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When it comes to counting in Mäori our tüpuna must have been thinking 'ease and<br />
practicality,' because, well the Mäori counting system just makes sense! Now we all<br />
know you can't go very far without having to count. When we know how to count we<br />
open ourselves up to a whole new range of structures like, saying how many things<br />
there are or how many things you want or saying endearing things to your loved one<br />
like, 'Hey baby, I love you whä times.' Okay, perhaps that one doesn't crack it.<br />
Here is how we count from one to ten in Mäori:<br />
1 Tahi 6 Ono<br />
2 Rua 7 Whitu<br />
3 Toru 8 Waru<br />
4 Whä 9 Iwa<br />
5 Rima 10 Tekau<br />
Mäori use the decimal counting system which means there are no new words beyond<br />
ten; like eleven, or thirteen in English. In Mäori we simply say ten and one, or ten and<br />
three. We use 'mä' to add the second number, for example to say twelve we say:<br />
12 Ten and two Tekau mä rua<br />
16 Ten and six Tekau mä ono<br />
19 Ten and nine Tekau mä iwa<br />
For twenty we say: two tens = rua tekau, and use mä to add another number. So for<br />
twenty-five we say:<br />
2.1<br />
25 Two tens and five Rua tekau mä rima<br />
34 Three tens and four Toru tekau mä whä<br />
Okay, its time to get the brain going and translate the following numbers into Mäori:<br />
1. Fifteen<br />
2. Thirty-nine<br />
3. Sixty-eight<br />
4. Seventy-seven<br />
5. Twenty-one<br />
6. Eighty-four<br />
7. Eleven<br />
8. Fifty-one<br />
9. Forty-three<br />
MAHI TATAU<br />
COUNTING<br />
2.<br />
E Hia?<br />
Kä ähuataka o te Reo tuarua<br />
Grammar point 2<br />
It's now time to put our numbers into action with our next grammar point. There are<br />
three ways of asking how many in Mäori. The base question word is 'hia' and the prefix<br />
will be dependant on what it is you are asking about.
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