Language/Samoan/Grammar/Give-your-Opinion

Samoan Grammar - Give your Opinion

Hi Samoan learners! 😊
In this lesson, we will focus on giving opinions in Samoan. You'll learn how to express your personal point of view in conversations and how to agree or disagree with others. We'll also explore some cultural aspects related to expressing opinions in Samoa.

After mastering this lesson, these related pages might interest you: Future Tense & Negation.

Giving Opinions

When sharing your opinion, you can use different expressions depending on how certain you are about your point of view. Here are some useful expressions:

Samoan	Pronunciation	English
Ou te malamalama atu...	oh-oo teh ma-la-ma-la-ma ah-too...	I think that...
Malie le taua.	ma-lee-eh leh tah-oo-ah	The idea is good.
E leai se mea lelei.	eh leh-ai seh meh-ah leh-leh-ee	It's not good.
E tasi le olaga.	eh tah-see leh oh-lah-gah	It's unique.
Tautala matua fai ma le aganuu.	tah-oo-tah-la ma-too-ah fai ma leh ah-gah-nuu	It's traditionally spoken.

In Samoan, personal opinions are often expressed in a courteous and indirect manner. For example, to avoid offending someone, you may use "Ou te malamalama atu..." which means "I think that..." instead of a more direct "I disagree with you."

To agree or disagree with somebody in Samoan, you can use these expressions:

Samoan	Pronunciation	English
Io/ae	ee-oh/ah-eh	Yes/agree
Leai/se'i	leh-ai/seh-ee	No/disagree
O se lafo e pau le aso.	oh seh lah-foh eh pow leh ah-so	It's a great day.

Vocabulary

Here are some useful vocabulary words to help you express your opinion in Samoan:

Samoan	Pronunciation	English
ulufale	oo-loo-fa-leh	comfortable
vave	vah-veh	fast
lagolago	lah-goh-lah-goh	helpful
fa'afeiloai	fa-ah-ah-feh-lo-ah-ee	interesting
malamalama	ma-la-ma-la-ma	clever/smart

Cultural Insights

In Samoan culture, it is important to show respect and good manners when expressing your opinion. As a result, you may find Samoans avoiding direct criticism or disagreement to preserve social harmony.

It is also common to hear people use expressions such as "Aua ne'i faiva..." which means "Don't take offense..." when sharing their opinion. This shows that they are mindful of the other person's feelings and are not trying to offend them.

Dialogue

Let's look at a dialogue that illustrates how to express opinions in Samoan:

• Person 1: Ou te malamalama atu e le ta'ita'i hene i le fa'aaloalo i ou mataupu. (I think it's disrespectful not to listen to my point of view.)
• Person 2: Ou te fa'aopoopo i le isi ituaiga o le mataupu. (I understand another point of view.)
• Person 1: Ae ou te le taliaina e lelei le fa'aaloalo. (But I don't think it's good manners.)
• Person 2: Malie, ou te'a talitonu. (Okay, you have a valid point.)

Practice

To practice expressing your opinion in Samoan, find native speakers on Polyglot Club and ask them any questions you have. You can also do some exercises on Find native speakers and ask them to give their opinion on a topic. Check out the Samoan Grammar section for more resources on Samoan language and grammar.

---

➡ If you have any questions, please ask them in the comments section below.
➡ Feel free to edit this wiki page if you think it can be improved. 😎

Other Lessons

• Future Tense
• Adjectives
• Pronouns
• How to Use Have
• Negation
• Questions
• Conditional Mood
• How to Use Be
• Plurals

Sources

• Samoan Grammar - Give your Opinion
• 12. From feelings to grammar: a Samoan case study
• A Grammar and Dictionary of the Samoan Language | Nature