Filters

Idioms

Phrases

Proverbs

Loan words

Historical loan words

Filters

Idioms

Phrases

Proverbs

Loan words

Historical loan words

upokohue

1. (noun) long-finned pilot whale, blackfish, Globicephala melas - a toothed whale with black skin, a grey, anchor-shaped marking on the chin and a square, bulbous head. Moves about in large schools, often stranding on beaches.

(Te Māhuri Textbook (Ed. 2): 21;)


2. (noun) Hector's dolphin, Cephalorhynchus hectori - a rare patterned black, pale grey and white dolphin with a small rounded fin. Distinguished from the common dolphin by its shorter beak.

See also tūpoupou

waiaua

1. (noun) Hector's dolphin, Cephalorhynchus hectori - a rare patterned black, pale grey and white dolphin with a small rounded fin. Distinguished from the common dolphin by its shorter beak.

See also tūpoupou

ahoaho

1. (noun) Hector's dolphin, Cephalorhynchus hectori - a rare patterned black, pale grey and white dolphin with a small rounded fin. Distinguished from the common dolphin by its shorter beak.

Ka puta te ahoaho, kei muri te taniwha (TTT 1/9/1927:649). / When a Hector's dolphin appears, behind it is a monster.

Show example

Hide example

See also tūpoupou

popoto

1. (verb) to be short.

I te wā i hopukia ai a Rua i mua ake nei mō te toru marama ki te herehere ka kūtia ōna makawe kia popoto (TKO 15/4/1916:10). / At the time that Rua was previously captured and imprisoned for three months his hair was cut short.

Show example

Hide example


2. (adjective) be short.

He anganga nui tōna, he popoto ngā wae (TKM.MM 16/12/1862:26). / Its has a large head and short legs.

Show example

Hide example


3. (modifier) short.

He iwi tangata popoto tērā, he ngaunga hoki nā te makariri i kore ai e roroa ake (TWMNT 2/7/1873:74). / They are a race of short people and it is because of the biting cold that they are not taller.

Show example

Hide example


4. (noun) Maui's dolphin, Cephalorhynchus hectori maui - the world's rarest and smallest known subspecies of dolphin and a subspecies of the Hector's dolphin. Found only off the west coast of New Zealand's North Island.

tūpoupou

1. (verb) to bow frequently, pitch.

Synonyms: epa, tūkarikari


2. (modifier) be steep.

Ngāmotu: He hiwi tūpoupou kei te taha hauāuru-mā-tonga o te wāpu i Niu Paremata (M 2005:242). / Ngāmotu: A steep hill to the south-west of the wharves at New Plymouth.

Show example

Hide example


3. (adjective) be seriously ill.

Synonyms: taimaha


4. (noun) pitching, lurching (e.g. of a boat).

Kua kaha haere te ngaru o te moana. Kua tīmata te tūpoupou, te tītahataha, me te wiri o te haere a 'Te Arahura' (HP 1991:36). / The waves of the sea strengthened. The 'Arahura' began pitching, rolling from side to side and shuddering.

Show example

Hide example


5. (noun) serious illness.


6. (noun) Hector's dolphin, Cephalorhynchus hectori - a rare patterned black, pale grey and white dolphin with a small rounded fin. Distinguished from the common dolphin by its shorter beak.

Ka puta te rangai tūpoupou, tōna nui rā; te rerenga tawhetatanga atu ki ngā mangō, ngaungaua iho, ka mate, ka mate ngā mango rā (KO 15/7/1884:7). / A pod of dolphins appeared, there were so many of them, and they rushed to struggle with the sharks, biting them and killing them.

Show example

Hide example


7. (noun) net for catching freshwater fish.

pehipehi

1. (noun) Hector's dolphin, Cephalorhynchus hectori - a rare patterned black, pale grey and white dolphin with a small rounded fin. Distinguished from the common dolphin by its shorter beak.

See also tūpoupou

tutumairekurai

1. (noun) Hector's dolphin, Cephalorhynchus hectori - a rare patterned black, pale grey and white dolphin with a small rounded fin. Distinguished from the common dolphin by its shorter beak.

