NCEA Te Reo Matatini - Te Reo Torohū Co-requisite (NZQA Standard 32413) cheat sheet

Distinguish the three /r/ contexts: tapped r (single contact, e.g. between vowels) versus the rolled/trilled variant before certain vowels; Māori r is never the English approximant.

Long versus short vowels carry meaning: whare (house) vs whāere; keke (cake) vs kēkē (armpit). Length is phonemic, not stress.

The digraphs ng and wh each represent one phoneme: /ŋ/ and /ɸ/. 'ngā' is one sound plus a long vowel, not n+g.

Macrons mark vowel length, not stress; stress in Māori falls on the first long vowel, otherwise on the first syllable of the word (with common exceptions in derived forms).

Listen for passive endings to identify who receives the action: -tia, -hia, -ngia, -ria, -a (e.g. horoia, tuhia, kainga).

Common listening distractors: homophones distinguished only by vowel length (kutu/kūtū), and particles that sound alike (te vs tē, kei vs kē).

Numbers: tahi, rua, toru, whā, rima, ono, whitu, waru, iwa, tekau; 11-19 use tekau mā + unit; 20s use rua tekau.

When a speaker uses 'kei te' + verb the action is present/ongoing; 'kua' marks perfect (completed); 'e ... ana' marks progressive; 'ka' marks narrative sequence.

Identify the sentence type first: verbal sentences begin with a verb particle (kei te, kua, ka, e...ana, i, me, kāore); nominal sentences begin with a particle + noun (ko, he, kei, nō).

Prepositions signal role: i (past marker or object), ki (towards/to), kei (at present), nō (from/belonging), mō (for), mā (by/for future), ā (future time).

Directional particles: mai (towards speaker), atu (away), ake (upwards/own), iho (downwards). They change meaning of verbs (haere mai vs haere atu).

Pronoun table: au/ahau (I), koe (you), ia (he/she), tāua (we two incl.), māua (we two excl.), tātou (we all incl.), mātou (we all excl.).

Possessive a/o categories: a-possessives for movable/active things and people as agents; o-possessives for inalienable, ancestral, and passive relationships (taku matua, tōku whare).

Tense/aspect particles: kua (perfect), e...ana (present progressive), i (past), ka (sequential/future), e...ai (habitual/future), me (should), kia (so that/let).

Reading strategy: segment long words at the prefix (whaka-, māta-, kai-, tohu-) and suffix (-nga, -tanga, -hanga) to derive meaning before consulting a dictionary.

Quotation markers: 'e ai ki' (according to), 'hei tā' (according to), and direct speech set off by commas; these frame whose view is being reported.

Mihi structure: tauparapara or mihi ki te atua/ki ngā tūpuna, mihi ki te whenua, mihi ki te tangata, then whakawhanaungatanga; order matters in formal contexts.

Greetings register: Kia ora (general), Tēnā koe (one person), Tēnā kōrua (two), Tēnā koutou (three+); 'Mōrena' is informal.

Farewells: E noho rā (to those staying), Haere rā (to those leaving), Ka kite anō (see you again), Āpōpō (tomorrow).

Turn-taking cues: 'Kāti', 'Ka pai', 'Āe, engari...' to acknowledge and pivot; 'Tēnā koa' to request; 'Aroha mai' to apologise.

Question forms: 'He aha...?', 'Ko wai...?', 'Kei hea...?', 'Nō hea...?', 'Āhea...?', 'Pēhea...?', 'E hia...?'. Match the question particle to the answer particle.

Confirm/deny with the correct particle rather than yes/no: 'Āe, ko...', 'Kāo, kei te...'; 'Ehara' negates nominal sentences.

Use 'kia' for wishes and instructions: 'Kia ora' (be well), 'Kia tūpato' (be careful), 'Kia pai te rā' (have a good day).

Pronunciation checkpoints for spoken delivery: vowel length, ng/wh digraphs, and consistent syllable-timed rhythm (no English stress reduction).

Use macrons (tohutō) consistently: ā ē ī ō ū. Length-changing words (whānau, kōrero, tāne) must be marked or meaning shifts.

Capitalisation: proper nouns (Māori, Aotearoa, names, iwi, marae, months, days) are capitalised; common nouns are not.

Punctuation follows English conventions (full stop, comma, question mark, quotation marks), but 'te' and 'ngā' are not capitalised mid-sentence.

Verbal sentence formula: [particle] + [verb] + [subject] + [object/adjunct] - e.g. 'Kei te horoi te tamaiti i ngā rīhi.'

Nominal sentence formula: [Ko/He/Kei/Nō] + [noun phrase] + [predicate] - e.g. 'He kaiako ia.' / 'Ko Tāne tōku ingoa.'

Negation rules: 'kāore ... i/e' negates verbal sentences; 'ehara ... i' negates nominal; 'kaua e' negates imperatives.

Connectives: 'ā' (and, future), 'me' (and, present/past), 'engari' (but), 'nā te mea' (because), 'ahakoa' (although), 'kia mutu' (finally).

Written register: formal writing uses full particles and avoids contractions; 'hei' introduces future purpose or role (hei kaiako, hei āpōpō).

Verb categories: transitive verbs take 'i' + object; intransitive verbs do not. Passive forms (-tia, -hia, -ngia, -ria, -a, -mia, -whia) convert transitive verbs to passive.

Pronoun possession uses a/o depending on the noun class: taku/tōku, tāu/tōu, tana/tōna, tā/tō (plural).

Numerals: 'tahi' (one) precedes the noun in 'te tahi'; 'kotahi' is used for 'one' in counting contexts; 'tuatahi' is ordinal (first).

Locatives: 'runga' (above), 'raro' (below), 'roto' (inside), 'waho' (outside), 'mua' (front), 'muri' (behind), 'taha' (side), 'waenganui' (between).

Relative clauses: use 'e ... ana' or 'i ... ai' to embed clauses (te tangata e kōrero ana = the person who is speaking).

Causative prefix 'whaka-' (whakamārama, whakapono) and nominalising suffixes '-nga/-tanga' (kōrerotanga, whakaaro) build vocabulary systematically.

Distinguish 'kei te' + verb (present) from 'kei' + location (at); 'kei te whare' (at the house) vs 'kei te haere' (is going).

Use 'ai' after a fronted phrase to complete the sentence (e.g. 'Nō te ata, ka haere au ki te kura' - no ai; 'Ko te tangata i haere mai ai...' - ai required).

Pōwhiri order: karanga (call), whaikōrero (speeches), waiata (song), hongi/harirū (greeting), then kai (food) to lift tapu.

On the marae: shoes off in the wharenui; do not sit on tables or pillows; do not walk over people; sit with your group.

Karakia opens and closes formal gatherings; the host's kaikōrero speaks first, then visitors reply, then the host has the final word.

Koha is a gift, not a payment; it is placed down and not handed directly; amount is never negotiated in public.

Tapu and noa: keep food separate from heads, hair, and sacred objects; food is noa and lifts tapu after formal events.

Use 'mihi' before making requests in formal settings; address elders as 'e te rangatira', 'e te whaea', 'e te matua'.

Māori concepts to use correctly: manaakitanga (hospitality), whanaungatanga (relationships), kaitiakitanga (guardianship), rangatiratanga (leadership/authority), mana (prestige/authority).

Avoid misusing sacred terms: 'tapu' is not a synonym for 'forbidden' in casual English; 'wairua' refers to spirit, not mood; 'whakapapa' is genealogy, not a family tree diagram.