nō … ahau
In Māori, the phrase "I am from" is expressed as nō … ahau.
This phrase is used to state the place where a person was born or where they come from.
What does it mean word for word?
The phrase literally translates to "from [place] I".
How does it change in a sentence?
In this phrase, the word ahau (I) is placed at the end, following the place name. In many contexts, you can use the shorter form au instead of ahau.
Did you know?
- In many Māori introductions, instead of saying where you were born, you might first state your 'pepeha', which identifies your ancestral mountain and river to establish your identity.
- Māori culture emphasizes 'whakapapa' or genealogy, so nō is frequently used to trace lineage back to the great migratory canoes that first settled Aotearoa.
- When using nō … ahau, the word nō acts as a marker of origin, but it is also used to indicate that something belongs to a specific person or group.
Examples in context
- Ko ahau nō Aotearoa.I am from New Zealand.
- He uri ahau nō Taranaki.I am a descendant from Taranaki.
- Kei Taranaki ahau.I am from Taranaki.
- Nō Tāmaki Makaurau ahau.I am from Auckland.
