NGAN'GI LANGUAGE

Meaning:

Farewell someone, say goodbye to someone.

Kurungurr Example:

mamirrika

Word Class:

interjection

Meaning:

So be it!, that's it then!

man

Kurungurr Reduplication:

manman

Word Class:

coverb

yenim

Word Class:

Meaning:

Crawl (of babies), move about doubled over (eg. as someone might to avoid being seen).

wibem

Word Class:

Meaning:

*Belly crawl*, wriggle forward on stomach, elbows and knees.

dim

Word Class:

Meaning:

Flock, be in flight formation, be all in a group (of flying foxes, birds, etc.)

manbili

Word Class:

Meaning:

Big high fluffy cloud formations. Cumulus and cumulonimbus clouds. Clouds that 'look like sheep'.

mandi

Word Class:

time noun

Meaning:

Monday.

Kurungurr Example:

Mandi kana, kuwul wannim.

It's Monday, so they're all off to school.

Mangandarak

Word Class:

placename

mangari

Word Class:

Meaning:

Initiate's caretaker, typically an uncle who sees an initiate through circumcision.

manggu

Word Class:

Meaning:

Mango.

mangurrungurruman

Word Class:

Meaning:

Hole with only one porcupine living in it.

manguyawu

Word Class:

Meaning:

Poison, as used in sorcery.

manytyirri

Word Class:

Meaning:

Foreign, accented speech.

marrawuk

Word Class:

Meaning:

Wind, prevailing monsoonal wind that blows from the southeast.

marrgu

Word Class:

Meaning:

New.

marrgumarrgu

Word Class:

Meaning:

Visiting, going places.

Kurungurr Example:

Tyamennapa marrgumarrgu ngini ngagadi tye.

I was just visiting.

marrguninggi

Word Class:

time noun

Meaning:

Before, earlier.

Kurungurr Example:

Marrguninggi ngemengen.

I came by earlier.

marrimarri

Wumirri Headword:

tyimindirr

Word Class:

Meaning:

Knife.

Marrmalaya

Word Class:

placename

marrngmarrng

Word Class:

adjectival noun

Meaning:

Happy-go-lucky, an extroverted personality. Someone who talks and laughs a lot.

masyapu

Word Class:

Meaning:

Big (of intestine only). See ngekin masyapu.

mata

Word Class:

coverb

wupun

Word Class:

Meaning:

Skin an animal, remove the skin from a carcass.

dagam

Word Class:

Meaning:

Spread someone's legs apart.

wupun

Word Class:

Meaning:

Slice something open.

Kurungurr Example:

Watermelon yu mata !

Slice open that watermelon !

matati

Kurungurr Reduplication:

matati

Meaning:

Salt something, preserve something by rubbing salt into it.

mawa

Word Class:

Meaning:

Plant species (said to be the 'brother' of migenbi).

mawuny

Word Class:

Meaning:

Ironwood tree.

mayarung

Word Class:

Meaning:

'Cock rag', clothing worn around loins by men.

mayawul

Word Class:

Meaning:

Wild, uncivilised, 'myall'.

Kurungurr Example:

Winyerrem mayawul napa.

They're all completely wild!

mayla

Word Class:

Meaning:

'No number', as a call in card games. A valueless card.

maylawik

Word Class:

time noun

Meaning:

'Nothing weeks'. The weeks between fortnightly pension payments.

Kurungurr Example:

Maylawik wurru, gagu fifty yangi fime?

It's 'nothing week', can you give me fifty?

me

Word Class:

bodypart as coverb

dinyinggin

Word Class:

Meaning:

Look at what someone has in their hand.

Kurungurr Example:

Minde yinyirringi me!

Don't look at what's in my hand!

dangim

Word Class:

Meaning:

Help someone, give them a hand.

Kurungurr Example:

Yangi me wityi!

Give me a hand!

diwem

Word Class:

Meaning:

Dead, be dead.

Kurungurr Example:

Manguyawu nimbi diwem me.

He's dead from sorcery.

mem

Word Class:

Meaning:

Lose something, leave something behind.

Kurungurr Example:

Nayf kide nawa ngim me?

Where could I have left that knife?

dinyerrem

Word Class:

Meaning:

Look at what's in your own hand, peep inside your closed fist.

bengim

Word Class:

Meaning:

Make a contribution, chip in, help someone out by giving a little.

Kurungurr Example:

Tyilfa yebing ngi me ngunu ngebi derripek ngini

Give me a contribution of silver, I'm building up enough for a beer.

wudem

Word Class:

Meaning:

Emptyhanded, be emptyhanded.

Kurungurr Example:

Wudem me yenim.

He's the only one not carrying anything.

me du

Word Class:

dagan

Word Class:

Meaning:

Set foot in someone else's country.

Kurungurr Example:

Derrigidi ngerim ngananyi medu ngini.

I'd like to set foot in your country.

me fifityi

Word Class:

mem

Word Class:

Meaning:

Tangled, be wildly tangled (of hair).

