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Filters

Idioms

Phrases

Proverbs

Loan words

Historical loan words

whānau

1. (verb) (-a) to be born, give birth.

I whānau au ki Nūhaka, Hāki Pei, i te 10 o ngā rā o Maramarima, tau 1904, i tō mātau kāinga e pātata atu ana ki te awa o Nūhaka (HP 1991:12). / I was born at Nūhaka, Hawkes Bay, on the 10th May, 1904, at our home close to the Nūhaka River.

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2. (noun) extended family, family group, a familiar term of address to a number of people - the primary economic unit of traditional Māori society. In the modern context the term is sometimes used to include friends who may not have any kinship ties to other members.

(Te Kākano Textbook (Ed. 2): 3; Te Pihinga Textbook (Ed. 2): 52-54;)

E ai ki te kōrero a te whānau, kāre i iti iho i te tokoiwa ngā wāhine, tokorua ngā tāne (TTR 1996:100). / According to family information, there were no fewer than nine girls and two boys.

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whanaungatanga

1. (noun) relationship, kinship, sense of family connection - a relationship through shared experiences and working together which provides people with a sense of belonging. It develops as a result of kinship rights and obligations, which also serve to strengthen each member of the kin group. It also extends to others to whom one develops a close familial, friendship or reciprocal relationship.

Kōrero ai ngā whakapapa mō te whanaungatanga i waenganui i te ira tangata me te ao (Te Ara 2011). / Whakapapa describe the relationships between humans and nature.

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See also whakawhanaungatanga

ariki tapairu

1. (noun) paramount chief, high chief, chief of chiefs (including for a woman), first-born in a high ranking family, female sovereign.

He ariki tapairu ki a mātou te wahine, ko te tāne he ariki tauaroa (JPS 1926:43). / To us, a woman is an ariki tapairu, and a man is an ariki tauaroa.

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Synonyms: kāhu tātara, toihau, tumu whakarae, ariki, ariki taungaroa, ariki tauaroa

hapori

1. (noun) section of a kinship group, family, society, community.

I pēwhea te reo i tēnei hapori i a koe e tupu ana? (HM 2/2009:1) / What was the language like in this community when you were growing up?

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Synonyms: iwi, mātāwaka, matawaka, hapū, pūtoi

he momo (tonu)

1. true to form, it's a family trait, inherited quality, hereditary trait - this idiom highlights a person's character and inherited qualities or those of his/her ancestors. It can be applied to both good and bad traits.

Ka rawe kē te reo o Kiri! He momo tonu tērā nō tana whānau. / Kiri's voice is wonderful! That's a family trait.

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hūnuku

1. (verb) (-hia) to move, shift.

E hūnuku ana te kirimate, i tētahi rangi mai ko te weranga (HP 1991:8). / The mourning relatives were moving and the next day the fire occurred.

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Synonyms: kaneke, ngatete, kori, tākiri, koni, korikori, neke, paheke, panuku, whakakorikori, , konikoni, tīkape, onioni, oreore, kareu, whakangāueue, rangaranga, takataka, neneke, ngatē, ngeungeu, oraora, pakuku, pīoraora, heke, nuku, ki hori, hiki


2. (noun) family dependants.

I te pō, ka tū a Kihi rātau ko tōna whānau ki te poroporoaki ki a mātau, ki ngā mea e hoki ana ki te tiki mai i ā rātau wāhine, me ō rātou hūnuku katoa (TTT 1/3/1930:2003). / That night Kihi and his family stood to farewell us, the ones returning to fetch their wives and all their family dependants.

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kāhui ariki

1. (noun) aristocracy, royal family of the Kīngitanga (usually defined as the descendants of Tāwhiao).

Ko Raiha Ratete tōna whaea. He wahine nō te kāhui ariki o tērā manawapū o Te Arawa, nō Ngāti Whakaue (TTR 1996:2). / Eliza Rogers was his mother. She was a woman of the aristocracy of the Ngāti Whakaue section of Te Arawa.

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pūtea iti

1. (noun) petty cash, family budget.

Hāunga anō, i runga tonu i tana pai ki te whakahaere i te pūtea iti a te whānau, ā, ahakoa ngā uaua o tērā wā, tokowhitu rawa āna tamariki i tae ki te kura tuarua (TTR 2000:89). / Yet she managed the family budget so well that, despite difficulties of that time, seven of her children went to secondary school.

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Synonyms: moni ukauka

ariki

1. (noun) paramount chief, high chief, chieftain, lord, leader, aristocrat, first-born in a high ranking family - qualities of a leader is a concern for the integrity and prosperity of the people, the land, the language and other cultural treasures (e.g. oratory and song poetry), and an aggressive and sustained response to outside forces that may threaten these.

Nā te ariki o Ngāti Rākaipākā i hoko tēnei poraka ki te Kāwanatanga (HP 1991:31). / It was the paramount chief of Ngāti Rākaipākā who sold this block to the Government.

