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Idioms

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Loan words

Historical loan words

Filters

Idioms

Phrases

Proverbs

Loan words

Historical loan words

1. (location) the place over there, there, over there - a location word, or locative, which follows immediately after particles such as ki, i, hei and kei.

(Te Kākano Textbook (Ed. 2): 121; Te Pihinga Textbook (Ed. 2): 24;)

E haere ana au ki takoto ai. / I'm going over there to lie down.

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Synonyms: korā,


2. (location) further, further away - when used with atu.

(Te Pihinga Textbook (Ed. 2): 45;)

Haere ki ! Ki kō atu! Ki kō rawa atu! / Go over there! Further yet! Much, much further!

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3. (location) distant point in time, sometime in the future, sometime soon.

Ā kō ake nei hoki ai a Poia ki Murupara. / Sometime in the future Poia will return to Murupara.

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4. (location) the far side, the other side - when used with atu.

(Te Pihinga Textbook (Ed. 2): 45;)

Ka haere tāua ki kō atu o te taraka rā. / Let's go to the other side of that truck.

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5. (location) the near side, this side - when used with mai.

(Te Pihinga Textbook (Ed. 2): 45;)

Arā a Te Wharetoroa, kei kō mai o te pou haki. / There is Te Wharetoroa, on this side of the flagpole.

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ko

1. (particle) A particle with no English equivalent used when talking about something specific and used before proper names, pronouns and common nouns preceded by a definitive.

(Te Kākano Textbook (Ed. 2): 3, 13, 43-44; Te Pihinga Textbook (Ed. 2): 64-65; Te Māhuri Textbook (Ed. 2): 135-136;)

Ko hea tērā tāone? / What's that town?

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2. (particle) to.

Whiti atu ko te motu i Mokoia (NM 1928:83). / Cross to the island of Mokoia.

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3. (particle) at.

Ko reira au tū ai, kia tae ake anō koe (W 1971:121). / I'll stop at that place until you actually arrive.

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See also ko hea

1. (noun) girl, younger woman, babe, darling - used in addressing girls and young women and is short for kōtiro. Sometimes used as a term of address for a boyfriend.

1. (transitive verb) (-ia,-tia) to dig (with a ).

Kātahi ka kōia te māra (W 1971:120). / Then the garden was dug.

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2. (intransitive verb) to pout - in disgust or contempt.

ana ngā ngutu o Ririhau i te kino o te utu i whakaritea e tōna matua mō tana mahi hē (HJ 2017:21). / Ririhau pouted at how severe the price was for her misdemeanour that her father had set.

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Synonyms: tupere, , tāperu, whakamito, weru


3. (noun) digging stick - wooden implement for digging.

Kātahi ka whakawhiti taonga a Te Mātenga rāua ko Turikatuku: ka riro i a Turikatuku he hetiheti rino, ka hoatu ki a Te Mātenga te ngaki māra a Turikatuku (TTR 1990:378). / Then Marsden and Turikatuku exchanged tools: Turikatuku received an iron hoe and Marsden was given Turikatuku's garden cultivation tool.

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kō-

1. prefix added to a number of words, often without any obvious difference in meaning between the two words, e.g. kōriporipo and riporipo.

1. (verb) to sing (of birds).

Ka ngā kōpara o te ata (W 1971:121). / The bellbirds of the morning sing.

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2. (verb) to resound.

Ka ō rongo i runga Haumātao (W 1971:121). / Your fame resounds on Haumātao.

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ā kō kō ake nei

1. sometime in the future, sometime, soon, presently, shortly - used to indicate that something will happen soon.

kō atu

1. (location) the farther side, beyond.

Ko te rā tuarua tēnei, arā, ko te 24 o Whiringa-ā-nuku o te tau 2009, mai i te hokinga mai i te uhunga ki a Mate Huatahi Kaiwai i te marae o Mangahānea, i paku kō atu i Rua-a-Tōrea, i te rohe o Ngāti Porou (HM 4/2009:1). / This is the second day, the 24 October 2009, since returning from the funeral of Mate Huatahi Kaiwai at Mangahānea marae, a little beyond Rua-a-Tōrea in Ngāti Porou territory.