Kurungurr Example:

Meyim mefifityi nginde.

My hair's gone all tangly on me.

me gat

Word Class:

bengin

Word Class:

Meaning:

Pass something on to someone.

Kurungurr Example:

Ya nem nimbi ngarim fime, epe wunipirri kana bengim megat wayeyi.

Hey I loaned him that (jumper), but he's passed it on to someone else.

bengim

Word Class:

Meaning:

Make a pass to another player in a game, pass a football.

Kurungurr Example:

Yebingindi megat pagu!

Pass it to me!

me ket

Word Class:

daran

Word Class:

Meaning:

Swap something between people.

Kurungurr Example:

Piwari warranggi meket.

They swapped names.

dangim

Word Class:

Meaning:

Give someone a hand to carry things.

Kurungurr Example:

Ya, yangi meket!

Hey, give me a hand!

bengim

Word Class:

Meaning:

Fall from a tree (eg. of fruit).

dingim

Word Class:

Meaning:

Bite your way loose, cut free from the grip of someone's hand by using your teeth.

Kurungurr Example:

Malarrgu dingingngi meket.

The turtle cut itself free of my hand (ie. bit through the line and escaped).

dingim

Word Class:

Meaning:

Bite someone's hand (eg. of a dog).

me si

Word Class:

yetyin

Word Class:

Meaning:

Cut your hand.

Kurungurr Example:

Gawanyi mesi!

Look out, or the blade will cut your hand!

me syi

Word Class:

wupun

Word Class:

Meaning:

Wash someone's hand.

Kurungurr Example:

Yungi mesyi pagu.

Can you wash my hand for me.

me syirr

Kurungurr Reduplication:

me syisyirr

Word Class:

dem

Word Class:

Meaning:

Extinguish something by hand (eg. switch off a light, stub out a cigarette)

Kurungurr Example:

Yemi mesyirr!

Turn the light out!

yenim

Word Class:

Meaning:

Go out, extinguish, fade away.

Kurungurr Example:

Ngannime yenim fili, yenim mesyirr.

A star shot across the sky, then faded.

dangim

Word Class:

Meaning:

Extinguish something, switch something off using a tool (e.g switching off a motor using a key).

Kurungurr Example:

Ya mesyirr !

Switch it off !

me tu

Kurungurr Reduplication:

me tutu

Word Class:

gawam

Word Class:

Meaning:

Make a shooting noise.

Kurungurr Example:

Gawam metutu gaganim.

She's making a shooting noise.

wayim

Word Class:

Meaning:

Go off, make a bang (of a gun).

me wa

Word Class:

menggin

Word Class:

Meaning:

Believe someone, put your trust in something, pick up on something.

Kurungurr Example:

Apma yiwi, gagu wimingi mewa ngini.

Quiet, the fish are believing me (ie. the fish are taken in by me, they haven't twigged to the fact that I'm trying to catch them).

me waty

Word Class:

wupun

Word Class:

Meaning:

Stay, be somewhere for a long time.

Kurungurr Example:

Wurwunnapa deti gupun mewaty gaganim. Dede errike nawa, madewetimbi dini tye.

She's been there for a while now. How long's she going to stay, it's been a long time.

me wu

Word Class:

daram

Word Class:

Meaning:

Dilly dally, keep to-ing and fro-ing, be running around without doing anything.

me wurity

Word Class:

dem

Word Class:

Meaning:

Pick up all of something.

Kurungurr Example:

Ngeme mewurity tye walipan.

I picked up the whole pile of clothes.

me yerr

Word Class:

webem

Word Class:

Meaning:

Fall down, of deciduous leaves.

Kurungurr Example:

Miringgi bengim meyerr kana.

It's leaf falling time now.

me-

Word Class:

noun prefix

Meaning:

Number of days. This prefix attaches to a numeral X, to mean 'for X number of days'.

Kurungurr Example:

Dede wuni mefagarri ngani tu ngini.

I'll stop there for two days.

Kurungurr Example:

Mewagarri ngi pe Sydney.

I'll just be in staying in Sydney for two days.

Melenyingi

Word Class:

placename

melpe

Word Class:

nominal as coverb

dem

Word Class:

Meaning:

Flatten something, make something flat.

Kurungurr Example:

Lawa ngerim melpe, nganam misyinkuli yenggi.

I spread the dough out flat, and dropped it onto the coals.

yetyin

Word Class:

Meaning:

Squash something flat by sitting on it.

Kurungurr Example:

Wurkerre yenim derriwap yetyin melpe perikut.

This fat woman sat on the pannikin and squashed it.

melpe syi

Word Class:

yenim

Word Class:

phrasal verb

Meaning:

Flatnosed, be flat nosed, have a squished nose.

melpemelpe

Word Class:

place noun

Meaning:

Side by side.

Kurungurr Example:

Melpemelpe nganniny tyerr, ngiddinge nganderri tye.

We halted side by side, standing there (on the escalators).

melpepurr

Word Class:

Meaning:

'Flat arsed'.

melpesyi

Word Class: