hā
1. (interjection) indeed! what! oh! hey! - an exclamation to express disapproval or surprise. The vowel may be long or short, but lengthening the vowel softens the exclamation.
(Te Pihinga Textbook (Ed. 2): 107; Te Pihinga Audio Tapes/CDs (Ed. 2): exercise 40;)
He kai Hainamana tā tātou i te pō nei. Ha! He tāmure i roto i te pouaka makariri. / We are having Chinese food tonight. What! There's snapper in the fridge.
Synonyms: e
2. (noun) breath, essence, taste, breathing.
Nā konei i meinga ai ngā tāngata āhua kaha kia pikipiki tonu, kia tere ai, kia kaha ai tō rātau hā (TP 15/7/1901:1). / Consequently, the people who are somewhat stronger are encouraged to climb up and down so that their breathing is faster and stronger.
3. (noun) sound, tone of voice, tenor (of a speech).
Kia whakarongo tonu mai koutou ki te hā o taku kupu atu ki a koutou (W 1971:29). / You should all listen to the tenor of what I say to you.
4. (noun) tone, timbre (music).
Ko te hā te āhua, te wairua rānei o te reo o tētahi taonga puoro, o tētahi kaiwaiata rānei (RTP 2015:53). / The tone is the character or the feel of the sound of a musical instrument or a singer (RTP 2015:53).
5. (noun) intonation.
Ko te hā te āhua o te tangi mai o te reo o te tangata, arā, ko te piki me te heke o te reo i te roanga atu o te rerenga kōrero, ko te hātahi rānei; ko te wairua anō hoki o te kōrero, pēnā he maioro, he wainene rānei (RMR 2017). / Intonation is the nature of the sound of a person’s voice, such as the rise and fall in pitch, or monotone over the duration of a sentence, and also the feeling in the voice, such as whether it is discordant or mellifluous (RMR 2017).
nē hā
1. is that so? won't you? won't we? isn't it? isn't she? isn't he? - interrogative emphasising a question, request or proposal. Sometimes written as one word with short vowels, i.e. neha.
(Te Kākano Textbook (Ed. 2): 75;)
He wahine ātaahua a Rāhera, nē hā? / Rachael is a beautiful woman, isn't she?
hēpene
1. (loan) (noun) halfpenny, ha'penny - a former bronze coin worth half a penny.
Kua riro mai i a tātou, ngā tino kūare, kē ake i a rātou, te hokonga o ngā whenua, ki te rua pene me te hēpene, i runga anō i tō tātou mōhiotanga (TW 12/2/1875:4). / We are more foolish than them in selling our land at two pence and half pence, although we had more knowledge.
