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Te Aka Māori Dictionary
Filters

Idioms

Phrases

Proverbs

Loan words

Historical loan words

nihoniho

1. (verb) to be antagonistic, quarrelsome, cantankerous.

Koirā te mate ina whai te tangata kia mutu tana kaipaipa, ka nihoniho mō te kore noa iho te take (HJ 2012:46). / That's the problem when a person tries to stop smoking, they become quarrelsome for no reason.

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2. (modifier) antagonistic, quarrelsome, cantankerous.

He tangata nihoniho a Te Ngahuru (TTR 1990:237). / Te Ngahuru was a quarrelsome person.

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Synonyms: pākani, toheriri, tumatuma, pukungangare, kaikiri, ngaweri, pakapaka

3. (noun) antagonist, hostile person.

Heoi noa pea tāna, he whakaae, atu kia noho mai tētahi kāwana hei whakatikatika i ngā kaipatu tohorā, ngā nihoniho me ngā Pākehā noho mai i reira (TTR 1990:267). / All he could probably do was agree that a governor should stay to keep the whalers, the antagonists and the Pākehā who lived there in check.

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4. (noun) young shoots, buds (of a plant).

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