ka mutu pea
1. how great, how marvellous, how wonderful - an idiom used to praise a person or something.
Ka rawe kē te māra a Te Rauhina. Āe tonu. Ka mutu pea. / How wonderful Te Rauhina's garden is. Yes, indeed. It's great.
Mō te hōhonu o ngā whakaaro, me te mārama o te reo, ka mutu pea i tēnā tangata (HJ 2012:28). / For the depth of ideas and the clarity of the language, that man is marvelous.
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.
pēwhea
1. (verb) (-tia) how? how about? what about? of what sort? of what nature? treat in what way? act in what way? what was it like? - variation of pēhea and an interrogative which can be used as an adjective or an ordinary verb and may be used passively. In colloquial speach a particle preceding pēwhea at the start of a sentence may be omitted, but in formal writing it should be included.
ka aroha (kē) (hoki) ...
1. how sad, how disappointing, what a pity - an idiom used to express sympathy, disappointment or regret. It can also be used in a sarcastic way or to emphasise an idea.
Ka aroha hoki tō tātou tīma! / What a pity about our team!
Ka aroha kē hoki te pouaru me ā rāua tamariki tokowhā (HJ 2012:30). / How sad for the widow and their four children.
(ka/he/te) tau/kino (kē) (hoki)
1. how neat, how attractive, fantastic - an idiom to praise the quality of someone, something or an activity. NB if ka is omitted then kē must follow tau.
He tau kē tōu kaka. / How attractive your dress is.
Ka tau kē tō tātou kapa haka. / Our performance group is neat alright.
Te kino kē hoki o tō kōrua motokā. / Your car is fantastic.
auahi ana
1. how fast it travelled! how good was that! - an expression to praise the speed of something or to compliment some action or achievement.
Whewheo ana te haere a Piri i tana kutarere hou. Auahi ana! (HJ 2012:276). / Piri whizzed along on his new scooter. How quickly he travelled!
He mihi nā te hui katoa mō te pai me te kaha me te matareka o te atawhai o te pāriha o Te Kawakawa i te hui. Auahi ana te nui o te manaaki (TP 10/1910:10). / The whole gathering praised how good, pleasant and generous it was of the Kawakawa parish to hold the meeting. The hospitality was outstanding.
ka kino te haere
1. how excellent, how wonderful, marvellous - an idiom to exclaim about how good something is.
I tukua mai taua kōrero e tētahi mīhini i te whenua o te Wīwī, whakawhiti mai i te moana, ka hopukia atu e te mīhini i Ingarangi. Ka kino te haere a te Pākehā! (HKW 1/4/1899:8). / That story was sent from France, across the ocean and received by a machine in England. The Pākehā are amazing!
Ka pā te pōhiri a te kōkō nei, kai te rarangi tuatahi o te pānui nei, kātahi ka kī te waha o te tangata whenua ki te pōhiri, ka kino tā rātau nei haere (TPH 31/7/1900:5). / When the welcome call of this sweet voice went out, in the first line of this call, then the host began the welcome haka, and it was awesome.
Synonyms: kātuarehe, mīharo, pai mutunga, māharo, whakaharahara
i wā rātou nei (hoki)
1. poor things, how sad, how pitiful, they can't help it.
Ko te hunga e whakahē noa mai ana mō te whakahē noa te take - i wā rātou nei hoki! (Kāretu 2016). / The people just criticising for the sake of criticising - how pitiful!
I wā rātou nei, nōhea e haere mai. / The poor souls, there's no way will they come.
Synonyms: aroha ana
kātahi rā hoki
1. how astounding, how astonishing, good grief, heavens above, goodness gracious - an exclamation to express disapproval or amazement about an unusual idea or activity.
See also kātahi rā/hoki
tana hia pai
1. he’s got a nerve, she’s got a nerve, how dare she/he - an idiom.
Pare: I rongo anō koe kua hoki mai te rōia nāna i whānako ngā moni a te marae? Rangi: Tana hia pai kē ki te hoki pēnei mai (HKK 1999:82). / Pare: Did you hear that the lawyer who stole the marae's money has returned? Rangi: He's got a nerve to come back here.
pēhea
1. (verb) (-tia) how? how about? what about? of what sort? of what nature? treat in what way? act in what way? - an interrogative which can be used as an adjective or an ordinary verb and may be used passively. In colloquial speach a particle preceding pēhea at the start of a sentence may be omitted, but in formal writing it should be included.
(Te Kākano Textbook (Ed. 2): 1, 32, 99; Te Pihinga Textbook (Ed. 2): 63-64;)
2. (verb) which way? which direction?.
whia
1. (numeral) how many? how long? - variation of hia.
(Te Kākano Textbook (Ed. 2): 5, 16, 63;)
Ka whia ngā rā o taua tamaiti ? Ka whā tekau rā, arā, ka ono wiki (KO 15/5/1883:13). / How old was that child? Forty days, that is six weeks.
See also hia
i [wāna] nei (hoki)
1. it's a pity, how sad for [her], poor thing - an idiom expressing one's pity for another's condition. wāna can be replaced by another possessive.
Ahakoa pēhea taku whakapau kaha kia mau i a au ngā kupu o te waiata, kāore tonu i taea. I wāu nei hoki! / No matter how much I tried to catch the words, I could not. How sad for you!
