Kupu o te Rā

whāwhai

Thu, 11 Jun 2026 12:00:00 GMT

whāwhai: rush, hurry

Kei te whāwhai atu rāua ki waho kia tīkina ngā kākahu horoi.
They are rushing outside to fetch the washing.
- this is an example of an active sentence

ua

Wed, 10 Jun 2026 12:00:00 GMT

ua: rain

E ua ana ki waho.
It’s raining outside.
- this is an example of an active sentence

Titiro ai au ki te ua.
I watch the rain.
- this example uses "ai" for customary action

E whakamākūtia ana ngā kākahu e te ua.
The clothes are being drenched by the rain.
- this is an example of a passive sentence

In the first example ua is used as a verb; in the second and third ua is used as a noun.

whakairi(a)

Tue, 09 Jun 2026 12:00:00 GMT

whakairi(a): hang

E whakairi ana taku tāne i ngā kākahu horoi.
My husband is hanging the washing.
- this is an example of an active sentence

Mā taku hoa tāne ngā kākahu horoi e whakairi.
My boyfriend will hang the washing.
- this is an example of the agent emphatic

uta(ina)

Mon, 08 Jun 2026 12:00:00 GMT

uta(ina): load

I utaina e au ngā kākahu ki roto i te mīhini horoi.
The clothes were loaded into the washing machine by me.
- this is an example of a passive sentence

Ka uta au i ngā kākahu ki te kete kākahu.
I will load the clothes into the clothes basket
- this is an example of an active sentence

Note: uta also means ashore.

wehewehe(a)

Sun, 07 Jun 2026 12:00:01 GMT

wehewehe(a): sort out, separate, divide

Ka wehewehea ngā kākahu i runga anō i te tae.
The clothes will be sorted according to colour.
- this is an example of a passive sentence

Māu te kete kākahu e wehewehe.
You will sort the clothes basket.
- this is an example of the agent emphatic

whare horoi kākahu

Sat, 06 Jun 2026 12:00:00 GMT

whare horoi kākahu: laundry

I haere au ki te whare horoi kākahu.
I went to the laundry.
- this is an example of an active sentence

He pūngāwerewere kei roto i tōku whare horoi kākahu.
There are spiders in my laundry.

Another word for this is rūma horoi kākahu.

paru

Fri, 05 Jun 2026 12:00:00 GMT

paru: dirty

Auē! Kātahi te kākahu paru!
Auē! How dirty the clothes are!

Ka horoi au i ngā kākahu paru.
I will wash the dirty clothes.
- this is an example of an active sentence

tiki (tīkina)

Thu, 04 Jun 2026 12:00:00 GMT

tiki (tīkina): fetch

Tīkina ōu kākahu paru!
Fetch your dirty clothes!
- this is an example of a command in simple passive form

Kua tīkina ngā kākahu horoi e ngā tamariki.
The clean clothes have been fetched by the children.
- this is an example of a passive sentence

Ka tiki au i te kete kākahu.
I will fetch the clothes basket.
- this is an example of an active sentence

horoi(a)

Wed, 03 Jun 2026 12:00:00 GMT

horoi(a): wash

Me horoi koe, e te tau!
You should wash, my darling!
- this is an example of using Me - Should

Ka horoi au i ngā kākahu.
I will wash the clothes.
- this is an example of an active sentence

Ia rā, ia rā, oho ai au ā ka horoi kākahu.
Every day, I get up and wash the clothes.
- this example uses "ai" for customary action

pau

Tue, 02 Jun 2026 12:00:00 GMT

pau: to be consumed, to be used up

Kua pau te wai i a Kiri.
Kiri has consumed the water.
- this is an example of a stative sentence

He maha ngā moni kua pau i a ia i te toa.
She has spent lots of money at the shop.

pūhera

Mon, 01 Jun 2026 12:00:00 GMT

pūhera: parcel

Kei te hari au i ngā pūhera ki te waka.
I am carrying the purchases to the car.
- this is an example of an active sentence

I tēnei rā, he maha ngā pūhera i hokona e au.
Today I bought many parcels.

Kua whakakopaina ngā pūhera e ngā kaihoko.
The parcels have been wrapped by the shop assistants.
- this is an example of a passive sentence