hinehina
The Tongan word for the color white is hinehina.
hinehina is used to refer to the color white as a noun.
Meaning: color (noun)
Did you know?
- In Tongan, the word hinehina is a reduplication of hina, which describes the pale or greyish-white color of aged hair.
- Because Tongan is a Polynesian language, the root of hinehina shares an ancestral connection with words for white or pale in Maori and Hawaiian.
- The term hinehina is part of a color system that historically relied more on brightness and saturation than the strict spectral categories used in English.
Examples in context
- ʻOku hinehina e pepa.The paper is white.
Example conversation
Sina and Akuila are looking at a piece of paper.
- SinaKo e hā e kala ʻo e pepa ʻeni?What is the color of this paper?
- AkuilaʻOku hinehina ia, Sina.It is white, Sina.
- SinaʻOku ʻuike ia ki he peke ʻa Akuila.It is like Akuila's shirt.
- AkuilaʻAe, ʻoku hinehina tōtōʻe.Yes, it is very white.
