Kīhono & Rerenga

nō reira - and so, therefore - I hinga ia, nō reira ka tangi. He fell, so he cried.

heoi anō - however - He pai te mahi, heoi anō, he roa rawa. The work was good, however, it was too long.

waihoki - furthermore, also - He pai te mahi, waihoki he tere. The work was good, furthermore, it was fast.

nā te mea - because

me – and (used to link nouns or people) - I haere au me tōku hoa. – I went with my friend.

ahakoa – although, even though - Ahakoa te ua, i haere tonu rātou. – Even though it rained, they still went.

mēnā / ki te – if - Ki te ua, ka noho mātou ki roto. – If it rains, we’ll stay inside.

ina – when (used for present/future conditions) - Ina tae mai koe, karanga mai. – When you arrive, call out.

i te mea hoki – because also, furthermore - I hoki ia ki te kāinga, i te mea hoki i ngenge ia. – He went home, because he was also tired.

whaka- – causes or makes something happen

ako → whakaako – to teach

riri → whakariri – to make angry

mā → whakamā – to embarrass

tino- – intensifier, means “very” or “really**

pai → tino pai – really good

wera → tino wera – very hot

mātauranga → tino mātauranga – deep knowledge

kāore e- / kāore i- – negation (not / didn’t)

kāore e taea – cannot be done

kāore i te pai – wasn’t good

kāore e mōhiotia – not known

ka- / kua- / e- / i- – verb particles (tense/aspect)

ka haere – will go

kua kai – has eaten

e noho ana – is sitting

maha- – many / multiple

mahi → mahamahi – many tasks

kai → mahakai – feast / lots of food

tāngata → mahatāngata – many people

tae- – arrival or reaching

tae mai – arrive here

tae atu – arrive there

tae noa – arrive eventually / finally

whai- – to pursue or follow

whai whakaaro – to consider / follow an idea

whai hua – to be fruitful / beneficial

whai wāhi – to participate / have access

-tanga – turns verbs into nouns (like “-ness” or “-tion”)

ako → akoranga – learning

whakaako → whakaakoranga – teaching

rangatira → rangatiratanga – leadership / sovereignty

-nga – noun form of a verb (action or result)

karakia → karakianga – act of prayer

waiata → waiatanga – act of singing

tākaro → tākaronga – act of playing

-roa – long / length

moana → moanaroa – long sea

rārangi → rārangiroa – long list

awatea → awatearoa – long daylight

-kore – absence or lack of something

mātauranga → mātaurangakore – lack of knowledge

whakapono → whakaponokore – disbelief

mahi → mahikore – unemployed / no work

-hanga – form or construction of something

whare → wharehanga – building structure

kupu → kupuhanga – word formation

rerenga → rerengahanga – sentence structure

-tia / -hia / -ngia / -kia – passive verb endings

kai → kaingia – be eaten

tuhituhi → tuhia – be written

whakarongo → whakarongohia – be listened to

-nui – big / great

whānau → whānau nui – extended family

kai → kainui – big meal

rongo → rongo nui – important news

Rerenga Tūmahi – Verb Sentences

Rerenga Tūāhua – Stative Sentences

Rerenga Hanga Whakamārama – Equational Sentences

Rerenga Whakamārama – Descriptive Sentences

Rerenga Whakahau – Command Sentences

Rerenga Pātai – Question Sentences

Rerenga Kīwaha – Idiomatic Sentences

Tūmahi-based: Reremahi, Reretuāhua

Tūingoa-based: Reretūingoa, Reretaupū

Contextual: Reretūwāhi, Reretūwā

 Kīanga Tūmahi – Verb Phrases

Kīanga Tūāhua – Stative Phrases

Kīanga Tūingoa – Noun Phrases

Kīanga Tūwāhi – Locative Phrases

Kīanga Tūpou – Pronoun Phrases

Kīanga Tūāhua Whakamārama – Descriptive Adjective Phrases

Kīanga Wā – Time Phrases

Kīanga Pātai – Question Phrases

 Te Reo Māori Sentence Types – Quick Reference

📘 Sentence Types (Colour – Full Form – Shortened Form – Example)

🔵 Blue Rerenga Tūmahi Reremahi Kei te oma te kurī. (The dog is running.)

🟢 Green Rerenga Tūāhua Reretuāhua He makariri te wai. (The water is cold.)

🟣 Purple Rerenga Tūpou Reretaupū Ko ia tēnei. (This is her/him.)

🟣 Purple Rerenga Tūingoa Reretūingoa He kaiako ia. (She is a teacher.)

🟡 Yellow Rerenga Tūwāhi Reretūwāhi Kei roto i te whare. (Inside the house.)

🔴 Red Rerenga Wā Reretūwā Ā te ahiahi. (In the afternoon.)

🟠 Orange Rerenga Tūāhua Whakamārama Reretūāhua Whakamārama He ātaahua te whare. (The house is beautiful.)

