tē
1. (negative) not, no, none - a negative placed before the verb it negates, used most commonly in formal speech in modern Māori.
Tē taea hoki te pēwhea. / Nothing can be done.
Inā ko te pura o te kanohi kia āta tirohia, ā kāti tirohia, tē kore noa iho ai i konā kore noa iho ai. / If you’re going to look them in the eye, look them in the eye, but don’t just sit there doing nothing.
Synonyms: kore, kore noa iho, kārekau, kāhore, āna, ehē, horekau, kāore, kāre, e, kāo, kaua, hore, karekau, hore kau, kāore kau
2. (particle) instead of - used with kē. Sometimes ai is also added.
Kei te haere ia ki te kēmu, tē mahi kē ai i ana mahi. / She is going to the game instead of doing her work.
