kaha
1. (verb) to be strong, able, capable, courageous, intense, energetic.
Kia kaha te mahi! / Work energetically!
Kua tino kaha kē tana hokohoko i waenganui i ngā kaipuke o ngā Pākehā; i kaha anō tana hiahia kia noho mai ngā Pākehā ki tōna takiwā (TTR 1990:116). / He was already heavily involved in trading with the ships of the Pākehā, and had a strong desire for Pākehā to settle in his area.
2. (verb) to be loud.
Kei te whakamoemiti atu te manu meroiti nei ki ētahi o ana kaitautoko e whiu mai nei i ngā hua kāramuramu hei oranga mōna kia kaha ai tana korokī i runga i tōna pae (KO 15/5/1885:4). / This small bird is thanking some of its sponsers who have tossed some karamū berries as sustenance so that its call on its perch will be loud.
Synonyms: tīwerawera, pākinakina, rarahi, tiori, hoihoi
3. (adjective) be strong, able, capable, courageous, intense, energetic.
He wahine ātaahua, he kaha ki te mahi (HP 1991:24). / She was a beautiful woman, who worked hard.
4. (modifier) sheer, utter, constant, overwhelming - used to intensify or add emphasis to the quality or action when it is placed before another base, usually a verb or adjective. Does not usually follow immediately after a verb.
(Te Māhuri Textbook (Ed. 2): 65-66;)
I te kaha mamae o tōna waewae, ka totitoti haere te kuia ki te rata. / Because her leg was so sore, the elderly lady limped off to the doctor.
Synonyms: pōngerengere, taparere, hūkere
5. (noun) ability, power, strength, energy, stamina, intensity, volume (sound), magnitude.
I tino whakamihi a Te Taute ki a Ngāti Porou mō tō rātou kaha ki te whakapai i ō rātou whenua, ki te whakatupu hipi, mō te papai o ā rātou teihana hipi, o ā rātou wūruheti (TP 12/1907:11). / Mr Stout gave great praise to Ngāti Porou for their energy in improving their land, raising sheep and for the good state of their sheep stations and woolsheds.
Synonyms: āheitanga, āhei, āheinga, mana whakahaere, kōmārohi, tino rangatiratanga, marohi, mārohirohi, mana, maru, awe, hiko, ihi, awenga, pū
kaha
1. (noun) rope, noose, snare for catching birds when they come to drink.
Nā, me titiro anō te tangata kua nui te manu ki tōna pua, nā kua tetere te manu, kātahi anō ka haere ki te tāhere i tōna pua, he mea herehere ngā kaha ki te peka o te rākau, kapi tonu i te kaha te pua (Pēhi 1942:472). / Now, one should watch for when there are plenty of birds in his bird tree, and when the birds are fat, then he goes to set snares in his birding tree, the nooses are set in the branches of the tree and the birding tree is full of snares.
Synonyms: taura, rino, kārure, whakaheke, taukaea, rāhiri, pūrengi, tāwai, tāwhiti, koro, kono, kōpeti, koromāhanga, tari, karu māhanga, māhanga, naha, reti
2. (noun) rope on the edge of a net.
Nō te kitenga o ngā iwi rā i te mahi kino a aua tāngata, ka riri, kātahi anō ka whitia te kaha o te kupenga, tō raro ki tō runga, ka hinga rāua ki roto o te ika, ka ngaua ō rāua kiri e te taratara o te ika, ka kainga rāua e te mahaki; nō reira te pūtake mai o te whēwhē, o te hakihaki, o te pātito (JPS 1907:221). / When those people saw the objectionable deed of those men, they became incensed and they reversed the positions of the upper and lower ropes of the net so that the two of them fell over amongst the fish. Their skins were assailed by the spines of the fish, which brought on skin diseases. These are the cause of boils, rashes and scabs.
3. (noun) lashings of the rauawa of a canoe.
Kātahi rātou ka tahuri ki te tapatapahi i ngā kaha o ngā waka, ki te unuunu hoki i ngā puru (NM 1928:143). / Then they set about cutting the lashings of the canoes and removing the bungs.
4. (noun) boundary line (of land, etc.).
Tuhia ngā kaha o te māra (W 1971:82). / Point out the boundaries of the garden.
5. (noun) line of descent, lineage, line of ancestry, genealogy.
kāha
1. (noun) Australasian crested grebe, great crested grebe, Podiceps cristatus australis - an elegant bird with a dagger-like bill and a double crest and neck ruff. Found on a few South Island lakes.
Synonyms: manapou, kāmana, pāteketeke, pūteketeke
kaha
1. (noun) charm, ritual chant, spell - a general term for charms used for fishing, snaring birds, etc.
"Ko wai tō kaha?" Ka whakahokia mai, "Ko Tuota." Ko Tuota, he kaha, he karakia mō ngā manu, kiore, ika, kia mate (W 1971:82). / "What is your ritual chant?" The reply is, "It's Tuota." Tuota is a charm, a ritual chant to kill birds, rats and fish.
Synonyms: karakia
2. (noun) effort, resolve, exploits, determination, tenacity, doggedness, perseverance.
kia kaha
1. go for it then - sometime used idiomatically to suggest that there are risks involved.
Pare: I kī mai taku kuia kia kaua e parea taku tuarā ki ngā ngaru o te moana. Rangi: Kāore au e whakarongo ki a ia. Pare: Ā kāti, kia kaha (HKK 1999:60). / Pare: My grandmother told me not to turn my back to the waves. Rangi: I wouldn't listen to her. Pare: Oh well, go for it then.
2. be strong, get stuck in, keep going.
Kei te hāparangi tonu te waha o taku hoa, "Kia tere te haere o tō tāua waka, e Hēmi. Kia kaha te takahi atu!" (HP 1991;145). / My companion shouted out, "We'd better speed up, Hēmi. Put your foot down!"
Synonyms: oke
