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How To Say ‘Hello’ In Tongan + Useful Tongan Greetings

This post covers how to greet people in Tongan and teaches you some essential phrases including ‘hello’, ‘good morning’, ‘good afternoon’ and ‘good night’. 

It also covers some other Tongan greeting etiquette such as handshakes and gestures.

You’ll leave this page knowing the following essential Tongan greetings and when to use each one:

EnglishTongan
Hello (informal)Mālō e lelei
Hello (formal) Mālō ‘etau lava
Good morningMālō e lelei ki he pongipongi´ ni
Good afternoonMālō e lelei ki he ho‘ataa´ ni
Good eveningMālō e lelei ki he efiafi´ ni
Good night (formal) Po’uli ā
Good night (informal) Mohe ā
Tongan greeting phrases with English meaning.

How Do You Say ‘Hello’ In Tongan?

If you want to say ‘hello’ to someone in Tongan then you can do so with the following phrases:

  • Hello (informal) – Mālō e lelei
  • Hello (formal) – Mālō ‘etau lava

‘Mālō e lelei’ is the most common way to greet someone in Tongan and literally means ‘congratulations on being well’. This is an informal phrase.

If you want to be more formal, then use the phrase ‘mālō ‘etau lava’ which literally means ‘congratulations on making it’.

The small lines placed above some of the letters indicate long vowels.

Check out the video below to hear the pronunciation of these two phrases by a native Tongan speaker:

How To Say Other Greetings In Tongan e.g. ‘Good Morning’

You may want to use some other greetings in Tongan such as ‘good morning’, ‘good afternoon’ and ‘good night’.

How To Say ‘Good Morning’ In Tongan

To say ‘good morning’ in Tongan, you can say:

  • Good morning – Mālō e lelei ki he pongipongi´ ni

This phrase literally means ‘congratulations on being well this morning’ and can be used as a morning greeting. 

Check out the video below to hear the pronunciation of this phrase by a native Tongan speaker:

How To Say ‘Good Afternoon’ In Tongan

To say ‘good afternoon’ in Tongan, you can say:

  • Good afternoon – Mālō e lelei ki he ho‘ataa´ ni

This phrase literally means ‘congratulations on being well this afternoon’ and can be used as an afternoon greeting.

How To Say ‘Good Evening’ In Tongan

To say ‘good evening’ in Tongan, you can say:

  • Good evening – Mālō e lelei ki he efiafi´ ni

This phrase literally means ‘congratulations on being well this evening’ and can be used as an evening greeting.

How To Say ‘Good Night’ In Tongan

To say ‘good night’ in Tongan, you can say:

  • Good night (formal) – Po’uli ā
  • Good night (informal) – Mohe ā

The phrase ‘po’uli ā’ is a more formal and respectful way to say ‘good night’ to someone in Tongan. 

The second phrase ‘mohe ā’ is a more informal way of saying ‘good night’ that is used more in everyday language.

You can use these phrases to say goodbye to someone or as a farewell when going to bed.

Tongan Greeting Etiquette

The most common way of greeting someone in Tonga is with a long handshake. This is acceptable for most interactions. 

In formal settings, the traditional greeting is to put your right cheek next to the right cheek of the person you’re greeting and take a deep breath. 

In Tonga, this is known as ‘fe’iloaki’ (‘greet’) formally and informally as ‘uma’ (‘kiss’). Whilst this is a traditional way of greeting, foreigners wouldn’t be expected to do this. 

When meeting someone for the first time it is polite to address people with their title e.g. Mr/Miss/Mrs and their surname. 

If you’re not sure of their surname, use the below titles to address people politely:

  • Mr – Tangata’eiki
  • Miss – Ta’ahine
  • Mrs – Fine’eiki

Thanks for reading this post on how to greet someone in Tongan.

Hopefully you now know how to say ‘hello’ in Tongan and also how to say ‘good morning’, ‘good afternoon’ and ‘good night’ in Tongan.

If you haven’t already then make sure to learn the numbers in Tongan. Everyone should know this essential vocabulary. 

You can find out more about the Tongan language here.

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