Immediate Family - Learn Māori - YouTube

kia ora! welcome to the first lesson about people  

today we're going to learn  about our immediate family

"wahine" means "woman" and also "wife"

"tāne" means "man" and also "husband"

"mātua" means "parents". The  macron on "mātua" is important  

because this means that the word is plural

"matua" without the macron means "father". It can  also be used to refer to a man in general

"whaea" is the word the "mother". It can also  be used to refer to a woman in general  

just like "matua" for a man

it's also possible to say "pāpā" and "māmā"  which are more colloquial and very common

"tama" means "son"

"tamāhine" means "daughter"

"tamariki" means "children"

now we'll look at siblings, which  are a little more complicated  

the words that you use for your  siblings depend on your own gender

"tuākana" means older siblings of the same gender

"tēina" means younger siblings of the same gender

take note of the macrons, they  mean that the words are plural

"tuakana" without the macron means older brother if you're  a man. If you're a woman, "tuakana" means older sister

"teina" without the macron, means  younger brother if you're a man

if you're a woman "teina" means younger sister

if you're a man the word for sister is "tuahine"

it does not matter if they're older or younger

if you're a woman the word for brother is "tungāne"  it does not matter if they're older or younger

it's possible to make the  distinction between older and younger  

using the possessives that  we've learned previously

means "Rewi is my older brother". "Tōku" is  used for someone older than you

means my "Rewi is my younger brother"

"tāku" is used for someone younger than you

both of these sentences are said by a  woman, because "tungāne" means the brother of a woman

"tuahine "can be plural with a macron on the "a". "Tuāhine"

"tungāne" doesn't change whether it's singular or plural  

but again, it is possible to make the  distinction with the right possessive

Rewi is my brother

Rewi and Adam are my brothers  "ōku" is the plural of "tōku"

let's look at a family introducing each other  to practice. I recommend watching the lesson  

about possessives for this if you haven't already.

to introduce someone, we use the word "ko"

Rewi is my husband

Maria is my wife

Anna and Emma are our daughters

Anna, Emma and Adam are our children

Rewi is my father

Maria is my mother

Rewi and Maria are my parents

Emma is my younger sister

Adam is my brother

Anna is my older sister

Adam is my brother

Anna and Emma are my sisters

there you have it now you know the  words for your immediate family members  

in the next lesson we'll  learn about other relatives

Ka kite!