te tau
/ˈte ˈtau/word by word
The English phrase "the year" is translated into Māori as te tau.
te tau refers to the period of twelve months that makes up a calendar year.
How do you pronounce it?
/ˈte ˈtau/
Did you know?
- Because tau also means 'number' or 'digit', the phrase te tau can be ambiguous without context, potentially meaning 'the number' instead of 'the year'.
- In many Polynesian languages, the word for 'year' shares a distant ancestral root with the Malay word 'tahun'.
- The word tau can carry the meaning of 'to be satisfied' or 'to be content' in certain contexts.
Example conversation
Tane and Kahu are discussing their yearly plans.
- TaneKa pai te tau.The year will be good.
- KahuHe pai te tau mō te whānau.It is a good year for the family.
- TaneKo te tau nui tēnei.This is a big year.
- KahuĀe, ko te tau tēnei.Yes, this is the year.
Sources
- IPA marked “word by word” joins the Wiktionary pronunciations of each word (te, tau) and can differ in connected speech.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries tau, te, CC BY-SA 4.0.
