Filters

Idioms

Phrases

Proverbs

Loan words

Historical loan words

Filters

Idioms

Phrases

Proverbs

Loan words

Historical loan words

tūwhiti

1. (verb) (-a,-tia) to turn over, roll over, lever over, e.g. a log.

Ko te rākau he mea tūwhiti ki tahaki (W 1971:464). / The tree was rolled to one side.

Show example

Hide example


2. (verb) (-a,-tia) to expel, banish, deport.

Tūwhitia te hopo, mairangatia te angitū (Milroy 2011). / Eliminate the negative, accentuate the positive.

Show example

Hide example

Synonyms: panapana, pana, pei, whakapako, tūhiti


3. (noun) lever for rolling logs.

he rite tonu

1. always, all the time, continually, constantly, ad nauseam, over and over - an idiom to indicate that omething happens over and over.

(Te Māhuri Textbook (Ed. 2): 29;)

He rite tonu te ngarongaro atu o Āpirana ki Pōneke i te pōtitanga i a ia i 1905 hai Mema Pāremata mō Te Tai Rāwhiti (TTR 1996:113). / After he was elected in 1905 as a Member of Parliament for Eastern Māori, Āpirana often disappeared to Wellington.

Show example

Hide example

See also rite tonu

popoki

1. (verb) (pōkia) to cover over, swamp, overrun, spread over, lie with the concave surface downwards.

Popoki ai taua tohunga i tōna mata ki ōna ringaringa, kātahi ka titiro ki te rangi (TP 7/1905:11). / That tohunga would cover her face with her hands, then look at the sky.

Show example

Hide example

Synonyms: kōwaowao, poki, pokipoki


2. (noun) lid, cover.

Ka tohua e Ao-kehu tōna iwi kia whakaawaawa i tētahi rākau e uru ai he tangata ki roto. Whāia, me hanga he popoki (Te Ara 2012). / Ao-kehu instructed his people to hollow out a log so that a man would fit inside. A lid was then made.

Show example

Hide example

Synonyms: tūpoki, kōpani, taupoki


3. (noun) patella, kneecap.

Hei tiaki te popoki i te wāhanga a mua o te turipona. / The kneecap protects the part in front of the knee joint.

Show example

Hide example

pōtaitaka

1. (verb) to be turned round and round, turned over and over, giddy, confused.

I te kaha takahurihuri, ka pōtaitaka te kōtiro, tata tonu ka hinga (PK 2008:676). / Because the girl turned round and round she became giddy and almost fell over.

Show example

Hide example

tītakataka

1. (verb) to turn over and over, move about irregularly, wobble, flit about.

Nā, kia mōhio tātou, ko ngā tīwaiwaka e tītakataka nei ka hura rā hoki ngā hukumaro ki runga, ka riro ko te upoko ki raro (TTT 1/10/1929:1086). / Now, we should know that fantails flit about opening their tail feathers up and with their head going down.

Show example

Hide example

Synonyms: hūkokikoki, tītaka


2. (verb) to be indecisive, wavering, vacillating, uncertain, dithering, in a quandary, in a dilemma.

E tuhi ana ahau ki ngā tāngata kei te tītakataka ngā whakaaro hei whakatau i ō rātou ngākau (TP 1/9/1899:2). / I am writing to the people who are in a quandary to set their minds at rest.

Show example

Hide example


3. (verb) to prepare, organise, plan, put things in order.

Kāore i roa i muri mai, kua nekehia au ki tētahi wāhi kē, kua tītakataka mō te hoki ki te kāinga, ki Nūhaka (HP 1991:221). / Not long after that I was transfered to another place in preparation for the return home to Nūhaka.

