te rā
/ˈte ˈraː/word by word
te rā is how you say the date in Māori.
te rā refers to the specific day of the month or year.
How does it change in a sentence?
In Māori, the word rā can mean both 'day' and 'date' depending on the context in which it is used.
How do you pronounce it?
/ˈte ˈraː/
Did you know?
- In Māori culture, the sun is also called te rā, meaning the phrase for 'the date' is identical to the word for 'the sun'.
- The word rā has a distant relative in the Malay word layar, which means 'sail'.
- Because rā represents the sun, the concept of a 'date' is fundamentally tied to the movement of the sun across the sky.
Examples in context
- Ko te rua tekau mā rima tēnei o Hōngongoi te tau rua mano rua tekau toruToday is the 25th of July 2023
- Kei te hiahia koe ki te rā?Do you want the date?
Example conversation
Kahu and Wiremu are planning a meeting.
- KahuWiremu, he aha te rā mō te hui?Wiremu, what is the date for the meeting?
- WiremuKo te tekau mā rua o Akuhitā.It is the twelfth of August.
- KahuKa kitekore ahau i ahau i tērā rā.I am unavailable on that date.
- WiremuKa whakarerekē tatou i te rā.We will change the date.
Sources
- IPA marked “word by word” joins the Wiktionary pronunciations of each word (te, rā) and can differ in connected speech.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries rā, te, CC BY-SA 4.0.
