moa
The Tongan word for chicken is moa.
The word moa refers to the bird specifically known as a chicken.
Meaning: bird (noun)
How does it change in a sentence?
In Tongan, moa is a noun used to identify the bird.
Did you know?
- In some Tongan idioms, the moa is used to describe someone who is easily frightened or timid, similar to the English 'chicken'.
- While moa is the standard word for chicken, it is also the name for a large, flightless bird that once lived in New Zealand.
- While moa refers to the chicken, Tongan has a complex system of classifiers that changes how you count birds depending on their size or type.
Examples in context
- 'Oku ʻiate ia ko e moa.She has a chicken.
- 'Oku fakaʻofoʻofa e moa.The chicken is beautiful.
Example conversation
Sione and Sina are looking at the backyard.
- SioneNaʻa ke hāiki e moa?Did you feed the chicken?
- SinaʻIkai, kuo ngalo ia.No, I forgot.
- SioneʻOku fakaʻongona ʻa e moa.The chicken is making noise.
- SinaTe u ʻi ai ʻau moa.I will go to the chicken.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “chicken” translations and entries moa, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
