Clothes in Māori: kākahu, pōtae, hāte and hū
Clothes in Māori are kākahu ‘clothes, a garment’, and the everyday ones are pōtae ‘hat’, hāte ‘shirt’, tarau ‘trousers’, panekoti ‘skirt’, poraka ‘jersey’, koti ‘coat’, tōkena ‘socks’ and hū ‘shoes’. Most of them are borrowed from English and sound like it once you know how Māori spells a loanword; a few are Māori words that are not loans. Below are the words, how to say them, which are which, and the verbs for wearing, putting on and taking off.
Tap 🔊 to hear an example. Māori examples play Papa Reo, the te reo Māori voice made by Te Hiku Media from recordings of native speakers.
Clothes in Māori: the everyday words
| Māori | English | Say it |
|---|---|---|
| kākahu | clothes, a garment | KAA-kah-hoo: the first vowel is long |
| pōtae | hat, cap, beanie | PAW-tie |
| hāte | shirt | HAA-teh |
| tīhāte | T-shirt | TEE-HAA-teh |
| poraka | jersey, jumper, sweatshirt | paw-rah-kah |
| tarau | trousers, pants | tah-rah-oo |
| tarau poto | shorts | tah-rah-oo paw-taw |
| panekoti | skirt | pah-neh-kaw-tee |
| kaka | dress, garment | kah-kah |
| koti | coat | kaw-tee |
| koti ua | raincoat | kaw-tee oo-ah |
| tiakete | jacket | tee-ah-keh-teh |
| tōkena | socks, stockings | TAW-keh-nah |
| hū | shoes | HOO: one long vowel |
| pūtu | boots | POO-too |
| pārekereke | jandals, sandals | PAA-reh-keh-reh-keh |
A vowel with a macron is held about twice as long, and the length belongs to the word: hū is one long oo. Wh is usually said like an English f, and ng as in singer; the sounds are set out in the Māori pronunciation guide.
More clothes and accessories
| Māori | English |
|---|---|
| karapu | gloves |
| kāmeta | scarf |
| tātua | belt |
| toroiho | underwear |
| kākahu moe | pyjamas |
| kākahu ōrite | uniform, such as a school uniform |
Most Māori nouns do not change in the plural, so hū is a shoe or shoes and tōkena a sock or socks; te ‘the, one’ and ngā ‘the, more than one’ carry the number: te pōtae ‘the hat’, ngā hū ‘the shoes’.
Borrowed from English, or Māori all along?
Te Aka Māori Dictionary marks each borrowed word as a loan. Most everyday clothes are loans, respelt with Māori sounds: every syllable ends in a vowel, and sh becomes h, so shirt became hāte and coat became koti.
| Word | English | Te Aka marks it |
|---|---|---|
| kākahu | clothes, garment, cloak | a Māori word, not a loan |
| kahu | garment, cloak | a Māori word, not a loan |
| kaka | dress, garment, clothing | a Māori word, not a loan |
| pōtae | hat, cap | a Māori word, not a loan; as a verb, to put on the head |
| tātua | belt | a Māori word, not a loan |
| pārekereke | sandal, jandal | a Māori word, not a loan |
| hāte, tarau, koti, tōkena | shirt, trousers, coat, socks | loans |
| hū, pūtu, karapu, tiakete | shoes, boots, gloves, jacket | loans |
| panekoti, poraka, tīhāte, kāmeta | skirt, jersey, T-shirt, scarf | loans |
| hanara waewae | jandal | a loan, beside pārekereke |
So there are two ways to say jandals: pārekereke, which Te Aka gives as sandal or jandal, and the borrowed hanara waewae. Poraka has a second meaning to watch for: Te Aka lists the same spelling, also a loan, for the introduced bell-frogs. How English words are reshaped is explained in English words in Māori.
Traditional Māori garments have their own vocabulary, from the korowai to the piupiu ‘flax skirt’ worn in kapa haka; they are explained in Māori cloaks and kapa haka.
Wearing clothes: mau
To wear is mau. The course uses it the way Te Aka does:
| Māori | English |
|---|---|
| Me mau pōtae. | Wear a hat. |
| Ka mau a Tama i te pōtae whero i ngā wā katoa. | Tama wears the red hat all the time. |
| Kāore rā au e mau hū ana i te raumati. | I don’t wear shoes in summer. (Te Aka’s example) |
Mau also means to take or bring, which is the sense in a reminder the course teaches: Mauria tō koti, kei ua. ‘Take your coat, in case it rains.’
