leona
The English word "lion" is leona in Samoan.
leona is a noun used to refer to the big cat of the genus Panthera leo.
Meaning: big cat Panthera leo (noun)
Did you know?
- The suffixing of the vowel to create leona follows the standard Samoan rule where almost all words must end in a vowel.
- While leona refers to the animal, the concept of a 'pride' of lions has no direct single-word equivalent in Samoan and must be described as a group.
- In much of the South Pacific, many names for large animals are borrowed from European languages via English or French, making leona part of a global linguistic pattern for exotic fauna.
Examples in context
- Ua matua tele le leona.The lion is very large.
Example conversation
Sione and Talisa are looking at a picture book of animals.
- SioneSe o le leona lea?Is that the lion?
- TalisaIoe, o le leona lenā.Yes, that is the lion.
- SioneE foliga mai e tele lona malosi.He looks very strong.
- TalisaE moni, o le leona o le tupu o le vao.True, the lion is the king of the jungle.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “lion” translations, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
