ‘ia ora na which as you saw above also means ‘hello’.
How To Say Good Evening In Tahitian
To say good evening in Tahitian, you can say:
- Good evening – ‘Ia ora na i teie pō (Yo-rah-nah ee teh-ee poh)
This phrase literally means ‘I wish you a good evening’ but is used to say good evening in Tahitian.
Use this phrase in the evening time from around 6PM onwards.
This phrase is often shortened to just ‘ia ora na which as you saw above also means ‘hello’.
How To Say Good Night In Tahitian
To say good night in Tahitian, you can say:
- Good night – ‘Ia ora na i teie pō (Yo-rah-nah ee teh-ee poh)
Use this phrase if you’re greeting someone at night time. This phrase is used to say both good evening and good night in Tahitian.
- Good night – Ta’oto maita’i (Tah-oh-to my-tai)
You can use this phrase if you’re leaving or going to bed and you want to say good night.
Check out the video below to hear the pronunciation of the above phrases by a native Tahitian speaker:
Tahitian Greeting Etiquette & Traditional Honi Greeting
In Tahiti, people will greet each other with either a handshake or a kiss on the cheek.
Remember that it is considered rude to not greet everyone in a room – this doesn’t apply if it’s a large group of people though.
You may also occasionally see the traditional Polynesian way of greeting which is called the honi.
You would only use this type of greeting with someone you deeply love, honor and respect.
This Polynesian greeting is when two people touch both their foreheads and noses together and inhale at the same time.
It is very honorific and represents the exchange of the ha which is the breath of life. It represents the spiritual power between the two people.
Check out the honi greeting in the video below:
Thanks for reading this post on how to greet someone in Tahitian. Continue your conversation by learning how to say ‘how are you?’ in Tahitian.
Hopefully you now know how to say ‘hello’ in Tahitian and also how to say ‘good morning’, ‘good afternoon’ and ‘good night’ in Tahitian.
You can find out more about the Tahitian language here.
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