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Idioms

Phrases

Proverbs

Loan words

Historical loan words

mahinga

1. (noun) place where work is done, activity, garden, fishery, cultivated area.

Hāunga tērā, kua whakawhanake ngā Māori i ngā mahinga tāpoi, me ngā kapa haka me ngā hāngī puta noa i ngā pokapū tūruhi o Aotearoa (Te Ara 2011). / Nonetheless, Māori have developed successful tourist activities, kapa haka concerts and hāngī around New Zealand’s tourist centres.

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2. (noun) session of work, shift, stage.

E rua ngā mahinga tītī: ko te nanao ki te pī i te rua; ko te rama pī ka puea i ō rātou rua (Te Ara 2011). / There are two stage in harvesting muttonbirds (sooty shearwaters): nanao, when chicks are extracted from their burrows; and rama, when the chicks are caught by torchlight when they come out of their burrows.

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Synonyms: neke, hūnuku, neneke, nuku, nukunuku

mahinga kai

1. (noun) garden, cultivation, food-gathering place.

Ko ngā otaota hoki o ngā pāmu kua maroke rawa atu, ānō he mea tahu ki te ahi. Waihoki me ngā tāngata Māori e auhi ana ki ā rātou mahinga kai (KO 15/1/1886:3). / And the grass of the farms has dried off completely as if it was burnt with fire. In addition the Māori people are distressed about their gardens.

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mahinga hipi

1. (loan) (noun) sheep station.

Kua rīhingia kē hoki ngā whenua ki ngā Pākehā o Te Wairarapa mō ā rātou mahinga hipi (TTR 1990:21). / Much of Te Wairarapa lands had been leased already by Pākehā for sheep stations.

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mahinga mātaitai

1. (noun) customary seafood gathering site, shellfish bed.

Kua tū ētahi kaupapa arumoni i raro i te Fisheries Act 1996, pērā i ngā taiāpure me ngā mahinga mātaitai (Te Ara 2013). / A number of statutory enterprises have been established under the Fisheries Act 1996, such as the taiāpure and mahinga mātaitai reserves.

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mahinga ika

1. (noun) fishing grounds.

Kua whakaae te Karauna ki te mana o Te Arawa ki ngā mahinga ika a ngā tīpuna mai rā anō (TTT 1/4/1922:15). / The Crown has agreed that Te Arawa has mana over their traditional fishing grounds.

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Te Aka Māori-English, English-Māori Dictionary and Index by John C Moorfield comprises a selection of modern and everyday language that will be extremely useful for learners of the Māori language.

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