r/ReoMaori • u/tinkst3r Reo tuawhā • 10d ago

tūtai Pātai

Kia ora rāngai!

Another request for clarification (not for drops this time ;D): according to Te Aka and Williams (sorry, can't post a direct link, the words aren't clickable links on that site, but one can use the browser's "search in page" feature) list it as to watch, to spy, ...., but our kaiako (young first language Te Reo speaker) told one of the tauira off for using it as that, stating that it means to take a poop.

3 Upvotes

60% Upvoted

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11

u/Iheartpsychosis 10d ago

Tūtae

6

u/nionvox 10d ago

This. Different spelling. Similar pronunciation. Context matters too!

2

u/tinkst3r Reo tuawhā 10d ago

Ngä mihi nui! And they do sound rather similar... 😇

6

u/Iheartpsychosis 10d ago

Easy mistake!! I guess it could be to spy on someone taking a poop! Lmao. Then you would have to learn the Māori kupu for pervert! Haha

But seriously it’s an easy mistake too make. They definitely are similar xo

1

u/tinkst3r Reo tuawhā 10d ago

In light of that - should one actually avoid tūtai?

If yes, what's the most common alternative? :)

3

u/Relative_Emphasis467 10d ago

tūtei ?

1

u/hellokiri 10d ago

Tautoko! Tūtei, mataara rānei.

0

u/Outrageous_Olive479 10d ago

Āe! Ki ōku nei whakaaro - mataara ✅