Exercise Ten
Colours
Here are some of the common Māori words for colours. Like some other languages, many of the words for colours come from things that have the particular colour in nature.
| kākāriki | be green, small green parrot |
| karaka | be orange, a tree with orange berries |
| kikorangi, kahurangi | be blue |
| kiwikiwi | be grey |
| kōwhai | be yellow, a tree with yellow flowers |
| mā | be white, clean |
| mangu, pango | be black |
| māwhero | be pink |
| pākākā | be brown, reddish brown, ginger |
| pango | be black |
| paraone | be brown |
| parauri | be dark in colour, dark brown |
| pūmā | be grey |
| pūwhero | be reddish |
| waiporoporo | be purple |
| whero | be red |
Below are some examples that demonstrate the use of these words.
| He māwhero ō rātou pāpāringa. | Their cheeks are pink. |
| Homai koa tōku pōtae waiporoporo. | Please pass my purple hat. |
| I kainga ngā āporo whero e te hōiho pākākā. | The red apples were eaten by the brown horse. |
| He maha ngā paoro i konei - he mā ētahi, he pūwhero ētahi, he kahurangi ētahi hoki. | There are lots of balls here - some are white, some are reddish and some are blue. |
| I tāhaetia tōna hākete kākāriki. | His green jacket was stolen. |
| He kahurangi, he whero, he mā hoki ngā kara o te haki o Aotearoa. | Blue, red and white are the colours of the New Zealand flag. |
For further explanations and exercises see Te Kākano p.86 and Te Pukapuka Tātaki p.54.
Tirohia te pikitia, kātahi ka whakutu ai i te pātai ki te whakautu poto.
Pānuitia ngā kōrerorero, ā, whakakīa ngā āputa ki ngā kupu e tika ana.
Don’t forget to use commas, question marks, and fullstops and macrons where appropriate (ā,ē,ī,ō, and ū).
Anei he tauira:
“He aha te kara o ngā makawe o Wiremu?”
“What is the colour of Wiremu’s hair?”
Which answer do you think is correct?
He aha te kara o ōna makawe?
He aha te kara o te motokā o te pāpā o Neihana?
He aha te kara o te tēpu?
He aha ngā kara o te Haki o Itāria?
He aha ngā kara o te pahi?
Rangi: Kia ora, e hoa. I hea koe inanahi?
Hello, my friend. Where were you yesterday?
Matiu: Kia ora, e Rangi. I tātahi. I haere atu au ki te kaukau.
Hello, Rangi. At the beach. I went for a swim.
Rangi: Nē? Pēhea tō wā i reira?
True? How was your time there?
Rangi: Kia ora, e hoa. I hea koe inanahi?
Hello, my friend. Where were you yesterday?
Matiu: Kia ora, e Rangi. I tātahi. I haere atu au ki te kaukau.
Hello, Rangi. At the beach. I went for a swim.
Rangi: Nē? Pēhea tō wā i reira?
True? How was your time there?
Matiu: Te mutunga kē mai o te pai! I whiti te rā, he
It was the best! The sun was shining, the sky was blue and the water was warm!
Rangi: Ā, tino pai! I hea koe i mua tata atu?
Oh, awesome! Where were you just before?
Matiu: I te tāone. I tirohia ētahi motokā hou e ahau.
In town. I was looking at new cars.
Rangi: He motokā hou mōu?
A new car for you?
Matiu: Āe. Ko te Toyota Legacy te momo motokā e hiahiatia ana e ahau. Ki a au, he
Yes. A “Toyota Legacy” is the type of car I want. I think red is the best colour for my car.
Rangi: Āe. He pai te kara
Yes. Red is a good colour. That model is better than your “Honda City!” Look at the state of your car! I thought your car was white, but it’s brown now! How dirty your car is!
Matiu: Auē. Kei te tino whakamā ahau ināianei. He
Oh dear. Now I’m really embarrassed! My face is red! Yes. I should clean my car.
Rangi: Hei aha tēnā! Tirohia tērā wahine ātaahua!
Never mind that! Check out that beautiful woman!
Matiu: Ko tēhea o ērā wāhine?
Which one of those women!
Rangi: Tō kāpō hoki! Kei te mau ia i tētahi kaka
How blind you are! She is wearing a purple dress and some yellow jandals. Do you know her?
Matiu: Kei te
Is the sky blue? She’s my sister!
Rangi: E kāo, e hoa. He wahine ia māku!
No, my friend. She’s a wife for me!
Matiu: Engari mō tēnā! He moemoeā noa iho tēnā!
Whatever! That’s just a dream!