wehi
1. (verb) (-ngia) to be awesome, afraid, fear.
Ko te take tuatoru i kore ai te Maori e tohu taonga he wehi nō te Maori kei kīia ia he hākere, he matapiko, he kaiponu (TP 7/1907:4). / The third reason that the Māori would not accumulate possessions is the fear that they might be said to be stingy, mean and covetous.
See also ka mau te wehi!
2. (verb) to be terrible.
Ka wehi ngā kākahu o te wahine rā, tāwekoweko ana (W 1971:407). / The clothes of that woman are terrible, they're quite ragged.
3. (noun) dread, fear, something awesome, a response of awe in reaction to ihi.
He mea whakairo hoki, he mea kōwhaiwhai, he mea tukutuku, hei pupuri i te ātanga, i te wehi, i te haratau o ērā taonga a ō tātau tīpuna i roto i tēnei o ngā whare o te Atua (TTT 1/12/1925:336). / And it was carved and decorated with rafter paintings and lattice-work to retain the beauty, awesomeness and relevance of those treasures of our ancestors in this particular house of God.
ka mau te wehi!
1. (interjection) how terrible! how terrific! fantastic! awesome! how frightening - often used to praise something or someone's work. Sometimes also used to express the opposite or to express awe, amazement or fear.
(Te Pihinga Textbook (Ed. 2): 106; Te Pihinga Audio Tapes/CDs (Ed. 2): exercise 40; Te Kōhure Textbook (Ed. 2): 196;)
Ka mau te wehi o ngā waituhi a Ralph Hōtere. / Ralph Hōtere's paintings are fantastic.
