Pharmacy & Health

1. E iai se vaila'au mo le tiga o le ulu?

   E i-ai se vai-la-'au mo le ti-ga o le u-lu?

   Do you have headache medicine?

   Usage

   Ask for headache medicine at a pharmacy in Samoa

   Grammar Note

   "E iai" is the Samoan existential. "Tiga o le ulu" is "headache". ⚠ "Ulu" is "head"; "'ulu" with the glottal stop is "breadfruit" — a different word

2. Ou te mana'o i se vaila'au mo le manava

   Ou te ma-na-'o i se vai-la-'au mo le ma-na-va

   I need stomach medicine

   Usage

   Use when you need stomach medicine

   Grammar Note

   "Ou te mana'o" = "I want/need". "Manava" means stomach or abdomen

3. Ou te mana'o i se vaila'au mo le manava tata

   Ou te ma-na-'o i se vai-la-'au mo le ma-na-va ta-ta

   I need anti-diarrhea medicine

   Usage

   Ask for anti-diarrhea medicine

   Grammar Note

   Diarrhoea is "manava tatā"; "tatā" alone also means diarrhoea. ⚠ "Manava faalogo" means "the belly hears/feels" (fa'alogo = to hear) and carries no sense of diarrhoea

4. Ua ou ma'i vevela

   U-a ou ma-'i ve-ve-la

   I have a fever

   Usage

   Tell the pharmacist you have a fever

   Grammar Note

   Fever is "ma'i vevela". The English-derived "fiva" is also widely used. ⚠ "Mafiafia" means "thick", so "Ua mafiafia o'u tino" says "my body is thick"

5. E iai lo'u allergy

   E i-ai lo-'u allergy

   I have an allergy

   Usage

   Inform the pharmacist about your allergy

   Grammar Note

   "E iai lo'u X" is the standard possession frame ("E i ai lo'u to'alua" — I have a spouse). Illness takes the "o"-class, hence "lo'u", not "sa'u". ⚠ There is no Samoan word for "allergy". The English word is kept ("mea'ai e a'afia ai le tino (allergy)", "mea'ai e oso ai allergy"). "Ma'i fa'ama'i" is unusable: "fa'ama'i" is a NOUN meaning "pestilence", "epidemic" or "disease"

6. Ou te mana'o i se fusi manu'a

   Ou te ma-na-'o i se fu-si ma-nu-'a

   I need bandages/plasters

   Usage

   Ask for bandages or plasters at a pharmacy

   Grammar Note

   "Bandage" is "fusi (i manu'a, &c.)". "Fusi" = to tie / a belt; "manu'a" = wound. English "plaster" is also understood

7. Ou te mana'o i se vaila'au e taofi a'i namu

   Ou te ma-na-'o i se vai-la-'au e ta-o-fi a-'i na-mu

   I need insect repellent

   Usage

   Ask for insect (mosquito) repellent at a pharmacy — dengue is endemic in Samoa

   Grammar Note

   "Namu" = mosquito; "taofi" = to restrain, to hold back. "E … a'i" is the instrumental relative, as in "o le mea e sisi a'i, pe taofi a'i" (the thing with which one hoists or holds). ⚠ "Susu" means milk / breast / other white liquids and never "repellent"; "iniseti" is not a word. Dengue is endemic in Samoa, so mosquitoes are the practical target

8. Ou te mana'o i se suau'u o le la

   Ou te ma-na-'o i se su-au-'u o le la

   I need sunscreen

   Usage

   Ask for sunscreen at a pharmacy

   Grammar Note

   "Suau'u" = oil. "Suau'u o le la" (sun oil) is used as in "E mana'omia le suau'u o le la?". ⚠ "Susu" means milk / breast / white liquid, not sunscreen. English "sunscreen" is also understood in Samoa

9. E fa'apefea ona 'ai lenei vaila'au?

   E fa-'a-pe-fe-a o-na 'ai le-nei vai-la-'au?

   How do I take this medicine?

   Usage

   Ask the pharmacist how to take the medicine

   Grammar Note

   "Fa'apefea" is the Samoan question word "how". ⚠ It is not "when", so do not reuse it for time questions. "'Ai" = to eat; for swallowing tablets "folo" also works (a pill is "vai-folo", literally swallow-medicine)

10. E mana'omia se pepa foma'i?

    E ma-na-'o-mi-a se pe-pa fo-ma-'i?

    Do I need a prescription?

    Usage

    Check if a prescription is needed

    Grammar Note

    "Pepa" = paper/document (from English "paper"); "foma'i" = doctor. ⚠ There is no lexicalised Samoan word for "prescription", so this transparent descriptive is used

11. Fa'amolemole, se vaila'au mo le ma'i matutu.

    Fa-'a-mo-le-mo-le, se vai-la-'au mo le ma-'i ma-tu-tu.

    A laxative, please

    Usage

    Asking for a laxative at a pharmacy

    Grammar Note

    A descriptive "medicine for constipation". There is no dedicated word for "laxative", so "ma'i matutu" (constipation) goes into the same "vaila'au mo le …" frame as "vaila'au mo le manava tata".

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