The first thing that anybody says to anybody when they meet them is 'hello' or 'how are you?'. That's usually what you learn first in any language, but in Niue there is alittle more that you have to understand first.
One thing that Niue has is a bunch of words called Qios-ae. What they are are words that stand for phrases. For example instead of going through all of a phrase which is pretty common, such as how are you, you could just say a single word that means the same thing. Many of the key phrases are simply Qios-ae. They phrases that the Qios-ae represent can be said gramatically of course and this is usually how you speak politely.
Below are some of the first words that you will need to know. Not all of them have a Qios-ae equivilant but most do.
English Meaning Niue Qios-ae
Hello. Pipely. n/a
How are you?(to a girl) Bro hle rosue bro? Rosie?
How are you?(to a boy) Bro hle rosue bro? Rune?
Please. Tyrhie?(always a question) n/a
Thank you. Jeydaya. n/a
What is your name? Brel le cana hla jela brel? Ylie?
My name is ____. Ly cana hla jela ____. Blish ____.
Where are you from? Bry roll hle jele bry? Nanal?
I am from ____. Hly jely roll ____. Nasa ____.
Good bye. Howie. n/a
