'ai
To eat a meal in Samoan is to say 'ai.
'ai is used as a verb meaning to consume a meal.
Meaning: eat a meal (verb)
Is it said differently in some regions?
In American Samoa, the preferred formal term for eat is ka'iai.
How does it change in a sentence?
To indicate the present tense or a habitual action, place the particle e before 'ai, resulting in e 'ai. To express the second person singular present tense, you can use the structure e te 'ai to mean 'you eat'.
Did you know?
- In Samoan culture, it is often considered impolite to start 'ai before the eldest person or the chief has taken the first bite.
- While 'ai is the general verb for eating, the word for 'food' is also 'ai, meaning the two words are identical.
- Because Samoan is a VSO (Verb-Subject-Object) language, the word 'ai typically appears at the very beginning of a sentence.
Example conversation
Sina and Tau are in the kitchen during lunch time.
- SinaTau, o le taimi e 'ai ai.Tau, it is time to eat.
- TauO le a ou 'ai i le taimi nei.I will eat right now.
- SinaE sili le 'ai faatasi.It is better to eat together.
- TauAe failyia, Sina.Yes, that is true, Sina.
