Kei te pai ahau
Kei te pai ahau is the Maori way to say "I am good".
Kei te pai ahau is used to say that you are doing well or feeling fine. It serves as a standard response when someone asks you Kei te pēhea koe? (How are you?).
What does it mean word for word?
The phrase is composed of kei te (present tense marker), pai (good/fine) and ahau (I).
Which one should you use?
You can use Kei te tino pai ahau to emphasize that you are feeling really good.
How does it change in a sentence?
To change the subject from "I" to "he" or "she", replace ahau with ia to form Kei te pai ia.
Did you know?
- The word pai is a distant relative of the Malay word baik and the Tagalog word bait, sharing a common ancestor from Proto-Malayo-Polynesian.
- In traditional Maori culture, responding that you are 'good' often involves considering the wellbeing of your collective group rather than just your individual self.
- The word pai can be repeated as pai pai to describe something that is not just good, but exceptionally high quality or aesthetically pleasing.
Examples in context
- Kia ora, whaea. Kei te pai ahau.Hello, mother. I am good.
- Tēnā koe, e hoa. Kei te tino pai ahau.Hello, friend. I am feeling really good.
- Kei te pai ahau, tēnā koe.I am good, thank you.
Example conversation
Manaia and Kahu meet on the street.
- ManaiaKia ora, Kahu! Kei a koe?Hello, Kahu! How are you?
- KahuKei te pai ahau, Manaia. A koe?I am good, Manaia. And you?
- ManaiaKei te pai ahau.I am good.
- KahuHe pai tēnā.That is good.
Sources
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries pai, te, CC BY-SA 4.0.
