Samoan (Samoa)→English

Translate Samoan (Samoa) to English the way locals mean it.

Textbook Samoan can make a softened request sound like an order and a polite delay sound like a promise.

Going the other way? English to Samoan (Samoa)

474 local dialects

AIRTranslate on iPhone choosing between Samoan varieties

What locals actually say

Se'i ou toe mafaufau i ai.

Give me a moment to think about it.

Se'i softens and defers the action, while toe means again or once more, so this can signal hesitation or a request for time rather than agreement.

Ua lelei, se'i o tatou fai.

Okay, let's do it.

Se'i makes the proposal less abrupt, and o tatou includes the person being addressed, so the phrase is an inclusive, softened commitment rather than a bare command.

E leai se mea.

It's okay, don't worry about it.

Although leai se mea literally means there is no thing, the construction is an everyday idiom for reassurance or dismissing a minor problem.

Ua taugatā tele le mea lea!

This is way too expensive!

The everyday word “taugatā” means expensive, while “tele” intensifies it to signal a strong complaint about the price.

Fa'amolemole, o fea le faleuila?

Excuse me, where is the restroom?

“Fa'amolemole” is the polite request form that signals fa'aaloalo, while “faleuila” is the Samoan compound for restroom.

Ua uma le mea'ai?

Is all the food gone?

The compound “mea'ai” means food or something to eat, and “ua uma” signals that it has been used up or finished.

Ua sau lo matou aiga.

Our family is coming.

“Matou” is the exclusive first-person plural pronoun, signaling that the listener is not included in “our.”

O lo'o ou faigaluega.

I'm working right now.

The progressive construction “o lo'o ou” signals an action currently in progress, and “faigaluega” means to work.

Notes like these come with every AIRTranslate translation, so you learn why locals phrase it that way as you go.

How Samoan (Samoa) differs

Samoan; tautala lelei formal register vs everyday register by tone; fa'aaloalo respect conventions.

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Localization Notes explaining why locals say it that way