Tēnā koutou - hello everyone.

Kei te pēhea koe? How are you going in your te reo journey?  

Last week, we talked more about te huarere, the weather.

This week, it’s national gardening week, so I thought we could kōrero a little about gardening.

I te māra - In the garden

Yates is giving away free seeds to encourage us to plant another row. So, let’s all whakatōkia tētahi kākano.

Kākano is the word meaning seed. You’ll often see whaka put in front of adjectives or verbs to take on the meaning that something is being caused to happen, so whakatōkia means to plant.

Whakatōkia tētahi kākano. Plant a seed.

Kei te matewai ngā tupu. The plants are thirsty. Riringihia ki te wai. Sprinkle it with water.

We learned above that whakatōkia is the verb meaning to plant.  The noun for ‘the plant’ is tupu.

I know the word mate  (pronounced ma-te) as meaning ‘dead’ or ‘death’. However, when mate is joined to a noun like kai or wai, it indicates a desire, a need or a want for that thing.

matewai - thirsty (wanting water)

matekai - hungry (wanting food)

Kei te matewai ngā tupu. The plants are thirsty. 

Riringihia ki te wai. Sprinkle it with water.

Wai of course means water, but it’s interesting that Māori names for rivers and lakes start with wai and have one or more syllables added on. When this happens, the river’s name is describing the nature of its water.

Waimakariri - cold water

Waikato - flowing water

As for Te Wairere Lake Dunstan, according to the Māori dictionary, wairere means a stream of water, or waterfall. Very apt for a flowing lake that ends at a dam.

Kōrero with a friend this week as you’re out in the garden. Ka pai ō mahi - Good work!  

Nau mai te raumati. Bring on summer.

For more, check out te wiki o te reo Māori here