Te Taetae ni Kiribati

Kiribati Language

PACIFIC
LANGUAGE
WEEKS
Te Taetae ni Kiribati
Kiribati Language
 Te taetae ni Kiribati | Kiribati Language

The Kiribati Alphabet consists of 13 letters.

The Vowels have the same pronunciation as other Pacific Vowels Short Sound Long Sound
Languages including Te Reo Māori (Maori Language).
A Sound in ‘ask’ and ‘dark’ March
Special Consonants E Sound in ‘elephant’ and ‘enter’ Egg
Nasals - M N Ng
I Sound in ‘pit’ and ‘in’ Meat

Like the vowels, the nasal sounds may also occur lengthened, which O Sound in ‘ocean’ and ‘oat’ Door
may provide some difficulty for English speakers.
U Sound in ‘blue’ and ‘you’ Moon
This is another area in which spelling systems do not agree, often
failing to indicate the additional length. For the most part these
sounds are similar to those occurring in English.
In the ‘NG’ consonant, we can start, end, and use it in the middle of The consonants consist of 8 letters
a word. E.g. Ngare (laugh),‘kangkang’ (delicious) and ‘eng’ (yes). In
the English language, NG is used in and at the end of a word. E.g.
‘singing’ and ‘sing’ but never start a word with NG except for nouns. M N NG
as in ‘number’ as in ‘in’ as in ‘sing’
R - In te taetae ni Kiribati we roll the letter 'r'. For example 'Kiribati' is
pronounced as 'g-i-dd-y-b-a-s'. B K R
K - The letter 'k' is softened to a hard 'g' sound, as in 'gift'. Again, as in ‘be’ as in ‘gift’ as in ‘tree’
this is demonstrated well in the word 'Kiribati'.
T - The letter 't' makes a 'd' sound like when we say the word please
- 'taiaoka' the english phoneme equivalent would be 'd-ay-o-g-a'.
T W
as in ‘sea’ as in ‘we’
I - When an 'i' follows a 't', it changes the 't' to an 's' sound.

Te Taetae ni Kiribati
Kiribati Language
 Te taetae ni Kiribati | Kiribati Language

These consonants are used to differentiate the sounds in:

Additional Consonants
‘maku’ (scared) ‘umwa’ (kitchen) ‘bangke’ (bank)
‘bwatere’ (dance).

mw mwa mwe mwi As in English ‘ma’ in ‘madam’ ‘mwa’ in ‘mother’ ‘ba’ in

‘badminton’ ‘bwa’ in ‘bar’.
Please note that in some parts of the Kiribati islands, these
consonants cannot be used with the ‘o’ and ‘u’ vowels.
bw bwa bwe bwi
Kiribati Alphabet / A na man ni koroboki Kiribati

AEIOU

M, N, NG, B, K, R, T, W (Nasals M N NG)

MW, BW

Te Taetae ni Kiribati
Kiribati Language
 Taeka aika a bongana | Useful words
Kiribati English Kiribati English

Mauri Greetings / Hello Ko rabwa, I marurung

I am fine, thank you
(I marurung ko rabwa)
Kam na bane ni mauri Greetings Everyone
Ko a tia n amwarake?
Have you eaten? Let’s go eat
Ti a nako n amwarake
Ti a bo Goodbye
Kabwara te bure ni iremwen te Apologies for the
Ti a bo, tekeraoi Goodbye, have a safe reitaki rikaaki… delayed response…
te mwananga trip / nice trip
Ni kaineti ma au meeri are ma i
As per my previous email…
Taiaoka Please mwaina…

Ko rabwa (singular) I kukurei ni maroroakinna I am happy to discuss

Thank you
Kam rabwa (plural)
Te tai ni kamarurung! It’s gym time!
Kabwara te bure Sorry
Ko a reitaki nakoiu n te tarebon / Ko
Call me
Ko matauninga Excuse me a tareboniai

Antai aram? What is your name? Tekeraoi n am tokanikai! Congratulations!

Arau _____ My name is _____ Te Atua n tangira God of love

Kaain ia ngkoe? Where are you from? Te karo/te Tama Father

Ngai kaain _____ I am from _____ Mitinare/Minita Church Minister

Ko mwakuri ia? Where do you work? Te Tama Father/Priest (Catholic)

I mwakuri i Te nati/te ataei Child

I work at _____
(I makuri n te ____ ) _____
Naati/ataei Children
How are you (singular)? How are
Ko uara? Kam uara?
you (dual / plural)?

Te Taetae ni Kiribati
Kiribati Language
 Taeka aika a bongana | Family Words
Kiribati English Kiribati English

Tamara Our father Tinami Your mother

Tamau My father Tinau My mother

Tamami their fathers Boy to girl/Girl to boy

Tamaia their father Mwanem your brother/Your sister

Kaaro nakon te nati te mwane/ Mwanera Our brother/Our sister

Parents to children; boy/girl
aine
Mwaneu My brother/My sister
Natiu My children
Mwanena His sister/Her brother
Natiu te aine My daughter
Mwaneia Their brother/Their sister
Natiu te mwane My son
Boy to boy/Girl to girl
Natim Your child
Tariu My sister/My brother
Naati/Natimi Children/Your children
Tarim Your brother/Your sister
Te Tina Mother
Tariia Their brother/Their sister
Tinaia Their mothers
Taari Sisters/Brothers
Tinara Our mother
Tarimi Your sisters/Your brothers
Tiina Mothers
Tarina Her sister/His brother

Te Taetae ni Kiribati
Kiribati Language
 Faith is an important aspect
of the Kiribati culture.
Below is a short prayer and hymn that can be used at the start
of your day, to open a meeting or small gathering.

Tataro | Prayer Anene | Hymn

Kiribati English Kiribati English

Ti na tataro Let us pray E tangirai Atuau My God loves me

Tamara are i karawa Our heavenly father Ao I nori kamimi ni kabane And all the wonders I see

Ti bubutiko am kakabwaia We ask for your blessings The rainbow shines through
E raititi nei Wirara n au winto
n te wiki aei this week my window

Nakoira n tatabemanira nako To each and every one of us E tangirai Atuau My God loves me

Ti tataro n aran Iesu. Amen In Jesus name we pray. Amen

Te Taetae ni Kiribati
Kiribati Language