goneyalewa
The Fijian word for girl is goneyalewa.
The term is used to refer to a young female person.
Meaning: young female person (noun)
What does it mean word for word?
The word goneyalewa is a compound. The first part, gone, means child and the second part, yalewa, means woman or female.
Did you know?
- In formal settings, such as a traditional village meeting, the word for girl is often replaced by much more respectful or indirect terms to maintain etiquette.
- Because yalewa is the root for 'woman', calling a young girl goneyalewa essentially acknowledges her future role in the community from the moment she is identified as such.
- In Fiji, the term gone is used for both 'girl' and 'boy' when referring to a child generally, regardless of gender.
Examples in context
- Goneyalewa sa lako maiThe young girl has arrived.
Example conversation
Adi and Semi are talking about a new neighbor.
- AdiO cei na goneyalewa o ya?Who is that girl?
- SemiO koya na gone ni neitou kauaitau.She is the child of our neighbor.
- AdiSa rui qase vaka goneyalewa o koya.She looks quite mature for a girl.
- SemiIo, sa vuli tiko o koya.Yes, she is studying.
