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Useful Tongan Phrases It is not necessary to learn to speak Tongan when you visit the Friendly Islands. English is the second language here and almost all Tongans have some exposure to it. At the Aquarium Café, all of our staff speak English, but it might be helpful to learn a few Tongan phrases. Tongans are always very impressed when a visitor tries to speak to them in their native tongue. Even just learning to say mālō e lelei (hello) and mālō (thank you) will be much appreciated. In Tongan, a consonant almost always indicates a new syllable and the vowels have a slightly different pronunciation than they do in English. For example "a" is pronounced as "ah", "e" is said as "ay", "i" is said as "ee". Everyday Greetings: English Tongan Hi. (Informal) Mālō e lelei. Hello (Formal) Mālō ‘etau lava. How are you? Fēfē hake? (Idiomatic) Fine, thank you. Sai pē, mālō. How about you? Fēfē koe? Very Good. Sai ‘aupito. Are you ok? Sai pē? The basics: English Tongan Yes ‘Io No ‘ikai Thank you mālō Thank you very much mālō ‘aupito No, thank you ‘ikai, mālō pē Excuse me (said when passing in front of someone) tulou Please kātaki Sorry fakamolemole Please, help me kātaki, tokoni mai What is the Tongan word for _____? Ko e hā e lea faka-Tonga ki he ____? I am here. (An appropriate response when someone calls your name) Ko au. What’s that? Ko e hā ē? Sorry, what is it? (say it again) Fakamolemole, ko e hā koā? Where is the toilet? Ko fē e falemālōlō? I have a question. ‘Oku ‘i ai ki’i fehu’i. I am tired. ‘Oku ou hela’ia. I am Taua. (name). Ko Taua au. Sorry, I don’t understand. Fakamolemole, ‘ikai mahino. Let’s begin. Tau kamata. Time to rest. Taimi mālōlō Let’s pray. Tau lotu. Do you know how to speak English? Ke poto he lea faka-pālangi? I speak a littleTongan. ‘Oku ou lea faka-Tonga si’isi’i pē. An expression of grief, excitement or concern ‘Oiauē! Stop it! Tuku ia! Don’t. ‘Oua It’s ok/ Never mind. Sai pē ia. Just joking Fakakata pē Just wandering around ‘Eva pē. Of course. Ka ko toe hā. Oh, how sad!/pitiful Faka’ofa. Man!! Masi’i! Really? Mo’oni? Good-bye - (said to someone who is going, when you are staying, informal) ‘Alu ā. Good-bye - (said to someone who is staying, when you are going, informal) Nofo ā. See you later. (informal) Toki sio. Bye Rose - (good bye to a person using his/her name). Lose ē. Good bye - (said to someone who is going, when you are staying, very formal) Faka’au ā Yes, is the common response to all the farewells above. ‘Io! but pronounced it like this “’Ioooooo” Here is a look at Tongan numbers: Numbers English Tongan 0 zero noa 1 one taha 2 two ua 3 three tolu 4 four fā 5 five nima 6 six ono 7 seven fitu 8 eight valu 9 nine hiva 10 ten hongofulu 20 twenty uanoa 30 thirty tolunoa 40 forty fānoa 50 fifty nimanoa 60 sixty ononoa 70 seventy fitunoa 80 eighty valunoa 90 ninety hivanoa 100 hundred teau Here are some monetary related phrases: English Tongan dollar pa’anga cent sēniti How much is it? ‘Oku fiha? Eight dollars Pa’anga ‘e valu Ten cents Sēniti ‘e hongofulu Two dollars and ten cents Pa’anga ‘e ua sēniti ‘e hongofulu Back to top