Using koia

Koia nei tonu ngā mahi ina hoki mai i te hī moki
Using koia

Koia is a word that is frequently used in spoken Māori, often in combination with anō, nei, nā or rā. It means either ‘indeed’, ‘here is’, ‘that is’, ‘it is the case that’.

Hei tauira:

Koia anō rātou i kī ai ko ia tō rātou toa ki te oma.
No wonder they said that she was their running champion.

Koia nā te mate o ngā mea kore mōhio.
That’s the trouble with ignorant people.

Koia nei te kāinga tūturu o Tīpene.
This is Stephen’s real home.

Koia anō!
No wonder!

Koia anō koe i pīrangi haere ki reira!
So that’s why you wanted to go there!

The words nei and nā locate what is being spoken about with the speaker or listener, while rā distances what is being referred to from them both, either in location or in time.

Koia nei is often used as an alternative way of saying ko tēnei. Likewise koia nā is used when saying ko tēnā, and koia rā for ko tērā.

Note that in spoken Māori koia nei often becomes koinei, koia nā becomes koinā and koia rā becomes koirā. Consequently they are often written in these alternative forms.

Hei tauira:

Koinei te take i kī au ki a koe ki te tiki wai.
That’s why I told you to get some water.

For further explanations and examples see Te Pihinga p. 8.

Pānuitia mai ngā rerenga kōrero nei, ā, ka whakakī ai i te āputa ki ngā kupu e tika ana.
Read the sentences below and figure out the missing words to fill the gap.