NGAN'GI LANGUAGE

Meaning:

Heat (especially of sun), sunshine.

Kurungurr Example:

Fiti nide wangirrki syalat pe wiri.

We'll just warm ourselves in the sunshine.

fitipurr

Word Class:

Meaning:

Heel of the foot.

fityi

Word Class:

dem

Word Class:

Meaning:

Roll something in your fingers, turn something with your hands. (eg. turn the knob on a radio, roll up a cigarette, drive a car, etc.).

Kurungurr Example:

Peke ngerim fityi ngirim

I'm rolling a cigarette.

wudupun

Word Class:

Meaning:

Roll up something (eg. a swag or a cigarette).

Kurungurr Example:

Yudingindi fityi pagu peke.

Roll me a cigarette!

dagam

Word Class:

Meaning:

Ride a bike, drive a car.

fityifityimuy

Word Class:

Meaning:

Follower, someone who always follows someone else around.

Kurungurr Example:

Ya fityifityinyimuy, kala wuniyirre girim. Yuda wul!

Hey, you 'follower', your mum's back there, go back!

fityityuk

Word Class:

dem

Word Class:

Meaning:

Encircle, place things in a circle.

Kurungurr Example:

Ngeme tuntum tye garden, ngerim fityityuk fepi kulirr.

I dug a garden, and put stones around it in a circle.

dangim

Word Class:

Meaning:

Place things in a row.

Kurungurr Example:

Warring gugulirr warrim fityityuk mumba nide wibem.

They cut fence posts and left them lying along the road.

fren

Word Class:

Meaning:

Friend.

fufu

Word Class:

wirribem

Word Class:

Meaning:

Shine (of a light).

yenim

Word Class:

Meaning:

Shine a light, cast a light.

Kurungurr Example:

Nem yenim fufu pagu.

He's casting a light this way.

dem

Word Class:

Meaning:

Turn a light on, make a light shine.

fufuli

Word Class:

dagan

Word Class:

Meaning:

Hurry along, move quickly.

Kurungurr Example:

Yana fufuli pagu!

Hurry up!

fuke

Wumirri Headword:

marrawuk

Word Class:

Meaning:

Prevailing wind that blows from the southeast.

ful

Kurungurr Reduplication:

fulful

Word Class:

menggin

Word Class:

Meaning:

Feel that someone is behind you, someone is watching you from out of sight.

Kurungurr Example:

Ya, kenenawa menggingngi fulful.

Hey, I had this feeling that someone was watching me.

yenim

Word Class:

Meaning:

Fall down, be falling through the air.

Kurungurr Example:

Eplen yedi ful tye.

A plane was falling down.

nagam

Word Class:

Meaning:

Dive (of birds).

Kurungurr Example:

Ganam ful wemi tip ngini gagu.

It's (the bird) diving to catch some food.

dingim

Word Class:

Meaning:

Use your teeth to scrape and tear, rather than cut (eg. tear meat off a bone, scrape pulp from a mango pip, etc.).

fulen

Word Class:

Meaning:

'Full house' as a call in card games.

fulful

Word Class:

dem

Word Class:

Meaning:

Pester someone, harass someone for something, spoil a good situation.

Kurungurr Example:

Minde yemi fulful yiwi, nem pirri dini tye.

Don't pester him, he was there first.

menggin

Word Class:

impersonal verb

Meaning:

Feel 'creepy', feel like you are being watched.

Kurungurr Example:

Ngariny tyerrwirr ninytyininytyi mengginngi fulful.

I went into the bushes, and felt like I was being watched.

dem

Word Class:

Meaning:

Pinch, catch something.

Kurungurr Example:

Ngerim fulful agarrfuri zipper ninggi.

I caught my skin in my zipper.

fuli

Word Class:

Meaning:

'Wrongside' marriage, a relationship with someone in a wrong relationship to you.

fulimadi

Word Class:

Meaning:

'Wrongside' spouse. A partner in a 'wrong' relationship.

fulirr

Word Class:

dagan

Word Class:

Meaning:

Rub something on, apply something by rubbing, paint or polish something.

Kurungurr Example:

Membirr watypela nimbi beyi baty, ngannigi fulirr wirirr yerrsyenytyi nimbi, wamumu ngini nganiyirri yety.

When light-skinned kids were born from white fathers, we used to rub them with the black ash of the milkwood tree, for fear that the police (would take them).

wudem

Word Class:

reflexive verb

Meaning:

Grind your teeth.