Show example

Hide example

Synonyms: whakarite, whakahaere, whakatakoto, kaupapa, tikanga, tātai, whakangārahu, mahere, whakamahere, hoahoa, pēwheatanga, take, whakakaupapa, whakatakotoranga, whakaaro, rahurahu, raweke, whakaute, takataka, whakareri, whakatau, whakatikatika, whakatakatū, takatū, whakatakataka, whakatika, pātā, whakapai, whakataka, rāwekeweke


4. (noun) fantail, Rhipidura fuliginosa - a small, friendly, insect-eating bird of the bush and domestic gardens which has a distinctive tail resembling a spread fan.

pōteketeke

1. (verb) to turn over and over, somersault.

takaporepore

1. (verb) to roll over and over, keep on turning round, spin, revolve, rotate, turn round and round - sometimes written as two words, i.e. taka porepore.

Ka kīia te tamaiti kātahi nei ka ako ki te takaporepore, he owhaowha (Te Ara 2016). / A child that has just learnt to roll over is called an 'owhaowha'.

Show example

Hide example

See also taka-

Synonyms: takaoriori, takahurihuri, huri, hurihuri, takahuri, tāwhiowhio, porotītiti, porotiti


2. (noun) gymnastics, floor exercises, roly-poly.

Ko ia te toa o te kura mō te mekemeke mau karapu. He pai mō ngā mahi takaporepore, takahurihuri (HP 1991:37). / He was the school champion for boxing. He was good at gymnastics.

Show example

Hide example

Synonyms: pukunati

pōtēteke

1. (verb) to turn over and over, somersault.


2. (noun) haka in which the performers recited their haka while upside down - sometimes said to be a sexual dance performed naked.

Ka mātakitaki tērā te tangata whenua ki te mahi a te ope nei e mahia ana; ka whakatūria tā rātou haka, e whā ngā kapa. Ko te haka nei he pōtēteke, pare ai ngā upoko ki raro, ko ngā waewae ki runga, ka takitakina tā rātou haka (JPS 1928:268). / The local folk watched this performance of the group, and then performed their posture dance in four ranks. This performance was a pōtēteke, in which the performers' heads were downwards and the legs were uppermost as they recited their haka.

Show example

Hide example


3. (noun) turning over and over, somersault.

Ka rere a Whānui ka tīmata te hauhake i ngā kai; te potonga o ngā kai ka mahia ngā mahi a Ruhanui, koia ēnei: ko te tūperepere, ko te tōreherehe, ko te kai whakatāpaepae, ko te kokomo, ko te tūmahana, ko te kaihaukai, ko te haka, ko te poi, ko te whakahoro taratahi, ko te tā pōtaka, ko te pōtēteke, ko te taupiripiri, ko te mū tōrere, a te whai, a te pānokonoko, o te tararī, a te kīkīporo, a te pākuru, a te tārere, a te kūī, a te kūrapakara, a te rere moari, me ērā atu mea katoa (TWMNT 11/9/1872:110). / When Vega rose the harvesting of the food began; and when that was done the activities of Ruhanui were carried out, which were these: the ceremony and feast to celebrate the storing of the kūmara crop, tobogganing, the displaying of food, the exchanging of gifts between hosts and visitors, feasting and presenting food, performing haka and poi, flying kites, whipping spinning tops, doing somersaults, racing arm in arm, playing draughts, performing string games, playing the pānokonoko string game, playing the jewsharp, beating the time to songs with pieces of wood held against the cheek, playing the mouth resonator, swinging, calling kūī, playing kūrapakara, swinging on the moari, and all those other games.

Show example

Hide example

porohuri

1. (verb) (-hia) to upset, overturn, tip over, tumble over.

Ka porohurihia e ahau, ka porohurihia, ka porohurihia; e kore noa iho anō tēnei, kia tae mai rā anō te tangata mana (PT Ehekiera 21:27). / I will overturn, overturn, overturn it: and it shall be no more, until he come whose right it is.

Show example

Hide example

Synonyms: huripokinga, tūpoki, tahuri, whakatakahuri, whakataupoki, takahuri, urupoki

hurihuri

1. (verb) (-a,-hia) to turn over and over, turn round and round, toss and turn, roll, spin, revolve, rotate, twirl, reflect upon, ponder, convert.

Ka hurihuri haere mai i ngā kēna ki runga i te kāta (HP 1991:25). / I moved the cans onto the cart by turning them round and round.

