han

Pacific Pidgin English: *han.

Bislama: han; Pijin: han; TSC: an.

See original Mihalic entry.

Noun forms

  1. Physiology: the hand, the arm ® hanbom, hanrait, hanwas, han kais, plantihan, sekan
    han bilong em i nogut she is menstruating ( euphemisim)
    during that period of days a woman is not allowed to cook or touch many things; thus the expression nogut
    han pensil fingerprint on contract forms
    han tambu the figur of a hand drawn upon and object and meaning: forbidden, halt, beware, no trespassing
    han kais the left hand
    han sut the right hand
    samting i kamap long han bilong mi I get something; I receive something
    sekan to shake hands, to forgive, to give each other the hand
    tupela i sekan long haus lotu they got married in church

  1. Physiology: the foreleg of an animal ® wing
    dok i gat tupela han na tupela lek the dog has four legs
    han bilong pik a pork shoulder, a shoulder of pork
    N.B. lek bilong pik = a ham

  1. Botany: branch of a tree, any bifurcation on a plant
    han bilong diwai the branch of a tree

  1. Everyday clothing: arm or sleeve of a garment
    han bilong singlis the sleeve of a shirt, a shirt sleeve

  1. Tools, machines, instruments: arm, lever or handle on a tool or machine
    han bilong pam a pump handle

  1. Landform: tributary of a river
    Karawari i wanpela han bilong Wara Sepik the Karawari is a tributary of the Sepik River

Verb phrase forms

  1. brukim han (i) to make a fist (ii) to fold the arms
    ol i no givim wok long mipela, mipela brukim han na sanap nating tasol they don’t give us any work, we just fold our arms and stand around

  1. paitim han to clap
    bikman i pinis toktok, na ol i paitim han the leader finished speaking and they all clapped

  1. Warfare, fighting: troimwe han to throw a punch, to fight with fists
    ol i no pait long spia, troimwe han tasol they didn’t fight with spears, they just fought with fists

© Revising the Mihalic Project, 26 Jan 2005 [Home]