Kurungurr Example:

Minde yudem dirrfulirr.

Don't grind your teeth.

daram

Word Class:

reflexive verb

Meaning:

Paint yourself, rub yourself with ochre as preparation for ceremony.

dagawam

Word Class:

reflexive verb

Meaning:

Paint yourself.

Kurungurr Example:

Yanawambi fulirr!

Rub yourself with ochre!

fulity

Word Class:

Meaning:

Very old, feeble person.

funfunmem

Wumirri Headword:

bunbunmem

Word Class:

Meaning:

Loose (of sand, dust etc).

fungguli

Wumirri Headword:

funggulu

Word Class:

Meaning:

Sugarbag, honey.

furarri

Word Class:

time noun

Meaning:

Friday.

Kurungurr Example:

Frarri pagu putpul ngini wannim.

They're coming on Friday for football.

furay

Word Class:

mem

Word Class:

Meaning:

Fry food.

furrwuk

Word Class:

Meaning:

Walking, 'footwalk', getting around on foot.

fuway

Word Class:

Meaning:

See fiway.

fuy

Kurungurr Reduplication:

fuyfuy

Word Class:

yenim

Word Class:

Meaning:

Smell, stink.

Kurungurr Example:

Ya, tyagannawa yenim fuy!

Hey, something stinks!

dingin

Word Class:

Meaning:

Sniff something, have a smell of something.

Kurungurr Example:

Walkity kinyi ye fuy!

Have a sniff of this flower!

dangim

Word Class:

Meaning:

Rotten, be rotten.

Kurungurr Example:

Yewirr kinyi dangim fuy wurru!

This tree's all rotted through!

wupun

Word Class:

Meaning:

Sweep.

Kurungurr Example:

Ngupun madifuy abalarr ninggi.

I swept the ground with a bird's wing.

wibem

Word Class:

Meaning:

Blow (of wind).

Kurungurr Example:

Wangi wibem fuyfuy lurrity.

The westerly wind is blowing hard.

menggin

Word Class:

Meaning:

Tag along, join up with someone else.

Kurungurr Example:

Mindafela nem ninggi menggin fuy.

He's not here, he's tagged along with someone.

wupun

Word Class:

Meaning:

Heal, restore, cure someone.

Kurungurr Example:

Wananggal wupungngi fuy.

The doctor cured me.

fuyfuy

Word Class:

wibem

Word Class:

Meaning:

Blow, of wind.

Kurungurr Example:

Wangi wibem fuyfuy lurity.

The wind's blowing hard.

dangim

Word Class:

Meaning:

Wipe a surface.

Kurungurr Example:

Ya fuyfuy teful!

Wipe the table!

wupun

Word Class:

Meaning:

Fan (eg. fan a person to cool them down), brush something away.

Kurungurr Example:

Ngu mifuyfuy ngini amu membirrweti nimbi damuy.

I'll brush the fly from the child's eyes.

dinem

Word Class:

Meaning:

Dry something out, cause someting to dry, put something where it will dry out.

Kurungurr Example:

Nginem fuyfuy kana debiweri nyinyi.

I'm drying your pants out.

wayim

Word Class:

Meaning:

Dry something out (fire or sunshine to dry something).

Kurungurr Example:

Fiti ninggi wayim fuyfuy kana.

The sunshine's dried it out now.

fuyfuy purr

Word Class:

coverb + bodypart

yenim

Word Class:

Meaning:

'Smelly-arsed', be 'smelly-arsed', have a 'stinking arse'.

fuywarramuy

Word Class:

Meaning:

Dull, misted up, opaque (of glass), having a smeared surface.

fuywarrapurr

Word Class:

Meaning:

'Smeary bottomed'. Having a dirty bottom.

fwa

Wumirri Headword:

kunba

Word Class:

Meaning:

Wax from honey of the Pinggilsya bee.

gagu

Word Class:

Meaning:

Generic noun denoting all members of the 'gagu' noun class. This includes; most animals, spirits and ghosts, sorcerors and traditional doctors, priests, money, sex, and playing cards.

Kurungurr Example:

Ma, gagu yeyi pagu!

Give me another card!

Kurungurr Example:

Gagu ngatya menyngiti.

