Pacific Islands Languages Trivia

1. "Mahalo" appears on trash cans in Hawaii. What does "Mahalo" mean?

From Quiz Common Hawaiian Words

Answer: Thank you

"Mahalo" on trash can is thanking you for throwing away your rubbish. Many tourists assume it means trash.

From Quiz Te Reo: The Māori Language of New Zealand

Answer: Polynesian, less than 5%

The indigenous population of New Zealand is the Māori who ethnically represent approximately 15% of New Zealanders. The Māori language is an Eastern Polynesian language and closely related to Cook Islands, and Tahitian languages. The 2013 New Zealand census reported that about 149,000 people, or 3.7 per cent of the New Zealand population, "could hold a conversation in Māori". Statistics New Zealand further reported that in 2015, around 55 per cent of Māori adults reported "some knowledge of the language; but of these speakers, only 64 per cent use Māori at home" but approximately 50,000 people can speak the language fluently. The number of speakers declined sharply after WWII but has been subjected to re-vitalisation projects recently and was named an official language in 1987. The language is called "Te Reo in Māori, meaning "The language". The other two official languages of New Zealand are English and New Zealand Sign language.

From Quiz New Zealand Language 2

Answer: An expression of disbelief

The phrase is generally used in response to a statement made that is so suprising that it defies belief and is suspected of being a lie/joke. For example someone may say " I can eat thirty hamburgers for lunch" the response is likely to be "get off the grass": in other words "I can't really believe you - convince me".

From Quiz Bislama for Beginners

Answer: To hit.

The verb to kill is most commonly translated as "kilim i ded".

From Quiz Rapa Nui - Easter Island

Answer: Iorana

Aloha is "Hello" and Mahalo is "Thank you" in Hawaiian. Ariki means "King" in Rapa Nui. "Maururu roa" means "Thank you very much", or literal translation "big thanks".

From Quiz Maori Words Every Kiwi Should Know

Answer: Marae

"Kaikôrero" is a speaker. "Koha" is a gift or a present. "Waiata" is a song(chant) that follows the speaker. "Marae" is a sacred meeting place, used for celebrations such as funerals, weddings, and tribal reunions.

From Quiz Pacific Island Language

Answer: aroha

Across the Pacific the languages vary, but some words are closely related in origin, if not in exact meaning.

From Quiz A Word of Nauruan

Answer: Adore

This is a verb that has three word forms for it, but eredu is the most used.

From Quiz Maori Language

Answer: Hello, thank you

"Kia ora" also has further uses, in particular as an acknowledgement.

From Quiz Common Hawaiian Words

Answer: A resident of Hawaii

Kama'aina (or kamaaina) means locals, which can include anybody who is a resident and not necessarily having grown up there.

From Quiz Te Reo: The Māori Language of New Zealand

Answer: 15

The modern Māori alphabet has 15 letters: A E H I K M N O P R T U W NG and WH, where the five main vowel sounds are similar to English equivalents but there is still some conjecture over the consonants. The two digraphs (two letters to signify a single sound), 'ng' sounds like the 'ng' in 'sing' and 'ring'. The 'wh' sound sounds like a soft 'f' but when the 'f' is transcribed into Māori, it is transcribed as 'p' and not 'wh'.

From Quiz New Zealand Language 2

Answer: An event gone wrong

Used when describing an event that was going well when it suddenly went astray, such as "I was skiing down the slope and impressing the girls when it all turned to custard". The speaker then goes on to explain how it all came to grief/failed: "I hit a hidden rock and broke my leg, ending the holiday".

From Quiz Bislama for Beginners

Answer: Mi no save.

While Bislama dictionaries do exist there is still no standard spelling for many words.

From Quiz Rapa Nui - Easter Island

Answer: Blue

White: Tea tea Red: Mea mea Green: Rito mata Moana also means sea or ocean.

