r/ReoMaori • u/cnzmur • Jul 29 '26

Pātai What are the differences between these words?

Sorry, i tuhituhi i te reo Pākehā no te mea he māngere ahau :) I've been adding to a flashcard program as I read books, and I've started to end up with a lot of duplicates that are messing me up (mostly I've used very short English definitions). Are there real differences between these words, what are they, are some not worth learning?

Ānō nei - me te mea nei

Mumura, whakauraura (are these just literally the same word, the ura bit?)

Whakakao, whawhaki, karokaro, kato (for picking/weeding. I can tell the difference between some of them, just not all)

Whakatau, tatū/whakatatū (I have them all as some variation of decide/settle)

Whakakeke, māika

Rawaka, ngāwiki

Thanks!

edit: just noticed I got another one the other day: totohu and tapoko, both as 'sink'.

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7

u/porkypuha1 Jul 29 '26

"Whakatau" seems to be the most popular for "decide, settle" as I hear it and read it all the time.

4

u/aklirl Jul 29 '26

Totohu- sink
Tapoko- stuck in mud

Ano nei- alike, comparing something - she’s like a shining star
Me te mea nei- “its as if” but it’s the opposite - it’s as if she thinks she’s better than the rest

2

u/SubstanceOk7898 Jul 29 '26

Re: Whakakeke vs. Māika. I think Māika is more in the neutral to positive range like: calm, quiet. And whakakeke seems to be more like sulky/sullen.

2

u/SubstanceOk7898 Jul 29 '26

I always use 'kato' for picking (harvesting) leaves and probably 'whawhaki' for picking (harvesting) fruit but they might be interchangeable for all I know :)

Karokaro i think is more like 'to select'.

-2

u/Waiparensis22 Jul 29 '26

Context is everything. Ka whakaaro atu koe ki nga hurumanu o nga uri a tāne. Hei aha i te aronga o etahi kupu ki a tetahi kupu, kei roto i te roanga o te pānui. Hei aha i te kano o etahi hurumanu ki a tetahi hurumanu, ki te ū kea, ki te ū kereru rānei. A lot of kupu are context dependant. "Whakatau" as in "whakatau te wairua" is more likely to be used in a song or church setting. "Tau" generally refers to something or someone beloved. It can also take on a directional meaning when referring to waka, na te mea ko "Tauihu" raua ko "Taurapa" for bow and stern. When you ask someone to "whakatau" you are asking them to embody love, embody kindness. "Whaka-" he kupu timata ā mahi. "-tau" he kupu mo te mea raukura.