pāpaku
1. (verb) to be shallow, low.
Mehemea ka tuwhera te pūao o te awa, he tino whāiti, he pāpaku hoki te awa (HP 1991:16). / If the mouth of the river was open, the river was very narrow and shallow.
Synonyms: hakirara, ngākau pāpaku, taurekareka, hahaka, hangahanga, hakahaka
2. (modifier) shallow, low.
He huhua ngā kaupapa hanga o te whare nui, pēraka rā i te pou tokomanawa, i ngā heke e rite nei ki te rara, me ngā hiku pāpaku noa nei, i whakakotahitia ake ai ki ngā kaupapa hanga tuku iho anō o te whare karakia (TTR 2000:193). / Many structural elements of the meeting house, such as a central pole, rib-like rafters and the quite low eaves, have been combined with the traditional features of a church.
3. (modifier) short (in stature or height), squat, low.
Ko te ritenga mō te wero o te tūī, i ētahi wā, arā, i ngā wā e mōmona ai i te kainga i ngā kākano o ngā rākau papaku, i te pōporo, i te kāramuramu, i te pōwhiawhia, me ētahi atu rākau pāpaku (JPS 1895:140). / The system of spearing tūī is used in certain seasons at the times when the birds are fat from feeding on the berries of low trees, such as poroporo, karamū, pōwhiawhia, and other shrubs.
4. (noun) shallowness, superficiality.
Ehara pea ko te pāpaku o te reo o te hunga nei te raru nui, engari ko te kore kē e hōhonu o te ruruku ki te kimi rongoā hei whakaora i ōna ngoikoretanga (HM 4/2008:5). / It's probably not the superficiality of the language of this group that's the big problem, but the lack of depth in the commitment to search for a remedy to overcome its shortcomings.
Synonyms: hahaka
