Tīpuna – Ancestors / Grandparents (plural)

Koroua – Grandfather / Elderly man

Kuia – Grandmother / Elderly woman

Tamariki – Children

Tuakana – Older same-gender sibling

Teina – Younger same-gender sibling

Tuahine – Sister of a male

Tungāne – Brother of a female

Iramutu – Niece or nephew

Whanaunga – Relative / Cousin

Kōkā / Karaihe – Cousin (regional or informal terms)

Whānau – Family

Hoa rangatira – Spouse / Partner

Whāngai – Fostered or adopted child

Tamariki mokopuna – Great-grandchildren

Whare tangata – Womb / Line of descent (poetic term)

‘A’ category examples:

tāku tamaiti – my child – Ko Pita tāku tamaiti.

tāku hoa – my friend/partner – Ko Hana tāku hoa.

tāku mahi – my job/work – He pai tāku mahi.

tāku kurī – my dog (as a pet) – Ko Kuri tāku kurī.

tāku pukapuka – my book – Kei konei tāku pukapuka.

tāku tēpu – my table -  Kei te rūma kai tāku tēpu. (My table is in the dining room.)

tāku pouaka whakaata – my television - He nui tāku pouaka whakaata. 

tāku rorohiko – my computer - E mahi ana au i runga i tāku rorohiko. 

‘O’ category examples:

tōku māmā – my mother – Ko Mere tōku māmā.

tōku pāpā – my father – Ko Hōne tōku pāpā.

tōku kuia – my grandmother – Ko Rangi tōku kuia.

tōku koroua – my grandfather – E noho ana tōku koroua ki te pāmu.

tōku whare – my house – He nui tōku whare.

tōku kāinga – my home – Ka hoki au ki tōku kāinga.

tōku waka – my car – He hou tōku waka.

tōku tinana – my body – E mamae ana tōku tinana.

tōku kura – my school – Kei tōku kura ahau e ako ana.

tōku ruma – my room – Kei tōku ruma te tūru.

tōku tūru – my chair – Kei konei tōku tūru.

What is taku? Taku means “my” or “mine.”

We use taku when we talk about one thing that belongs to us. It doesn’t say if we control the thing or not — it just means it’s mine.

When do we use taku?

When we want to say “my” but don’t need to say if we chose it or if it’s something special like family. It’s easy to use, especially if you’re still learning.

Taku kurī – my dog

Taku whare – my house

Taku pukapuka – my book

Taku māmā – my mum

What about tāku and tōku? 

Tāku means “my” for things you choose or control (like your pet or your job).

Tōku means “my” for people or things you don’t control, like your parents or your body.

Taku is a simple way to say “my” without worrying about this difference.

Wāhanga (Parts) body parts, parts of buildings

Whanaunga (Relatives) parents, grandparents, siblings

Whakaruruhau (Shelter/Protection) house, school, teachers

Wāhi (Places) towns, cities, countries

Whakaahua (Qualities) personal qualities, traits

Whakarākei (Adornments) clothes, jewelry (things you wear or put on)

Waka (Transport) cars, boats (means of transport)

Whakaora (Beneficial things) medicine, remedies

Everything that is not in the 'O' category falls under the ‘A’ category — things you have responsibility for like pets and children, or things you control like staff or possessions. Food and drink, technology, spoken words...

tāku hōiho – my horse (as a pet or something you care for)

Ko Taimana tāku hōiho. – Taimana is my horse (pet).

tōku hōiho – my horse (as transport or a companion on a journey)

Kei te haere mā runga i tōku hōiho. – I'm travelling on my horse.

tōku amarara – my umbrella (loanword, focus on function as shelter – O category)

I mau tōku amarara i te hau. (My umbrella was caught by the wind.)

tāku amarara – my umbrella (loanword, focus on technology– A category)

Anei tāku amarara hou. (Here’s my new umbrella.)

tāku waea pūkoro – my mobile phone - Kei hea tāku waea pūkoro?

tōku waea pūkoro – my mobile phone - Kei hea tōku waea pūkoro?

Note on “tāku” vs “tōku” for waea pūkoro: Some people use “tōku waea” instead of “tāku waea”, depending on how they classify the object. Use tāku when the phone is seen as technology — A category. Use tōku when the phone is seen as part of self — O category. Both are acceptable depending on context and speaker choice.

🔆 Reflection: The Lightbulb Moment about a and o Particles

For a long time, I thought the ā / ō distinction in te reo Māori was only about possessive pronouns — words like āku, ōku, āna, ōna. I focused on who owns what: āku tamariki (my children) or ōku mātua (my parents).