Getting dressed: putting clothes on
Te Aka gives several verbs for putting clothes on. The two used below are whakamau and komo; Te Aka also lists kuhu, which is otherwise to go in or insert, and kākahu itself used as a verb, to dress.
| Māori | English |
|---|---|
| Kei te whakamau au i aku hū. | I am putting my shoes on. |
| Whakamaua tō pōtae. | Put your hat on. |
| Ka noho taku whaea ki te whakamau i aku tōkena me aua pūtu hou. | My mother sat down to put on my socks and the new boots. (Te Aka’s example) |
| E tama, me komo kākahu koe. | Son, you had better get dressed. (Te Aka’s example) |
Komo kākahu is the phrase for get dressed. A command often uses the passive form of the verb, the way the course says Mauria tō koti: whakamau becomes whakamaua.
Taking clothes off: unu
To take clothes off is unu, which Te Aka glosses as to pull off, put off, take off; its passive is unuhia. Te Aka also gives tango, to take off or remove.
| Māori | English |
|---|---|
| Kei te unu au i aku tōkena. | I am taking my socks off. |
| Unuhia ō hū. | Take your shoes off. |
My clothes: saying “my”
Clothes take the o form of the possessive, like the body and the house: ōku kākahu ‘my clothes’, tō pōtae ‘your hat’, ō hū ‘your shoes’. The neutral taku and aku, which Te Aka’s own examples use with clothes, are never wrong. Why the o form is used is explained in Māori possessives: a and o.
| Māori | English |
|---|---|
| He hou ōku kākahu, engari he tawhito ōna. | My clothes are new, but his are old. |
| Kei hea taku koti ua? | Where is my raincoat? (Te Aka’s example) |
| Kei hea ngā hū? | Where are the shoes? |
Describing clothes
A describing word comes after the thing, so a colour follows the garment:
| Māori | English |
|---|---|
| he pōtae kahurangi | a blue hat |
| te pōtae whero | the red hat |
| He koti mahana tērā. | That is a warm coat. |
The colour words are in Māori colours, and the rooms and things of the house, from the wardrobe to the bedroom, are in Māori words around the house.
For the classroom and at home
Getting dressed happens every morning, which makes it one of the easiest times to use te reo. A few ways in:
- Name each thing as it goes on. hāte, tarau, tōkena, hū.
- Use one command a day. Whakamaua tō pōtae. Unuhia ō hū.
- Ask where. Kei hea ngā hū? is a question for every morning.
More ideas are in Māori for kids and te reo for teachers. Verbavia’s te reo Māori course teaches the everyday clothes on this page in sentences, free on the web.
Sources
- Te Aka Māori Dictionary: kākahu — to put on clothes, dress; garment, clothes, cloak; kākahu moe — pyjamas; kākahu ōrite — uniform.
- Te Aka Māori Dictionary: kahu — to put on clothes; garment, cloth, cloak.
- Te Aka Māori Dictionary: kaka — dress, garment, clothing.
- Te Aka Māori Dictionary: pōtae — cap, hat, beanie; to put on the head.
- Te Aka Māori Dictionary: hāte — shirt (loan); tīhāte — T-shirt (loan).
- Te Aka Māori Dictionary: tarau — trousers, pants (loan); tarau poto — shorts.
- Te Aka Māori Dictionary: panekoti, poraka, koti, koti ua, tiakete, tōkena, karapu, kāmeta and toroiho, each marked as a loan.
- Te Aka Māori Dictionary: hū — shoe, footwear (loan), with the example “Kāore rā au e mau hū ana i te raumati”; pūtu — boot (loan).
- Te Aka Māori Dictionary: pārekereke — sandal, jandal; hanara waewae — jandal (loan).
- Te Aka Māori Dictionary: tātua — belt.
- Te Aka Māori Dictionary: mau — to put on, wear; to take, bring.
- Te Aka Māori Dictionary: whakamau — to put on (clothes, etc.), with the example “Ka noho taku whaea ki te whakamau i aku tōkena me aua pūtu hou”.
- Te Aka Māori Dictionary: komo — put on (clothes, shoes, etc.); komo kākahu — to get dressed, with the example “E tama, me komo kākahu koe”.
- Te Aka Māori Dictionary: kuhu — to put on (as clothes).
- Te Aka Māori Dictionary: unu — to pull off, put off, take off (clothes, etc.).
- Te Aka Māori Dictionary: tango — to take up, take hold of, take off, remove.