Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

fa'afafine

Word Rarity Very rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 1.10 in modern English

Syllables: fa'afafine
IPA

18

Scrabble Score

9

Letters

1

Syllables

5

Unique Chars

Meaning

noun

A Samoan whose gender is neither male nor female, being biologically male but preferring (or being raised for) traditionally female duties and tasks.

Example Sentences

"What I wish to emphasize here is that 'traditionally' fa'afafine have been and generally still are initially identified in terms of labour preferences."
"While Pakeha (New Zealanders of European descent) transyouth are invisible in the curriculum through their gender identity, fa'afafine youth are additionally invisible through their cultural identity. There are currently no support groups in Aotearoa/New Zealand for fa'afafine young people."
"To begin with, he describes the relationship between his Samoan and fa'afafine identities by saying: 'for me culture is always first and then sexuality', and 'any interaction I have with anybody, the two things I want them to find out about me is the fact that I'm Samoan first and foremost and .... [secondly] that I'm fa'afafine.'"

Etymology

Borrowed from Samoan fa'afāfine, from fa'a (“in the manner of”) + fafine (“woman”).

Word Breakdown

Root: fa'afāfine

Questions

What does fa'afafine mean?: A Samoan whose gender is neither male nor female, being biologically male but preferring (or being raised for) traditionally female duties and tasks.
Where does fa'afafine come from?: Borrowed from Samoan fa'afāfine, from fa'a (“in the manner of”) + fafine (“woman”).

How to pronounce fa'afafine

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