The priest told me.

gagu akerre

Word Class:

Meaning:

Pope, head of the Catholic Church.

galal

Word Class:

dem

Word Class:

Meaning:

Rustle, make a rustling noise with your hands.

dagan

Word Class:

Meaning:

Rustle, nake a rustling noise with your feet.

dingin

Word Class:

Meaning:

Rustle, make a rustling noise with your mouth (eg. by blowing dry leaves, etc).

ganggi

Word Class:

nominal as coverb

dem

Word Class:

Meaning:

Lift up, raise up something. Cause something to be up off the ground.

Kurungurr Example:

Yenim palak, yemi ganggi!

It's fallen down, rase it up higher!

ganggi ... tyerr

Word Class:

coverb + bodypart

mem

Word Class:

Meaning:

Pointed upwards, be pointed upwards, have one's mouth raised upwards.

ganggi derri

Word Class:

Meaning:

High plain, or ridge. Raised country above the level of surrounding ground.

gargar ... tyerr

Word Class:

coverb + bodypart

mem

Word Class:

Meaning:

Whisper teasingly.

Kurungurr Example:

Gargar yirrmegu tyerr yinne?

What are you two whispering about?

gari

Word Class:

Meaning:

Humpy, paper bark shelter.

garrar

Word Class:

wupun

Word Class:

Meaning:

Unwrap something.

Kurungurr Example:

wupun

Word Class:

Meaning:

Make eyes at someone.

Kurungurr Example:

Ngayim wuni wupungngi garrar.

She's making eyes at me.

wupun

Word Class:

Meaning:

Protrude, stick out from something.

Kurungurr Example:

Yawul wupun garrar.

The spear passed right through him and was sticking out the back.

dem

Word Class:

Meaning:

Untie something, undo a knot.

Kurungurr Example:

Fi ngemi garrar ngini.

I'll untie the rope.

wudupun

Word Class:

Meaning:

Unroll something.

Kurungurr Example:

Ngurrupun garrar musulng.

I rolled out my swag.

garrarki

Word Class:

wudupun

Word Class:

Meaning:

Swing something around, twirl something in the air.

Kurungurr Example:

Afenggu ngurrupun garrarki ngurrupun bat.

I swung the snake round and round and smashed it on the ground.

garri

Word Class:

dim

Word Class:

Meaning:

Fight.

Kurungurr Example:

Ngagarri ngirringgi karri.

We are fighting.

garri da

Word Class:

disen

Word Class:

Meaning:

Abandon a place, leave a campsite uninhabited.

Kurungurr Example:

Wakay minde fala kana, dede wirreng garrida.

There's no one here now, they've all moved on and left it.

garri du

Word Class:

dem

Word Class:

Meaning:

Pregnant, get pregnant.

Kurungurr Example:

Deng garridu.

She's pregnant.

garri fal

Word Class:

dim

Word Class:

Meaning:

Sit with legs spread open.

Kurungurr Example:

Ding garrifal dim.

He's sittiing with his legs spread apart.

garri fil

Word Class:

dem

Word Class:

Meaning:

Scratch marks onto the trunk of a tree (as a possum does around the entrance to its nest).

garri fityi

Word Class:

wim

Word Class:

Meaning:

Sit cross-legged.

garri pat

Word Class:

dagum

Word Class:

Meaning:

Catch up with someone.

Kurungurr Example:

Yana felfil ngini lurrity, yana garri pat ngini.

If you run fast, you'll catch him up.

garri syarr

Word Class:

dem

Word Class:

Meaning:

Make a scratching mark on a tree (as goannas and possums do).

garri tyap

Word Class:

menggin

Word Class:

Meaning:

Stick to your leg (eg. of a leech).

menggin

Word Class:

Meaning:

Attach yourself to a person, behave as though you were stuck to their leg, follow someone too closely.

Kurungurr Example:

Ya nem kinyi kide? Aya menggin garrityap pub pirri ganang gerri.

Hey where's this bloke? He's already 'attached himself to the leg' of someone going to the pub.

garri tyetyirr

Word Class:

yenim

Word Class:

Meaning:

Stand around in one spot.

Kurungurr Example:

Wuni tyagani yenin garrityetyirr? Tyagannimbi minde gemenggennin nime.

What's he standing around over there for? Why doesn't he come over here to us?

garri wat

Word Class:

wupun

Word Class:

Meaning:

Trip someone up, hook someone around the leg.

Kurungurr Example:

Wupungngi garriwat.

It tripped me.

garri waty

Word Class:

wupun

Word Class: