15 Tongan Words You Need to Know When Visiting Tonga

Mālō e lelei means “Hello” in Tongan and is the Tongan word you’re bound to hear the most of a trip to The Kingdom.

Mālō ‘aupito means “thank you very much” and, if you’re a polite tourist, it’s a word that you will be using a lot in Tonga. You can also say "mālō" for a simple" thank you".

It is often met with a “‘lo mālō”, which means “you’re welcome”.

If you’re staying at an island resort, you’re bound to be staying in a “fale”. This is a house in Tongan and, in the context of resorts, it’s your stand-alone cabin for sleeping in.

Fale is a word seen at the beginning of a few words in Tongan as a word for different types of houses, for instance, the church is “fale lotu”, the hospital is “fale mahaki” and a restaurant is “fale kai”.

‘Io means “yes” and ikai means “no” – simple!

Kai is the word for eating or food. Personally, we think it’s the most important word for anywhere in the world!

Check out some “kai” worth trying in the 10 Unique Foods in Tonga You Have to Try.

On a similar note to kai, inu means "drink"!

Check out some “inu” to try in the 10 Drinks in Tonga You Have to Try.

A positive way to start some small talk in Tongan is to say "Fefe hake?" which means "How are you?"

The usual response is "Sai pe!" which means "Fine"/"Good"/"Ok".

If you want to leave on a positive farewell, a common way to do so in Tonga is with an "'Ofa atu" literally meaning "With love".

The more formal way of saying goodbye gets a little tricky in Tongan, as it depends on the following factors:

‘Alu ā or Me'a ā - Goodbye (if staying)
Nofo ā - Goodbye (if leaving).

Continue to be a polite tourist by saying "please" when asking for something in Tonga.

There are two local words for please; "kātaki" is the most common, while "fakamolemole" is a little more dramatic.

Another type of fale that you’ll need to know is the fale koloa. Fale koloa refers to the small convenience stores seen around Tonga, typically with metal grates over the windows.

Learn more about shopping at fale koloa in The Guide to Supermarkets & Food Shopping in Tonga.

A palangi is quite simply a “white person”, usually referring to foreigners/tourists/white people/Europeans.

Kava is the national drink of Tonga and a narcotic drink enjoyed across the South Pacific Islands. Tonga is a significant producer of the pepper plant that makes the roots from which kava is made from. The drink itself is ground-up roots mixed with water.

Traditionally, only the men drink kava with a woman blessing the kava before it is drunk.

Learn more about the tradition in Where to Try Kava in Tonga.

In the country of the South Pacific's only monarchy, it's only fitting to learn the word for "palace" in Tongan. It's "palasi"! Easy!

... Fā, nima, ono, fitu, valu, hiva, hongofulu! Now you know how to count from one to ten in Tongan! However, these are only the numbers for the standard numbering system in Tonga.

There are different numbering systems used for different items, for instance, there are different numbers for counting coconuts than there are for counting fish.