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Idioms

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Loan words

Historical loan words

Filters

Idioms

Phrases

Proverbs

Loan words

Historical loan words

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?

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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.

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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.

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4. (noun) what?.

He aha tēnei? He tohutō. / What's this? It's a macron.

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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.

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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.

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Synonyms: kore noa iho, korekore, kāore kau, kore

hai aha?

1. (particle) what for? – variation of hei aha?.

Hai aha tō oka? / What's your butcher's knife for?

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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.

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Synonyms: kia ahatia, hei aha koa, aua atu (rā)

hei aha

1. (particle) what for?.

(Te Kākano Textbook (Ed. 2): 76;)

Hei aha ēnā moni? / What's that money for?

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he aha?

1. (particle) what? why?.

(Te Kākano Textbook (Ed. 2): 28-29, 43-44; Te Pihinga Textbook (Ed. 2): 23; Te Māhuri Textbook (Ed. 2): 44;)

He aha ērā? / What are those?

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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;)

Hei aha te inu pia! / Don't bother with beer drinking!

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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.

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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."

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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

me aha hoki

1. how could it be otherwise? what could one do?.

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?

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See also he aha ... e ... ai, he aha ... i ... ai, he aha ... i kore ai e ...?

he aha kē [tāu]?

1. what are [you] on about? what's it with [you]? - an idiomatic expression where tāu can be replaced by other possessives.

he aha ... i ... ai

1. (particle) why did? why were?.

(Te Pihinga Textbook (Ed. 2): 23;)

He aha koe i riri ai? / Why were you angry?

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he aha ... e ... ai

1. (particle) why will?.

(Te Māhuri Textbook (Ed. 2): 44;)

He aha ia e haere ai ki reira? / Why will he go there?

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he aha atu anō?

1. what else?.

me te aha anō

1. (particle) and furthermore, and what's more.

Me te aha anō i whakamihi hoki ōna hoa Pāremata ki a ia mō tana tau ki te kōrero (TTR 1998:204). / And furthermore, his Parliamentary colleagues frequently praised his eloquence.

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nā te aha ... i ... ai?

1. why did? why are?.

(Te Māhuri Textbook (Ed. 2): 43;)

Nā te aha koe i ngenge ai? / Why are you tired?

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he aha ... i kore ai e ...?

1. (particle) why didn't?.

(Te Pihinga Textbook (Ed. 2): 23;)

He aha koe i kore ai e pōti? / why didn't you vote?

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nā te aha ... i kore ai e ... ?

1. why didn't?.

(Te Māhuri Textbook (Ed. 2): 43-44;)

Nā te aha koutou i kore ai e purei tēnehi? / Why didn't you play tennis?

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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.

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tua-

1. (particle) Prefix used with numbers 1 to 9, aha and hia to form ordinals, i.e. to show something in an ordered arrangement, e.g. tuatahi, first. Such words with tua- may be used as a verb, a modifier, a noun or passively with the passive ending -tia.

(Te Kākano Textbook (Ed. 2): 16;)

Ka tuahia koe ki Rānana? Ka tuatoru. / How many times have you been to London? Three times.
Ko te whiti tuatahi o te waiata nei he karakia nā te tohunga (M 2006:4). / The first verse of this song is a ritual chant by a tohunga.
E toru ngā take i haere mai ai ngā iwi nei. Ko te whenua te tuatahi; ko te pounamu te tuarua; ko te Pākehā te tuatoru (JPS 1959:271). / There were three reasons for these tribes coming to us. Land was the first, greenstone was the second, and the Pākehā was the third.
Ā, ka roa e noho ana a Hereure i tōna kāinga, ka puta te whakaaro kia tuaruatia mai anō e tana ope hei whakamātautau anō i a Rongo (JPS 1911:104). / And Hereure stayed a long time at his home; and then he decided to test Rongo with his party a second time.
Tau: I tuaaha rātou i te whakataetae rā? Ira: I tuawhā (HJ 2012:173). / Tau: Where did they place in that competition? Ira: Fourth.

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See also tuatahi


2. (particle) Also used with ngahuru (but not tekau) for numbers 10 to 19.

(Te Māhuri Study Guide (Ed. 1): 11;)

I piki a Tāne ki te tuangahuru mā rua o ngā rangi. / Tāne climbed to the twelfth heaven.

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See also tuangahuru

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