How to Say “Listen” in Tongan
The Tongan verb for “listen” is fakaongo. fakaongo is used to describe the act of paying attention to a sound.
About Tongan
Tongan is the language of the Kingdom of Tonga in the South Pacific, where it is an official language together with English. About 186,000 people speak it, in Tonga and in Tongan communities in New Zealand, Australia and the United States. It is a Polynesian language, related to Samoan, Maori and Hawaiian.
Tongan is written much as it is pronounced. An apostrophe-like mark stands for a short catch in the throat and counts as a consonant, and a line over a vowel makes it long. The everyday greeting is mālō e lelei, and mālō on its own means thank you. Tongan has separate words used when speaking to or about the king and the nobles, so some words in formal speech differ from everyday ones.
| Family | Austronesian, Polynesian |
|---|---|
| Speakers | about 186,000 (2015) |
| Official in | Tonga |
| Script | Latin alphabet |
| Codes | to (ISO 639-1), ton (ISO 639-3) |
Speaker number: Ethnologue (2015), via Wikidata. Retrieved 26 September 2026.
How to Say “Calm Down” in Tongan
To calm down in Tongan is fiemālie. fiemālie is a verb used to describe the process of becoming less excited
How to Say “You’re Gay” in Tongan
The Tongan phrase for “you’re gay” is ‘oku ke fakaleiti. This phrase is used to tell someone that they are homosexual.
How to Say “Uncle” in Tongan
The Tongan word for uncle is faʻētangata. faʻētangata is used to refer to the brother or brother-in-law of one’s parent.
How to Say “Good” in Tongan
The English word “good” is translated into Tongan as lelei. lelei is an adjective used to describe something that is pleasant or enjoyable.
How to Say “Good Morning” in Tongan
The English phrase “good morning” is mālō e lelei ki he pongipongi ni in Tongan. Use this phrase when you see someone for the first time in the morning.
How to Say “Moon” in Tongan
The Tongan word for “moon” is māhina. māhina refers to the natural satellite of the planet Earth.
How to Say “My Brother” in Tongan
The Tongan phrase for “my brother” is hoku tokoua. This phrase is used to refer to a male sibling of the speaker.
How to Say “Blessing” in Tongan
The Tongan word for “blessing” is tāpuaki. tāpuaki is a noun used to describe the act of declaring, seeking or bestowing favor.