aha
1. (verb) (-tia) to do what? treated in what fashion? to do anything.
(Te Kākano Textbook (Ed. 2): 14, 28, 43-44, 99;)
E kui, me aha au? Me haere ki te whare wānanga, me āwhina i a Pāpā ki ngā mahi o te pāmu, me aha rānei? / Gran, what should I do? Should I go to university, help Dad with the work of the farm, or what?
I ahatia koe? / What happened to you?
See also tūpātai
2. Used with various particles for particular meanings.
Kua kaha te whiua o te pātai he aha tēnei mea te kaumātua me aha rawa rānei te tangata e kaumātua ai ki te titiro a te tangata? (HM 4/1998:2). / What a 'kaumātua' is, or what a person should do to be regarded by people as a 'kaumātua', are very popular questions.
See also he aha te aha, ehara i te mea he aha, hai aha!, hai aha?, hei aha, hei aha!, he aha?, kāore he aha, mā te aha, me te aha, me aha hoki, me aha koa, hei aha atu, hei aha koa, he aha hoki, ahakoa he aha, hei aha [tāu], he aha ... i ... ai, he aha ... e ... ai, tua-
3. (modifier) what sort?.
Tau: He hōiho aha tōna? Ira: He paipōro, he hōiho rata tonu - he pai mō ngā tamariki (HJ 2012:174). / Tau: What sort of horse does he have? Ira: A piebald, and quite a placid horse - good for the children.
4. (noun) what?.
5. (noun) anything whatsoever, and other, and others, et cetera.
(Te Pihinga Textbook (Ed. 2): 115;)
Ka kainga e rāua te poaka, te pikopiko, te aha, te aha. / They ate pork, fern shoots and other foods.
6. (noun) anything, nothing - especially after a negative.
Ehara i te aha. / It's nothing.
Ka pērā tonu ngā kōhine o tērā taipakeke - ka wheke mō te aha te take (HJ 2012:178). / Girls of that age are like that - they become angry for nothing.
Synonyms: kore noa iho, korekore, kāore kau, kore
hai aha!
1. (interjection) don't take any notice, never mind - variation of hei aha!.
Nō taku kainga atu, kāore i pai ki a au, he kawa rawa. Hai aha, kai tonu au (HP 1991:156). / When I ate them I didn't like them, they were too sour. Despite that, I still ate them.
Synonyms: kia ahatia, hei aha koa, aua atu (rā)
hei aha!
1. (particle) don't take any notice! never mind! don't bother! it doesn't matter.
(Te Kākano Textbook (Ed. 2): 99; Te Pihinga Textbook (Ed. 2): 106; Te Pihinga Audio Tapes/CDs (Ed. 2): exercise 40; Te Kōhure Video Tapes (Ed. 1): 126, 235;)
See also hei aha (noa iho)
hei aha koa
1. nevertheless.
Hei aha koa, he mea nui ki te tangata whenua ōna kaha i whakapaua e ia, me tana whaiaro (TTR 1996:144). / Nevertheless, his efforts and personality were appreciated by the local people.
Synonyms: anō, me aha koa, ahakoa, he ahakoa, hei aha (koa/noa iho), aua atu (rā)
2. never mind, don't take any notice, don't bother, it doesn't matter, don't worry.
Ka mea mai tō mātau Haihana-Meiha, "Hai aha koa. Kāore e taea te pēhea, e Hēmi." (HP 1991:137). / Our Sergeant-Major said, "Don't worry. Nothing could be done, Hēmi."
See also hei aha!, hei aha (koa/noa iho), koa
Synonyms: kia ahatia, hai aha!, aua atu (rā)
ahakoa he aha
1. (particle) anyhow, no matter what.
Synonyms: ahakoa te aha
he aha ai?
1. why? - if there is a verb in the sentence, then the ai follows the verb.
(Te Pihinga Textbook (Ed. 2): 23;)
He nui ngā tapepetanga e rangona ana, ā, ahakoa pēhea te whakatika atu ka hē tonu mai. He aha ai? He kore tonu nō ngā kaiwhakaako e whakarongo; arā, kei te rongo engari tē whakarongo! (HM 4/1997:3). / Many errors are heard and no matter how often they are corrected they persist. Why? Because the teachers won't listen, that is they hear but do not listen!
He aha i mahue atu ai i a Hohepa te whenua o Īhipa i haere mai ai ia? (KO 15/5/1883:4). / Why did Joseph leave the land of Egypt that he came from?
See also he aha ... e ... ai, he aha ... i ... ai, he aha ... i kore ai e ...?
tāima
1. (loan) (noun) time - especially for time related to hours and minutes, etc. Although 'he aha te tāima?' is common in modern Māori to ask what the time is, 'kua aha te tāima?' and 'kei te aha te tāima?' are preferred by native speakers.
(Te Kākano Textbook (Ed. 2): 28-29;)
Kua aha te tāima? Paku nei te hipa atu i te waru. / What's the time? A little after eight.
tē ... ai
1. why not? - used following he aha.
See also ai
