Māori Grammar

We can ask a question about where someone or something is from using nō hea or nō whea?

Nō hea koe?
Where are you from?

Nō hea tō pāpā?
Where is your father from?

Nō hea can also be used rhetorically to mean "where on earth did you get that idea from?" The implication is that it is from nowhere, it has no source and therefore isn't true. It is used as an emphatic denial - "No way! That's absolutely not true!" Nō hea, in this sense, is often followed by e... ai.

Nō hea ia e mōhio ai ki tēnā!
There's no way he knows that!

This is a strong denial - it's not simply that something is wrong, but that it absolutely can't be true.

On its own, in reply to a question, nō hea means "absolutely not!" It is also used colloquially:

Nō hea au e mōhio!
How would I know!

When used as an emphatic denial, it is sometimes written as one word - nōhea - to differentiate it from the "where" question.

Followed by a definite noun phrase — a pronoun, a name, or a noun with te/ngā/tō/a possessive — nō hea asks origin.

Nō hea tēnei kai?
Where is the food from?

Nō hea tō kai?
Where is your food from?

Followed by a clause or by an indefinite noun phrase with he, it's the emphatic negative.

Nō hea he kai!
There is absolutely no food!