Māori Grammar

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Telling time - kara

The following words are used to tell the time:

taima: time
karaka: clock or hour
hāora: hour
meneti or meniti: minute
pāhi or pāhitanga: past
hāwhe: half
koata: quarter
i: past
ki: to

For example:

E rua meneti mai i te whā karaka.
Two minutes past four.

Rua tekau meneti mai i te ono karaka.
Twenty minutes past six o'clock.

Ka kai tātou ā te whitu karaka.
We'll eat at seven o'clock.

I taraiwa māua ko taku hoa ki te whare wānanga i te waru karaka.
Me and my friend drove to uni at 8 o'clock.

Ko te whitu karaka i te ata.
7 o'clock in the morning.

Hei te whā karaka.
See you at four o'clock.

Ka wehe tātou ā te 2 karaka ā tēnei ahiahi.
We (3 + incl) will leave at 2 o'clock this afternoon.

Toru hauwhā.
Three quarters.

Hei te tekau karaka.
See you at ten o'clock.

Hei te rima karaka.
See you at five o'clock.

Āe, i te rima karaka.
Yes, at 5 o'clock.

Haurua mai i te ono karaka.
Half past 6.

E rua meneti mai i te whā karaka.
Two minutes past four.

Ka taea au te whakaoho e koe ā te whitu karaka?
Are you able to wake me at 7 o'clock?

Hei te waru karaka.
See you at eight o'clock.

Hei te tekau rua karaka.
See you at twelve o'clock.

Hei te ono karaka.
See you at six o'clock.

Ā te tekau karaka tīmata ai te karakia.
The service starts at ten o'clock.

Hei te toru karaka.
See you at three o'clock.

Ko te tekau tahi karaka.
It is eleven o'clock.

I te ono karaka, kua tae atu rātou ki Ōmihi.
By six o'clock they had got to Ōmihi.

I te whitu karaka, kua haere mai ia.
He will have left at seven o'clock.

Hei te whitu karaka.
See you at seven o'clock.

Hauwhā ki te rua karaka.
Quarter to two.

Hei te tahi karaka.
See you at one o'clock.

Hei te tekau tahi karaka.
See you at eleven o'clock.

E rima meneti e toe ana.
There are five minutes remaining.

Hei te rua karaka.
See you at two o'clock.

I te tekau karaka.
At ten o'clock.

E rua tekau meneti ngā tītī e tunua ana i roto it te umu.
The muttonbirds were roasted in the hot oven for twenty minutes.

Haurua mai i te rua.
Half past two.

Hāwhe pahi i te iwa karaka.
Half past 9.

A te waru karaka ka haere tātou ki te marae.
We will go the marae at 8 o'clock.

te whā karaka i te ahiahi rātou i tīmata ai.
It was four o'clock in the afternoon when they started.

Ka whakaweto te koroua i ngā rama ā te 10 karaka.
The old man will turn the lights off at 10 o'clock.

Kua whakaritea, me tae rātou ki te mira o Kawerau i te iwa karaka.
It was arranged that they should arrive at the Kawearau mill at nine o'clock.

Toru karaka te .
The time is 2 o'clock.

Te hui a te rua karaka, hei te whare wānanga.
The 2 o'clock meeting will be at the university.

Haurua mai i te iwa karaka.
Half past nine.

Hauwhā ki te toru.
Quarter to 3.

te iwa karaka rawa, ka tīmata te purei kāri.
Finally, at nine o'clock, the card games started.

runga i te tereina o te ono karaka.
On the six o'clock train.

Oho ai au i te wari karaka i te ata.
I usually wake up at eight o'clock in the morning.

Ko te rima karaka i te ahiahi.
5 o'clock in the afternoon.

Maranga mai ai au ia , ia i te whitu karaka.
I always get up every day at seven o'clock.

I te whitu karaka i te ahiahi, ka mate ia.
At seven o'clock in the evening, he died.

Hauwhā mai i te rua.
Quarter past two.

I ngā ata katoa e ara ana is i te ono karaka.
He gets up at six o'clock every morning.

Ka tūtaki tātou ki te pāmu ā te 3 karaka.
We will meet at the farm at 3 o'clock.