See also tūpoupou

popokanua

1. (noun) common dolphin, Delphinus delphis - dark grey to black with a purplish sheen on the back. The belly is white. It has a well-marked beak and 45-50 pairs of small pointed teeth. Usually moves about in schools.

See also aihe

pāpahu

1. (loan) (noun) dolphin, porpoise.

I waihanga ai tēnei whakaaro i roto i ngā Marikena nā te mahi a ngā kaipuke haere raro wai o te Ingarihi he rere tonu te mahi ki ngā takutai moana o Tiamani, ka rere ana me he ope pāpahu (TKO 4/1915:6). / This idea originated amongst the Americans because there were so many English submarines travelling to the coast of Germany that they are like pods of porpoises.

Show example

Hide example

terehu

1. (noun) bottlenose dolphin, Tursiops truncatus - the dophin with the broad 'grin' and bottle-shaped snout.

aihe

1. (noun) common dolphin, Delphinus delphis - dark grey to black with a purplish sheen on the back. The belly is white. It has a well-marked beak and 45-50 pairs of small pointed teeth. Usually moves about in schools.

(Te Māhuri Textbook (Ed. 2): 2-4;)

Ka hia rau ngā momo ika kei ngā wai tai o Aotearoa. Kitea anōtia ai he kekeno, he kakerangi, he aihe, he tohorā (Te Ara 2016). / There are many hundreds of fish species in Aotearoa/New Zealand’s coastal waters. New Zealand fur seals, New Zealand sea lions, common dolphins and whales are also seen.

Show example

Hide example

kākahi

1. (noun) freshwater mussel, Hyridella menziesi - a bivalve mollusc which lives in fine mud or sand in freshwater lakes, ponds, streams and rivers. Has a dark, olive-brown coated shell and the inside is grayish-white.

Tōna maunga ko Ngongotahā, te moana ko Rotorua, ngā ika o roto he kōura, he kākahi, he īnanga (H 1992:50). / His mountain is Ngongotahā, the lake is Rotorua and the fish in it are crayfish, freshwater mussels and whitebait.

Show example

Hide example


2. (noun) whale, orca, killer whale, Orcinus orca - a large, black-and-white dolphin with a tall, vertical, sharply triangular dorsal fin in the male and shorter, slightly hooked fin in the female. Because of the orca's sophisticated hunting techniques and intelligence, chiefs were sometimes likened to kākahi, as in the second example below.

Ko te kākahi i te waiata nei mō te tohorā (M 2004:232). / The term 'kākahi' in this song refers to the whale.
Te kākahi whakairoiro o te moana (W 1971:80). / The mottled orca of the sea.

Show example

Hide example

See also maki

Synonyms: maki, kera wēra


3. (noun) mist, haze.

Ki a Te Ātiawa ko te kākahi, ko te kōrehurehu i runga i te moana āio; hei te rangi ātaahua ka āhua auahi mai i runga o te moana (M 2004:232). / To Te Ātiawa the 'kākahi' is the haze on the calm sea which is seen on fine days and looks a little like smoke on the sea.

Show example

Hide example

Synonyms: kōnenehu, haumāringiringi, tuarehu, waikohu, tūkōrehu, pūnehu, kōnehunehu, pūnehunehu, pūkohu, pūnenehu, kōnenehu, tārehu, tuarehu, waikohu, pūrehu, kohu, rehu, haumaringi, au, tākohu

maki

1. (noun) orca, killer whale, Orcinus orca - a large, black-and-white dolphin with a tall, vertical, sharply triangular dorsal fin in the male and shorter, slightly hooked fin in the female.

(Te Māhuri Textbook (Ed. 2): 3-4;)

See also kākahi

Synonyms: kākahi, kera wēra

Te Kākano 3rd Edition

New edition of the leading Māori-language textbook out now.

More info

The App

Te Aka Māori Dictionary is also available as an iOS and Android app. Download below.

iOS Android

The Book

Te Aka Māori-English, English-Māori Dictionary and Index by John C Moorfield comprises a selection of modern and everyday language that will be extremely useful for learners of the Māori language.

More info

He Pātaka Kupu

Te kai a te rangatira

He Pātaka Kupu is a monolingual Māori language dictionary, and was designed using its own culturally authentic terms.

Visit website

00:00