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See also mana, tapu

Synonyms: rōre, ariki tauaroa, kāhu tātara, toihau, ariki taungaroa, ariki tapairu, kaiarataki, kaikākāriki, ngārahu, tētēkura, uru, kaihautū, kaitakitaki, kaingārahu, manukura, kaiwhakanekeneke, tātāriki, amokapua, amokura, ihorei, kahika, tātarariki, poutoko, whakataka, amorangi, hautū, pouwhenua, kākākura, kaiārahi, kaitātaki, kaitaki, manu taupua, kaiwhakataki, wheao, tumuaki, tumu whakarae


2. (noun) landlord, landowner.

Kāore e poka noa ētahi atu ki te haere ki te takahi i runga i taua whenua rā, engari me inoi rawa ki te ariki o te whenua e taea ai e ia te haere atu ki runga i taua whenua rā (Milroy 2015). / Others won't go and walk on that land without permission, but must actually ask the landowner to be able to go onto the land.

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Synonyms: kaipupuri whenua, kaituku rīhi, kairēti, rangatira


3. (noun) master, keeper.

Ohooho ana ngā kau, ina whakatuwhera ia i tō rātou taiepa, piri ana te hiore o tana kurī ki waenganui o ngā waewae ka titiro kōtaha mai, mehemea nei e whakaaro ana kei te riri rānei tana ariki, kei te pēhea rānei (TH 1/12/1859:3). / The cows are alert when he opens their paddock and his dog's tail is between its legs and it looks sideways to see whether his master is angry or how his mood is.

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Synonyms: māhita, rangatira, kaitiaki, kaitieki


4. (noun) Lord - a name for God.

Ā ka puta mai ki a ia tētahi anahera a te Ariki e tū ana i te taha matau o te āta whakakakara (PT Ruka 1:11). / And there appeared unto him an angel of the Lord standing on the right side of the altar of incense.

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Synonyms: Rōri, Rōre

tāina

1. (noun) younger brothers (of a male), younger sisters (of a female), cousins (of same gender from a more junior branch of the family).

Ki te whakaae ngā tāina me tō rātou tuahine me ō rātou mātua me ngā hapū, me ngā iwi o te whaea, o te pāpā rānei, ka noho ēnei karanga ki runga ki a Pape he ariki mātāmua ia nō ēnā hapū me ēnā uri (JPS 1909:90). / If his younger brothers, their sister, their parents, and the hapū and iwi of the mother or father consent, he is made first-born ariki of those hapū and descendants.

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See also tēina

taina

1. (noun) younger brother (of a male), younger sister (of a female), cousin (of same gender from a junior branch of the family).

Nā taku taina, nā Rihimona Whaanga, au i whakaako ki te kauhoe (HP 1991:20). / My junior cousin, Rihimona Whaanga, taught me to swim.

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tapairu

1. (noun) chieftainess, first-born female in a high-ranking family.

Ka rua ngā take i kōrerotia e ia, arā, ko te whakahaere me te whakaotinga atu i te whare nui, i a Māhinārangi i Tūrangawaewae marae, me tana whakahua i te tauwhāingatanga o Tūrongo rāua ko tana tuakana, ko Whatihua, oti atu ki te moenga o Tūrongo i a Māhinārangi, he tapairu nō Te Tai Rāwhiti (TTR 1998:72). / He discussed two matters, namely the planning and completion of the meeting house, Māhinārangi, on the marae at Tūrangawaewae and his retelling of the rivalry of Tūrongo and his elder brother, Whatihua, ending in Tūrongo's marriage to Māhinārangi, the East Coast chieftainess.

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2. (noun) Kirk's tree daisy, Brachyglottis kirkii - an epiphyte or ground shrub to 3 m tall found in forests throughout the North Island. It has variable soft leaves with shallowly toothed margins. The white daisies are showy in spring.

See also kohurangi

tuākana

1. (noun) elder brothers (of a male), elder sisters (of a female), cousins (of the same gender from a more senior branch of the family).

Ko ngā tuākana ake o Tūmate Mahuta ko Te Rata, te Kīngi tuawhā, me Taipū, nō te tau 1924 tēnei i mate ai (TTR 1998:94). / Tūmate Mahuta's elder brothers were Te Rata, the fourth King, and Taipū, who died in 1924.

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whāmere

1. (loan) (noun) family, household.

Piki ai, heke ai te tokomaha o ngā tāngata o tōna whāmere, arā, ko tana wahine, ā, he wā anō, ko tōna hungawai wahine, ko ngā tamariki tokorua me ērā anō o ōna whanaunga i reira (TTR 1996:94). / The numbers in his household fluctuated but often comprised his wife, and sometimes his mother-in-law, two children and other relatives.

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wharemate

1. (noun) house of mourning - the wharemate may be a special separate structure to the left of the meeting house, or the place where the body lies in the verandah or inside the meeting house, depending on the traditional practice of the particular marae. Traditionally, if the wharemate was a separate temporary building, it would be erected especially for the particular tangihanga and removed immediately after the body was taken off for the burial. Some marae have a permanent building as a wharemate.

