pōhēhē
1. (verb) (-tia) to misunderstand, think mistakenly.
I pōhēhē au nō te tau 1943 i wera ai, ā, i rāwāhi au i taua wā (HP 1991:6). / I thought mistakenly that it was burnt down in 1943 - I was overseas at that time.
He kiritea tōna konohi, ā, ka pōhēhētia he hāwhe-kāehe ia (HP 1991:24). / His face was fair-skinned and he was mistaken for a half-caste.
2. (verb) to be at one's wit's end, bewildered, perplexed.
Nāwai ā, kua pōhēhē noa iho ngā whakaaro kua pōrauraha noa iho, kātahi ka āhua ngāwari te hau, ka paneke hoki te haere o ā rātou poti, kāore hoki i roa ka kitea e rātou te whenua (TWMNT 17/11/1874:284). / After a time they became bewildered and confused and then the wind abated somewhat and their boats made progress and it wasn't long before they saw land.
Synonyms: pōkaikaha, raruraru, raparapa, raru, pōkahu, pōkeka, pōritarita, pōrangirangi, pōrauraha, raumahara, pōrahurahu, tuarangaranga, harapuka, pōrahu, rararu, raupeka
3. (modifier) mistaken, in error, confused, deluded, perplexed, misguided.
Me whakaaro nui, me tūpato hoki, kei pēhia te tika e te whakaaro o te hunga pōauau, kei raru te whenua katoa i te turekore, i te hē, i runga i te mahi wairangi a ētahi tāngata whakaaro pōhēhē (MM.TKM 14/7/1860:12). / And take heed that the councils of the foolish do not prevail, and that the whole country is not thrown into anarchy and confusion by the folly of a few misguided men.
Synonyms: wawau
4. (noun) mistake, error, misunderstanding, blunder.
tēnā pōhēhē tēnā
1. you're so mistaken, that's totally incorrect, that's a load of rubbish, you're so wrong, yeah right - an idiom suggesting that in the opinion of the speaker the statement is incorrect. Pōhēhē can be replaced by other similar words, e.g. whakaaro, rūkahu, wawata, kimikimi.
Pare: E kī ana te Pākehā kāore i āta whakaritea te hekenga nui o ngā waka ki Aotearoa. Rangi: Tēnā pōhēhē tēnā! (HKK 1999:65) / Pare: The Pākehā say that the great migration of the canoes to Aotearoa/New Zealand was not deliberately organised. Rangi: That's totally incorrect!
Synonyms: he aha hoki