From Quiz Maori Words Every Kiwi Should Know

Answer: Puku

"Niho" are the teeth. "Toto" is blood. "Upoko" is the head.

From Quiz Cook Island Maori

Answer: Meitaki

Meikever = beatle in Dutch, and Mein Gott means 'My God' in German.

From Quiz A Word of Nauruan

Answer: Ancestor

A noun for both the male and female ancestor forms.

From Quiz Maori Language

Answer: family

"Wh" is pronounced "f" in Maori, so this is pronounced "far-no". As with the other words in this quiz, this would usually be used without translation during a news report in New Zealand.

From Quiz Common Hawaiian Words

Answer: Caucasians

Technically "haole" means non-Hawaiian, but in practice it refers mainly to white people.

From Quiz Te Reo: The Māori Language of New Zealand

Answer: All five vowels have long and short forms

The Māori language suffered because it had no indigenous writing system. In 1820 Professor Samuel Lee, working with two indigenous Māori speakers at Cambridge University, gave phonetic spellings to a written form of the language. This was published as "First Grammar and Vocabulary of the New Zealand Language" (1820). Missionaries did not favour this publication and by 1930 had revamped the orthography.

From Quiz New Zealand Language 2

Answer: He is saying that the door has been left open

The phrase is used when someone enters a room (or leaves one) and leaves the door open, letting a draft or cold wind in the room. The inference is that the culprit must not know how to use a door so must have been raised in a tent (with no doors).

From Quiz Bislama for Beginners

Answer: When is the airplane due to land?

The term bambae indicates the future, it may be interchanged with bae.

From Quiz Rapa Nui - Easter Island

Answer: Maururu

Uri Uri: Black Hoi: Horse Hakari: Body "You're welcome": O te aha no

From Quiz Maori Words Every Kiwi Should Know

Answer: Haka

"Haiku" is a form of Japanese poetry. "Hula" is a Hawaiian dance. "Kaka" is a large parrot of New Zealand. "Haka" is dance done with the intent purpose of a challenge.

From Quiz Cook Island Maori

Answer: Turou

From Quiz A Word of Nauruan

Answer: Bake

From Quiz Common Hawaiian Words

Answer: Marijuana

"Pakalolo" literally means 'crazy tobacco', but it generally refers to marijuana in the islands.

From Quiz Te Reo: The Māori Language of New Zealand

Answer: Yes, vowels have a long and short sound

In the Māori language, each vowel sound has a long and short sound.For example, the 'i' in 'kianga' (act of speaking) is short but the 'i' in 'iwi', both of them are long (iwi = extended family) . The Cambridge University written alphabet did not differentiate vowel length. Popular but inconsistent vowel differentiation methods included diacritic marks especially the macron above the affected vowel, or writing the word with a double vowel. The macron has become the favoured (but not standardised) method but there are some exceptions: 1. In the Waikato region of the North Island, double vowels are still used as the preferred method as decreed by the local Māori iwi. 2. Place names with double vowels have stayed with their original spelling 3. Some government department still use the double vowels as there could be confusion between English and Māori versions. For example the Government taxation department "Te Tari Taake" might be interpreted differently if it used the now conventional " Te Tari Take". Diphthongs in Māori differ little than the combining of individual vowel sounds of the single vowels.

From Quiz New Zealand Language 2

Answer: That something is freely available to everyone

The expression is used to indicate that there are no boundaries on participation. For example a politician may have been caught in a lie, the result may be "it's now open slather for the newspapers" meaning they have freedom to print what they like without fear of censure. Also used for example when food has been put out at a party and everyone can just take what they want when they want: "It's open slather on the food" may be the call from the host.

From Quiz New Zealand Language 1

Answer: paid for under a hire purchase agreement

The "never never" comes from the feeling with hire purchase agreements that you keep paying but never seem to get the bill paid off because of the interest that accrues on the debt/loan.

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Last Updated Nov 29 2025 5:46 AM

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