Ka haria ake ana te tūpāpaku ki te marae, ka whakatakotoria ki roto i te wharemate. Ki ētahi iwi, ka hangā anō he wharemate hei wāhi takoto mō te tūpāpaku, ka whakatakotoria rānei ki rō tēneti. Ko tēnei te tikanga ki ngā hapū o Tūhoe. Ko te wharemate ka whakatūria ki te taha mauī o te whare. Ki ētahi atu iwi, ka whakatakotoria te tūpāpaku ki te roro o te whare. Ko tēnei tikanga ki ngā hapū o Te Arawa me ngā hapū o te riu o Waikato. Ko te wāhi takoto o te tūpāpaku ko te taha mauī o te kūaha. Nā, ki ngā iwi o te Taitokerau, ka haria te tūpāpaku ki roto rā anō i te wharenui ki reira takoto ai (RR 1974:20-21). / When the body of the deceased is taken to the marae, it is laid inside the wharemate. In some tribes a separate wharemate is built for the body to lie in, or it is laid out in a tent. This is the custom in the subtribes of Tūhoe. The wharemate is erected on the left side of the house. In some tribes the body is laid out in the verandah of the house. This is the custom in the subtribes of Te Arawa and in the Waikato basin. The place where the body lies is to the left of the door. But, in the tribes of Northland the body is taken right into the meeting house to lie there.
I te wā ko Eruera te tiamana o te komiti o te marae o Kōkōhīnau, ka whakaaro ia ki te hanga i tētahi wharemate kia tau anō ai ki te kawa o mua kia mutu ai te whakatakoto i ngā tūpāpaku ki roto i a Ōruataupare (EM 2002:96). / During the time that Eruera was the chairperson of the Kōkōhīnau marae committee, he decided to build a house of mourning so that the traditional protocol could be reestablished, and so that the bodies would no longer be placed to lie inside Ōruataupare meeting house.

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See also whare pōtae, whare tauā


2. (noun) bereaved family and chief mourners.

Ko ngā uri wāhine o te tūpāpaku ka noho tonu i tōna taha, tae noa ki te te wā e ngaro ai. Ko ētahi anō hoki o ngā kuia ka noho anō i roto i te wharemate. Ko ēnei uri ka kīia ko te whānau pani, ko te wharemate rānei...Ko te pouaru me te whānau a te tūpāpaku ka noho i te taha mauī o te tūpāpaku, ko ōna whanaunga ka noho i te taha matau (RR 1974:21). / The female relatives of the deceased remain continuously by her side, right up until the time she departs. Some of the elderly women also sit inside the house of mourning. These relatives are all said to be the 'whānau pani', or the 'wharemate' (bereaved family and chief mourners)...The widow/widower and the family of the deceased sit on the left side of the body, while his/her relatives sit on the right side.

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See also kirimate, whare pōtae

Kōmihana ā whānau

1. (noun) Families Commission.

whānau pani

1. (noun) chief mourners, bereaved family - the relations of the deceased.

Ko te whānau pani e horopaki ana i te rua tūpāpaku (PK 2008:135). / The bereaved family surrounded the grave.

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aitanga pepeke

1. (noun) insect family, insect world.

Ko ētahi o te aitanga pepeke ko te waeroa, te pūrerehua, te pēpepe, te pūngāwerewere, te namu (Te Ara 2012). / Some of the creatures of the insect world are mosquitoes, butterflies and moths, spiders and sandflies.

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manu

1. (noun) bird - any winged creature including bats, cicadas, butterflies, etc.

Ki te kore he kai, kua riro mā tētahi o ngā tohunga e karakia, kua rere mai he kai ki runga ki te waka. He ika, he manu me ētahi atu tūmomo kai mata (HP 1991:9). / If there was no food, one of the tohunga would say a ritual chant and food would fly onto the vessel - fish, birds and other types of raw food.

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2. (noun) kite.

Ka eke ki runga, ka whakahakahaka iho ngā manu rā, ka piki anō whakarunga ngā manu rā, aua tonu ake, ka tiu anō ki runga ki te pā (JPS 1905:76). / Those kites ascended to a height, and then descended, then climbed upwards again until they were a long way up, and swooped again over the pā.

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Synonyms: manu tū, pākau, manu aute, manu tukutuku, horewai


3. (noun) person held in high esteem - a figurative use usually qualified by an epithet, e.g. manukura (leader in council, leader).

Synonyms: manukura


4. (noun) family muttonbirding territory - each muttonbirding island is divided into a number of manu, with boundaries defined by geographic features, trees, etc.

ngare

1. (noun) family, kin, kinsfolk, blood relatives, kith and kin, relations.

Ākene pea koia tēnei te wā i hoki ai a Hikapuhi ki ōna ngare o Te Arawa (TTR 1996:55). / Perhaps this was the time that Hikapuhi returned to her Te Arawa kin.

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Synonyms: karawa, uri, whanaunga, huānga

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