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kō mai

1. (location) the near side.

I kuraina tuatahitia ia i te kura o Te Waerenga-a-Hika i kō mai o Tūranga (TTR 1998:205). / He was educated initially at Waerenga-a-Hika school near Gisborne.

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ko hea

1. (location) what is the name of? - used in reference to place names.

(Te Pihinga Textbook (Ed. 2): 64-65;)

Ko hea tērā? / What's the name of that place?

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kei kō atu i/o kō mai

1. somewhere or other - an idiom used to give a vague and sometimes cheeky answer to a question about where something or a place is.

Kei hea te kāinga o tō whaiāipo? Kei kō atu o kō mai. / Where is your girlfriend's home? Somewhere or other.

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(ko) tēnā tēnā/(ko) tērā tērā

1. that's that - a saying to indicate the speaker considers a matter is settled.

See also tēnā, tēnā

Ko te kairapu ko ia te kite

1. You must strive in your search to find what you're looking for; don't just wait.

She who seeks finds. /

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kāore i/a kō atu, i/a kō mai ...

1. (particle) there's absolutely nobody better than, there's absolutely nothing better than - an idiom used to indicate how outstandingly good someone is at a particular activity, or how outstandingly good something is.

Kāore i kō atu, i kō mai o Temepara Hōri mō te purei poitarawhiti. / There's absolutely nobody better than Temepara George at playing netball.

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(ko) wai ka hua, (ko) wai ka tohu

1. who can know, who can say - an idiom to imply that it is nigh impossible to know.

Ka mao mai anō ātahirā? Wai ka hua, wai ka tohu? / Will it be fine again the day after next? Who can say?

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See also wai ka hua, wai ka tohu

Ko Tū ki waho ko Rongo ki roto.

1. Leave the aspects of war for the courtyard for inside the house peace shall prevail.

Tū is outside and Rongo is inside. /

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Ko taku piki amokura nōku ko tōu piki amokura nōu.

1. Mutual respect for different teachings or schools of thought.

My adornment belongs to me, and your adornment belongs to you. /

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(ko) tōna ... (nei)

1. somewhat, quite, fairly, about.

Ko tōna rua rau pea ngā tāngata i tae ake ki te hura kōhatu (HKK 1999:191). / Probably about two hundred people arrived at the unveiling.
Rangi: He aha te tae o tō hūtu hou, he pango? Pare" Āe, ko tōna pango nei, me kī he ōnewa kē te tae (HKK 1999:191). / Rangi: What colour is your new suit, is it black? Pare: Yes, it's blackish, but I should say that the colour is dark grey.

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Synonyms: āhua, tata, koia, rawa, anō, tino, noa, tonu, kere, āta, hangehange, hengahenga, kāhua, tou, noa iho

(ko) tāua/tātou tahi

1. that makes two of us, me too, you and me, that goes for both of us, that goes for all of us, us too - an idiom used to express agreement or support for someone else's statement. Tāua is used when only two people are being referred to, tātou when more than two are involved.

Kāore au i te mōhio he aha te tikanga o taua kupu. Ko tāua tahi tēnā. / I don't know what the word means. That makes two of us.

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ko [tāua tāua]

1. you and me both, we/they are both the same, both of us/them, I agree - an idiom to state that two or more people share the same attribute, interests, opinion or background. This idiom can also be used to introduce a competition.

Kei te tino mōhio koe ki a ia? E mea ana koe? Ko māua māua i te whare wānanga. / Do you really know her? You bet. We were both at university together.
Rangi: Kāore aku mātua e pai ki te hunga kai mātaitai i te tahatika. Pare: Ko rātou rātou o tērā whakatupuranga (HKK 1999:181). / Rangi: My parents don't like people who eat seafood on the shore. Pare: All that generation think like that.

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