fafine
The Samoan word for "woman" is fafine.
fafine is used to refer to an adult female person.
Meaning: adult female person (noun)
How does it change in a sentence?
fafine is an invariant noun and does not change its form to indicate plurality.
Did you know?
- While fafine is the general term for 'woman', the reduplicated version fafafine refers to a distinct third-gender identity in Samoan culture.
- In Samoan culture, women and fafine often hold significant influence in the management of the family and the distribution of resources within the village.
- The most ancient ancestor of fafine is the Proto-Austronesian word *bahi, used thousands of years ago.
Example sentences for Samoan are not verified yet.
Example conversation
Tau and Losa are talking about a visitor at the door.
- TauO ai lea fafine o lo'o i fafo?Who is that woman outside?
- LosaO lo'u uigā o ia, Tau.She is my aunt, Tau.
- TauE foliga mai o lo'o fia feiloai o ia.It looks like she wants to meet.
- LosaIae, au na o le fa'afeleia o ia.Yes, I will just welcome her.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “woman” translations and entries fafine, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries fafine, CC BY-SA 4.0.
