pō lelei
pō lelei is the Tongan way to say goodnight.
pō lelei is a greeting used both as a parting when leaving someone at night and as a way to say goodbye before going to sleep.
What does it mean word for word?
The phrase is composed of pō, meaning 'night' and lelei, meaning 'good'.
How does it change in a sentence?
While pō lelei is used specifically for the night, the general greeting mālō e lelei is not used as a 'goodnight' parting.
Did you know?
- While pō lelei means 'goodnight', Tongan has a distinct set of vocabulary used exclusively when speaking to or about the Tongan royal family.
- The word pō does not just mean 'night' but can also refer to the darkness or the deep ocean in certain poetic contexts.
- The word lelei shares a common ancestor with the Samoan word lelei, meaning they are linguistic cousins within the Polynesian family.
Example conversation
Akuila and Losa are saying goodbye at the end of a late evening visit.
- AkuilaPō lelei, Losa.Goodnight, Losa.
- LosaPō lelei, Akuila.Goodnight, Akuila.
- AkuilaʻOfa atu.Love to you.
Sources
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries lelei, CC BY-SA 4.0.
