Local Drinks

1. ʻOtai

   ʻOtai (a fruit-and-coconut-milk drink)

   Usage

   Watermelon or mango is pulped and mixed with coconut milk, water and sugar, and served cold. It appears at every feast and church gathering. It sits between a drink and a fruit salad — expect pulp at the bottom of the cup

   Grammar Note

   ʻOtai means "fruit salad", or "Tongan punch" ("Watermelon Drink"). It is used as in "ʻoku ngāueʻaki ʻi he ʻotai" (it is used in ʻotai)

2. Meʻainu

   Drink, beverage (general word)

   Usage

   The one-word way to say "drinks" on a menu or in a shop. It is the mirror image of meʻakai "food", so the pair covers most of what you need at a meal

   Grammar Note

   "meʻainu" is "drink, what one drinks, beverage of any kind". It is built meʻa "thing" + inu "drink", exactly like meʻakai "food". Example: "ko e meʻainu kotoa pē ʻaia ʻoku ngofua ke inu" (every beverage that may be drunk)

3. Huhuʻa inu

   Juice

   Usage

   Fruit juice. What is actually on the shelf in Tongan shops is mostly imported cartons and drink powder; for fresh juice, ask at the market or at a resort

   Grammar Note

   "huhuʻa inu" means "juice". Bare huhuʻa means "liquid, sap, milk": "ʻae huhuʻa ʻo e kālepi" (the juice of the grape), "ʻi he huhuʻa ʻo ʻene faʻē" (in its mother's milk)

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