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Idioms

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Loan words

Historical loan words

hei aha (atu) mā wai?

1. who cares? - an idiom to suggest that the listener should take no notice of what someone else has said or done because it is of no value.

Ka mea mai ki a au, "Hai aha mā wai? Kia tere tonu tō rere ki roto i te awa." (HP 1991:20). / He said to me, "Who cares? Hurry up and get into the water."
Pare: Kāore au e pīrangi tū ki te kōrero, kei kitea taku kūware. Rangi: Hei aha atu mā wai? Nōu tēnei marae - e tū koe! (HKK 1999:77). / Pare: I don't want to stand to speak, in case my ignorance is seen. Rangi: Who cares? This marae belongs to you - you stand!

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See also hei aha (noa iho)

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