Filters

Idioms

Phrases

Proverbs

Loan words

Historical loan words

Filters

Idioms

Phrases

Proverbs

Loan words

Historical loan words

Pākehā

1. (verb) (-tia) to become Pākehā - see 3 below.

Ko tēnei taonga ko Whakarewa ināianei kai tētahi o ngā uri o Te Amo-hau, engari he uri kua Pākehā rawa (M 2006:96). / This treasure, Whakarewa, is now with one of Te Amo-hau's descendants, but this descendant has become too much of a Pākehā.

Show example

Hide example


2. (modifier) English, foreign, European, exotic - introduced from or originating in a foreign country.

E ai ki tā Te Hōtereni, kua tū Pākehā, kua tino matatau ki te reo Pākehā (TTR 1990:106). / According to Edward Shortland, he had become European and very proficient in the English language.

Show example

Hide example


3. (noun) New Zealander of European descent - probably originally applied to English-speaking Europeans living in Aotearoa/New Zealand. According to Mohi Tūrei, an acknowledged expert in Ngāti Porou tribal lore, the term is a shortened form of pakepakehā, which was a Māori rendition of a word or words remembered from a chant used in a very early visit by foreign sailors for raising their anchor (TP 1/1911:5). Others claim that pakepakehā was another name for tūrehu or patupairehe. Dispite the claims of some non-Māori speakers, the term does not normally have negative connotations.

(Te Kōhure Textbook (Ed. 2): 128-138;)

Te rongonga o te Māori i te reo kihi, hoihoi, o Kāpene Kuki rātou ko ōna hōia ka kīia e te Māori he Pakepakehā, ka whakapotoa nei ki te Pākehā. Nā te Māori tēnei ingoa i hua e mau nei anō (TP 1/1911:5). / When the Māori heard the soft and loud sounds of the language of Captain Cook and his sailors the Māori called them 'Pakepakehā', which was shortened to 'Pākehā'. The Māori created this name, which is still used.
I tētahi whawhaitanga i muri mai, ka riro tētahi o ngā pū repo a te Pākehā i te Māori, nō muri mai ka tuomakia mai e tētahi Pākehā nō Amerika, he kaupoai (TP 7/1900:8). / In a later fight, one of the cannons of the Pākehā was taken by the Māori, and later on, a Pākehā from America, a cowboy, came hurrying up.

Show example

Hide example


4. (noun) foreigner, alien.

Otirā ko ā te Pākehā rākau anake e ngahoro ana ngā rau, heoi anō tā te Māori rākau i rite ki ā te Pākehā ko te kōtukutuku, arā ko te kōnini (TP 9/1903:1). / But only exotic trees are deciduous, however the native tree that is like exotic trees is the kōtukutuku (tree fuchsia), also called the kōnini.

Show example

Hide example

mate Pākehā

1. (noun) Pākehā disease, foreign illness - illnesses and diseases introduced by Pākehā since colonisation as opposed to mate Māori which are psychosomatic illnesses attributed to transgressions of tapu or to mākutu.

Ka haumate te iwi i ngā mate Pākehā (Te Ara 2014). / The population was devastated by European diseases.

Show example

Hide example

pikopiko Pākehā

1. (noun) asparagus.

taenga mai o te Pākehā

1. arrival of the Pākehā.

(Te Kōhure Textbook (Ed. 2): 128-138;)

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