Show example

Hide example

Synonyms: huritau, rōra, rōru, rārangi ingoa, whakatakahuri, kōpiupiu, pīrori, whakarārangi, pukapuka, taute, whakaaroaro, huritao, tāwhiowhio, porotītiti, porotiti, takaporepore, huri, takahuri, takahurihuri

kahupapa

1. (verb) (-ngia,-tia) to cover over, bridge over.

Ka kahupapangia ki te rākau (W 1971:85). / It was bridged over with timber.

Show example

Hide example


2. (noun) layer, matted mass, gib-board.


3. (noun) fleet (of canoes, etc.), flotilla.

I ngā rā tōmua o Oketopa 1844, ka rere whaka-te-raki ia i roto i tētahi kahupapa waka itiiti. Nō tō rātou taenga ki te kūrae o Paparoa i te 10 o Oketopa, ka ākina e te au tuke, ka tahia atu a Tūhawaiki ki te moana (TTR 1990:370). / Early in October 1844 he sailed north in a flotilla of small boats. When they reached Paparoa Point on 10 October, they were buffeted by heavy seas and Tūhawaiki was swept overboard.

Show example

Hide example


4. (noun) raft.

I te raumati ka kapi katoa ngā awa nui i te kahupapa rākau e whakaheke ana ki ngā mira (TWMNT 17/9/1873:109). / In summer the main rivers are all covered with timber rafts being guided down to the mills.

Show example

Hide example

Synonyms: puwhau, kaupapa, manaia, mōkihi, mōkī, pūtere


5. (noun) floor, platform.

I kī ngā Māori i tupu ake aua rākau i ngā neke me ngā rākau o te kahupapa o Tainui, te waka i rere mai ai ngā tāngata i Hawaiki (TWMNT 1/2/1879:292). / The Māori said that those trees grew from the rollers and the wood of the platform of Tainui, the canoe that the people sailed here on from Hawaiki.

Show example

Hide example

Synonyms: kaupapa, kāraho, whatārangi, ahurewa, atamira, raho, rahoraho, tūāpapa

kauhuri

1. (verb) (-a,-hia,-tia) to turn bottom upwards, flip over, dig, turn over the soil, swing on a pivot (as a door), flip over.

Ko Ira kē ki te kauhuri i tā māua māra, me ētahi anō o aku whanaunga (HP 1991:261). / It was Ira instead who dug over our garden, along with some of my other relatives.

Show example

Hide example


2. (modifier) swinging on a pivot (as a door).

Ka tae mai pea te Pākehā, ka mōhio te Māori ki te tatau kauhuri. / When the Pākehā arrived the Māori probably learnt about doors that swing.

Show example

Hide example


3. (noun) cultivation.

Ko te iwi kaha atu tēnei mō te kauhuri i te whenua ki te hāpara (TPH 15/11/1900:5). / These people are very skilled in the cultivation of the land with the shovel.

Show example

Hide example


4. (noun) hinge.

poki

1. (verb) (pōkia) to cover over, spread over.

Ka pōkia te maunga e te kohu (HP 1991:6). / The mountain was covered by fog.

Show example

Hide example


2. (verb) (pōkia) to overrun, inundate, swamp.

E pōkia ana rātou e ngā taua maha o te motu e whakaeke ana ki te tango i Heretaunga hei kāinga mō rātou (TTT 1/12/1929:1934). / They were overrun by many war parties of the island attacking them to take Heretaunga as their home.

Show example

Hide example

Synonyms: kōwaowao, pokipoki, popoki

pokipoki

1. (verb) (-a,-na) to place with the concave surface down, pat, cover over, swamp, overrun, spread over.

Nā ka pokipoki ngā ringa e rua o Arona ki te mātenga o te koati ora (PT Rewitikuha 16:21). / And Aaron shall lay both his hands upon the head of the live goat.

Show example

Hide example

Synonyms: kōwaowao, poki, popoki, taupaki, paki, papaki, pōpō, hokomirimiri


2. (noun) baited rat trap.

Ka whakatakotoria ngā tāwhiti me ngā pokipoki ki ngā ara kiore i te wao (Te Ara 2016). / Unbaited traps and baited traps were set on the rat tracks in the forest.