🧠 Quick Definitions

• 🔵 Reremahi – Action sentence (doing something)

• 🟢 Reretuāhua – State or condition

• 🟣 Reretaupū / Reretūingoa – Identity using pronouns or nouns

• 🟡 Reretūwāhi – Location (where)

• 🔴 Reretūwā – Time (when)

• 🟠 Reretūāhua Whakamārama – Descriptive adjective sentence

🧩 Colour-Coded Learning Tips

• 🔵 Reremahi – Mahi = Action → Reremahi is about doing something

• 🟢 Reretuāhua – Tūāhua = State/Attribute → Reretuāhua shows how something is

• 🟣 Reretaupū – Tūpou = Pronoun → Reretaupū uses words like ia (he/she)

• 🟣 Reretūingoa – Tūingoa = Noun → Reretūingoa uses names or things

• 🟡 Reretūwāhi – Wāhi = Place → Reretūwāhi tells you where

• 🔴 Reretūwā – Wā = Time → Reretūwā tells you when

• 🟠 Reretūāhua Whakamārama – Whakamārama = Description → Adds detail using adjectives

📖 Story: Te Rōpū Reo – The Language Group

A short story showing sentence types in action, with translations and colour coding.

🔵 Reremahi Kei te kōrero ngā ākonga i te reo Māori. (The students are speaking Māori.)

🟢 Reretuāhua He mākona ngā ākonga i ā rātou mahi. (The students are satisfied with their work.)

🟣 Reretaupū Ko rātou ngā ākonga o te karaehe tuatoru. (They are the students of the third class.)

🟣 Reretūingoa He kaiako pai a Māmā Hine. (Māmā Hine is a good teacher.)

🟡 Reretūwāhi Kei roto rātou i te akomanga. (They are inside the classroom.)

🟠 Reretūāhua Whakamārama He kaha, he ngākau nui ngā ākonga. (The students are strong and enthusiastic.)

🔴 Reretūwā Ia ata, ka tīmata rātou ki te ako. (Every morning, they begin to learn.)

💬 Mixed Kei te hari rātou i tō rātou whanaketanga. (They are happy with their progress.)

💬 Mixed He rawe te ako i te reo Māori! (Learning Māori is awesome!)

Action & State

• 🔵 Reremahi – Rerenga Tūmahi - Kei te oma te kurī. (The dog is running.)

• 🟢 Reretuāhua – Rerenga Tūāhua - He makariri te wai. (The water is cold.)

Identity & Description

• 🟣 Reretaupū – Rerenga Tūpou - Ko ia tēnei. (This is her/him.)

• 🟣 Reretūingoa – Rerenga Tūingoa - He kaiako ia. (She is a teacher.)

• 🟠 Reretūāhua Whakamārama – Rerenga Tūāhua Whakamārama - He ātaahua te whare. (The house is beautiful.)

Context – Where & When

• 🟡 Reretūwāhi – Rerenga Tūwāhi - Kei roto i te whare. (Inside the house.)

• 🔴 Reretūwā – Rerenga Wā - Ā te ahiahi. (In the afternoon.)

🌧️ He Rā Ua i te Hararei (A Rainy Day in the Holidays)

🔴 Reretūwā – Rerenga Wā
Ā te ata, i tīmata te ua. (In the morning, the rain began.)

🟡 Reretūwāhi – Rerenga Tūwāhi
Kei te kāinga ngā tamariki. (The children are at home.)

🔵 Reremahi – Rerenga Tūmahi
Kei te tākaro rātou i ngā kēmu ā-rorohiko. (They are playing computer games.)

🟢 Reretuāhua – Rerenga Tūāhua
He makariri te rā. (The day is cold.)

🟣 Reretaupū – Rerenga Tūpou
Ko rātou ngā tuakana o te whānau. (They are the older siblings of the family.)

🟣 Reretūingoa – Rerenga Tūingoa
He hararei tēnei. (This is a holiday.)

🟠 Reretūāhua Whakamārama – Rerenga Tūāhua Whakamārama
He ngahau te rā ahakoa te ua. (The day is fun despite the rain.)

🔵 Reremahi – Rerenga Tūmahi
Ka tunu rātou i ngā pihikete ki te kāuta. (They bake cookies in the kitchen.)

🟢 Reretuāhua – Rerenga Tūāhua
He reka te kakara. (The smell is delicious.)

🔴 Reretūwā – Rerenga Wā
I te ahiahi, ka mātakitaki rātou i tētahi kiriata. (In the afternoon, they watched a movie.)

The prompt I used to get this story out of my well trained CoPilot was: Create a year 7 story using the sentence colour coding about a rainy day in the holidays.

🟣 Nouns (Tūingoa)

rā – day

ua – rain

tamaiti / tamariki – child / children

kāinga – home

matapihi – window

kōrero – story

hararei – holiday

whānau – family

kura – school

hau – wind

hupa – soup

pukapuka – book

wā – time

waha – mouth (used in idioms)

kai – food

🔵 Verbs (Tūmahi)

tīmata – to begin

noho – to sit/stay

mātakitaki – to watch

tuhituhi – to write

taea – to be able

haere – to go

pupuhi – to blow

tunu – to cook/bake

pānui – to read

🟢 Adjectives (Tūāhua)

kaha – strong

hōhā – annoyed

māmā – gentle

mātao – cold

māhana – warm

reka – delicious

whakangā – relaxing