But today I realised something deeper: those long forms aren’t the whole story. The short particles “a” and “o” themselves are the foundation of the system. They appear not only inside pronouns but also between nouns — quietly showing the same logic of relationship and control.

This was a lightbulb moment: the “a” and “o” particles are like the roots of a tree, and the possessive pronouns are just the branches that grow from them.

When I looked at the phrase ngā kōrero o Paikea, I first thought of it as a normal possessive structure — “Paikea’s stories.” But then I realised: the particle o isn’t just marking ownership. It’s telling me about the kind of relationship Paikea has with the kōrero.

• In ngā kōrero o Paikea, Paikea is the topic of the stories — the one being talked about.

• In ngā kōrero a Paikea, Paikea is the agent — the one who told the stories.
  
  

So that tiny word a or o quietly shifts the whole meaning.

This discovery connected everything I’ve learned about ā- and ō-categories:

• a for actions, agency, and creation (like ngā kōrero a Paikea, te waiata a Mere, te tamaiti a Hemi).

• o for belonging, description, or being affected (like ngā kōrero o Paikea, te whare o Hemi, te pai o te kai).
  
  

It reminded me that Māori grammar is not just about possession — it’s about relationships and balance. The a–o system is a worldview, not a rule list.

Now, whenever I see an a or o between nouns, I pause and ask:

“Who’s acting, and who’s being acted on?”

That question turns a grammar point into a story — and every sentence becomes a little like ngā kōrero a Paikea itself: a reminder that words carry whakapapa.

The eight “ō-category” groups — Wāhanga (Parts), Whanaunga (Relatives), Whakaruruhau (Shelter or protection), Wāhi (Places), Whakaahua (Qualities), Whakarākei (Adornments), Waka (Transport), and Whakaora (Beneficial things) — all share one key idea. In every case, the person is affected by, belongs to, or is sheltered by the other thing. The relationship flows toward the person, not from them. That is what makes it an ō-category relationship.

When we use the short particle “o” between two nouns, that particle is simply the grammatical signal of this same worldview. It quietly tells the listener that the second noun (the possessor) is in an ō-type relationship with the first.

For example, in “ngā kōrero o Paikea,” Paikea is not doing the talking — she is the topic of the kōrero, the one being spoken about. The stories belong to her story or life, not her voice. This fits the ō-category idea because Paikea is being described by or connected to something that acts upon her — the kōrero. The particle o marks that kind of belonging or description.

You can see the same logic in other examples. In “te ringa o Hemi,” the hand belongs to Hemi; he doesn’t control whether he has it. In “te whaea o Mere,” Mere is connected to her mother by birth; she does not choose the relationship. In “te whare o Hemi,” the house provides shelter for him; it protects him. In “te pai o te kai,” the goodness belongs to the food itself; it describes its quality. In “te hū o Hemi,” the shoes are worn on him — they are attached to his body. In “te motokā o Mere,” the car carries Mere rather than being controlled by her. In “te rongoā o Hemi,” the medicine benefits Hemi; it acts on him.

All of these examples show the same kind of connection: the person or thing is under the influence of, inside, described by, or helped by the other noun. That is why they all use the particle “o.”

When the relationship is reversed — when the person is the agent, user, or controller — we switch to the particle “a” and the ā-category logic. So we say “ngā kōrero a Paikea” when Paikea tells the stories, “ngā tamariki a Hemi” when Hemi produces the children, “te motokā a Hemi” when he drives the car, or “te whare a Mere” when she built or owns the house.

The big idea is that the ō-categories describe types of relationships in the world, while the particles “a” and “o” express those relationships inside a sentence. The categories are the worldview — the way Māori think about who acts and who is affected. The short particles are the grammar footprints that make that worldview visible in our language.

So in short:

• ngā kōrero o Paikea → Paikea is the topic of the stories (ō-category, affected).

• ngā kōrero a Paikea → Paikea is the teller of the stories (ā-category, agent).
  
  

Both reflect the same relational principle — one of the most elegant and philosophical features of te reo Māori grammar.

The “a” or “o” belongs to the car, not the person.
It shows what type of relationship the car has with the person.

• tōku motokā → the car is something that carries me → car = ō-category thing.

• te motokā a Hemi → the car is something Hemi uses or drives → car = ā-category thing.

So the same car can take either “a” or “o”, depending on how it’s related to the person in that sentence.