Filters

Idioms

Phrases

Proverbs

Loan words

Historical loan words

Filters

Idioms

Phrases

Proverbs

Loan words

Historical loan words

Ngāi

1. (personal noun) Prefix for some tribal groups' names with an ancestral name usually beginning with 'T', now written as a separate word, e.g. Ngāi Tahu.

(Te Kākano Textbook (Ed. 2): 43;)

Heoi, nō taua wā anō ka tae mai te rongo, kua horo a Te Tumu pā i Kaituna, Maketū rā, kua mate a Ngāi Te Rangi i a Te Arawa (JPS 1900:70). / It was about this time that news arrived of the fall of Te Tumu pā, at Kaituna, near Maketū, in which the Ngāi Te Rangi tribe was defeated by Te Arawa.

Show example

Hide example


2. (personal noun) Also used with māua, tāua, kōrua and tātou or a noun to indicate a group of people not necessarily a tribal group, e.g. Ngāi Mātaatua. When used to preface a group other than a recognised iwi or hapū, ngāi is not capitalised. Nor is the accompanying word that completes the expression.

O ngā haka katoa e mahia ana e ngāi tātou koinei anake te haka e mau rākau ai te katoa o ngā kaihaka. / Of all the haka that we perform this is the only kind where all the performers wield weapons.

Show example

Hide example

ngai

1. (noun) dried leaves of raupō, flax etc used for walls or thatch of a house.

Ngāi Tai

1. (personal noun) tribal group in the area around Tōrere and also at Clevedon near Auckland.

(Te Kākano Textbook (Ed. 2): 42;)

E kī ana a Te Tūtere, kei te whakaae a Ngāi Tai o Tōrere ki tā Hēnare Ruru, engari i kī a Te Wētini Taku o Ngāi Tai, i titoa te waiata nei e taua wahine ki Tōrere (M 2006:108). / Te Tūtere said that Ngāi Tai of Tōrere agrees with Hēnare Ruru, but Te Wētini Taku of Ngāi Tai claims that this song was composed by that woman at Tōrere.

Show example

Hide example

Ngāi Tūhoe

1. (personal noun) tribal group of the Bay of Plenty in the Kutarere-Ruātoki-Waimana-Waikaremoana area.

(Te Kākano Textbook (Ed. 2): 42;)

Kai reira ia e tanu ana, ā, e mōhiotia ana taua wāhi e ētahi o ngā pūkōrero o Ngāi Tūhoe (TTR 1990:239). / He is buried there and his grave is known to several Ngāi Tūhoe historians.

Show example

Hide example

ngāi kīrehe

1. (noun) fauna.

ngāi tipu

1. (noun) flora.

Ngāi Tahu

1. (personal noun) tribal group of much of the South Island, sometimes called Kāi Tahu by the southern tribes.

(Te Kākano Textbook (Ed. 2): 113; Te Kōhure Textbook (Ed. 2): 142-160;)

Ehara i te mea mō Ngāi Tahu katoa ēnei kōrero, engari mō tētahi o ōna hapū, arā, mō Ngāti Huirapa (TP 1/4/1900:9). / It's not as if this account is for the whole of Ngāi Tahu, but it's about one of the subtribes, Ngāti Huirapa.

Show example

Hide example

Ngāi Te Rangi

1. (personal noun) tribal group of Matakana Island and north Tauranga area.

(Te Kākano Textbook (Ed. 2): 42;)

Heoi, nō taua wā anō ka tae mai te rongo, kua horo a Te Tumu pā i Kaituna, Maketū rā, kua mate a Ngāi Te Rangi i a Te Arawa (JPS 1900:70). / It was about this time that news arrived of the fall of Te Tumu pā, at Kaituna, near Maketū, in which the Ngāi Te Rangi tribe was defeated by Te Arawa.

Show example

Hide example

New favourites & quiz!

The Te Aka Māori Dictionary mobile app now has the ability to sort your favourite words into folders. Plus, these folders can be turned into a quiz for a fun way to learn words and definitions. Download or update the app today!

iOS Android

The App

Te Aka Māori Dictionary is also available as an iOS and Android app. Download below.

iOS Android

The Book

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.

More info

He Pātaka Kupu

Te kai a te rangatira

He Pātaka Kupu is a monolingual Māori language dictionary, and was designed using its own culturally authentic terms.

Visit website

00:00