Show example

Hide example


3. (noun) fingering (of a wind instrument).

Ko te pokipoki te mahi a ngā matimati ki te kōpani, ki te whakapuare anō i ngā wenewene o tētahi taonga puoro (RTP 2015:76). / Fingering is the work of the fingers to cover and open the holes in a wind instrument (RTP 2015:76).

Show example

Hide example

huripoki

1. (verb) (-a,-hia,-na,-tia) to turn upside down, turn over, invert, cover over, dig.

Ka mutu, ka ringihia e au te wai ki roto i te pākete, ka huripokitia e au aku kēna kia pau katoa ai te wai ki waho (HP 1991:25). / When that was finished, I poured water into the bucket and turned my cans upside down so that all the water drained out.

Show example

Hide example

tāroi

1. (verb) (-a,-tia) to close, draw together, tie up (in a kete).

I tāroia e koe ngā hau o te rangi (W 1971:392). / You drew together the winds of the heavens.

Show example

Hide example


2. (verb) (-a,-tia) to traverse, travel over, cross over.

Kia tāroia te moana a Kupe ki Whāngārā, ko 'Matioro (M 2005:154). / To traverse the sea of Kupe to Whāngārā, to 'Matioro.

Show example

Hide example

1. (location) the place over there, there, over there - a location word, or locative, which follows immediately after particles such as ki, i, hei and kei.

(Te Kākano Textbook (Ed. 2): 121; Te Pihinga Textbook (Ed. 2): 24;)

E haere ana au ki takoto ai. / I'm going over there to lie down.

Show example

Hide example

Synonyms: korā,


2. (location) further, further away - when used with atu.

(Te Pihinga Textbook (Ed. 2): 45;)

Haere ki ! Ki kō atu! Ki kō rawa atu! / Go over there! Further yet! Much, much further!

Show example

Hide example


3. (location) distant point in time, sometime in the future, sometime soon.

Ā kō ake nei hoki ai a Poia ki Murupara. / Sometime in the future Poia will return to Murupara.

Show example

Hide example


4. (location) the far side, the other side - when used with atu.

(Te Pihinga Textbook (Ed. 2): 45;)

Ka haere tāua ki kō atu o te taraka rā. / Let's go to the other side of that truck.

Show example

Hide example


5. (location) the near side, this side - when used with mai.

(Te Pihinga Textbook (Ed. 2): 45;)

Arā a Te Wharetoroa, kei kō mai o te pou haki. / There is Te Wharetoroa, on this side of the flagpole.

Show example

Hide example

korā

1. (location) over there, that place (at a distance), the place over there, there - a location word, or locative, which follows immediately after particles such as ki, i, hei and kei or is preceded by a when used as the subject of the sentence.

(Te Kākano Textbook (Ed. 2): 121; Te Pihinga Textbook (Ed. 2): 24;)

Kei korā, kei muri i te rimu a Māia e huna ana. / Māia is hiding over there behind the rimu tree.

Show example

Hide example

Synonyms: ,


2. (stative) further, further away - when used with atu.

(Te Pihinga Textbook (Ed. 2): 45;)

Haere ki kō atu! Ki korā rā anō! Ki korā rawa atu! / Go over there! Much further! Much, much further!

Show example

Hide example

ka huri

1. that's over, I've finished, it's over to you - a phrase used to mark the end of a speech, letter, etc.

whakatoe

1. (verb) (-a) to leave over, cause to remain over.

Ka tae mai anō a Whatihua, ka kōrero atu ki te teina kia mahia ana māra kia nui noa atu. Ka tahuri a Tūrongo ki te mahi i ana māra, ā, korekore nei āna kūmara i whakatoe ai ki ana rua kūmara (NIT 1995:67). / Whatihua arrived again, telling his younger brother to make his gardens much larger. Tūrongo set about doing his gardens, and as a result there were no kūmara remaining in his kūmara pits.

Show example

Hide example


2. (modifier) remaining.

Synonyms: toe, mōmōhanga

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