mātau
1. (verb) (-ria,-hia) to know, acquainted with, understand - usually followed by ki preceding the noun showing the object.
Kāore i pērā rawa te tokomaha o te hunga kaiako he mātau ki te reo Māori, he mātau hoki ki te mahi whakaako (HM 4/2008:1). / There weren't as many teachers who knew the Māori language and also knew how to teach.
Synonyms: mahara, mōhio, hua, matatau, pūrangiaho
2. (modifier) be clever, knowledgeable.
He tangata mātau ki te waihanga pū a Hōri Karaka (TTR 1990:140). / George Clarke was a knowledgeable person at making guns.
Synonyms: matatau
3. (noun) knowledge, understanding.
Anei te reo Pākehā me tōna huhua o te kupu, engari kāore i paku kainamu atu te mātau o te hunga taketake ake nō rātou taua reo ki aua kupu katoa rā (HM 4/2009:3). / Here is the English language with its multitude of words, but native speakers of that language do not know anywhere near all the words of their language.
Synonyms: mōhiotanga, mātauranga, mōhio
mātau
1. (personal noun) we, us, they and I, them and me - eastern dialect variation of mātou.
(Te Kākano Textbook (Ed. 2): 13, 31, 32, 52-56, 64-65;)
Nō tō mātau haerenga he wareware anake i a au taku hāmanu ki te wāhi i noho rā mātau. Kotahi māero pea mātau e haere ana, kātahi anō au ka puta mahara ake ki taku hāmanu, heoi ko taku hokinga mai tēnei ki te tiki i taku hāmanu (TPH 15/7/1901:3). / When we set off I forgot my ammunition which was at the place we were camped at. We had travelled approximately one mile when I finally remembered my ammunition and so I returned to get it.
2. (noun) hook grasses, hook sedges, various species of Uncinia - grasslike tufted sedges with short spreading rhizomes. The tips of the seeds are sharply bent back to form a hook.
matau
1. (modifier) on the right hand, right.
2. (location) the right hand, right-hand side.
Kia matakana tonu ia. Kia kāeaea ia ki mauī, ki matau (TTT 1/10/1925:316). / He will be continually watchful. He will look rapaciously left and right.
Synonyms: katau
2. (noun) (sport) right wing.
nuku matau
1. to move right, indent right.
Synonyms: neke matau
neke matau
1. to indent right (text), move right.
Synonyms: nuku matau
matau a Māui
1. (noun) hook sedge, hook grass, bastard grass, Uncinia uncinata - a grasslike hooked sedge native to Aotearoa/New Zealand, the Society Islands, and Hawai‘i. Its natural habitat is from the coast up to 1000 metres, and is found in areas ranging from native forest to shrubland. Forms dense mounds of orange-red, or green, arching leaves about 50 cm high.
