Body Parts in Māori

In Brief

Common Māori body-part words include māhunga or ūpoko “head”, kanohi “face; eye”, waha “mouth”, ringaringa “hand/arm”, waewae “foot/leg”, and puku “stomach”. Learn them in useful patterns: tōku māhunga “my head”, ō ringaringa “your hands”, and Kei te mamae tōku puku “My stomach hurts.” Māori normally shows number and possession with words before the noun rather than by adding an ending like English -s.

Overview

Body-part vocabulary belongs near the beginning of an A1 Māori course. It lets you describe pain, understand simple health questions, follow instructions, and talk about someone’s appearance. It also gives you a practical way to review several basic sentence patterns instead of learning a bare list of labels.

A noun is a naming word, such as “head” or “mouth”. Māori nouns generally keep the same form whether English uses a singular or a plural: te taringa is “the ear”, while ngā taringa is “the ears”. The small word before the noun carries information that English often puts elsewhere.

English and Māori do not always divide the body into identical vocabulary units. In the scope of this topic, ringaringa may be translated as “hand(s)” or “arm(s)”, and waewae as “foot/feet” or “leg(s)”, according to context. Kanohi commonly means “face” and also occurs with the sense “eye(s)”. When you need to be especially specific about an eye, you may also encounter karu. Treat the English translations as context-sensitive guides, not rigid one-to-one equations.

How It Works

The core vocabulary

Macrons—the horizontal marks in māhunga and ūpoko—show long vowels. They are part of correct Māori spelling, so copy and practise them from the start.

Māori	English	Note
tinana	body	The body as a whole
māhunga	head	A common word for the head
ūpoko	head	Another established word for the head
kanohi	face; eye(s)	Exact translation depends on context
waha	mouth
ringaringa	hand(s); arm(s)	May cover a broader area than English hand
waewae	foot/feet; leg(s)	Context supplies the precise English sense
taringa	ear(s)
ihu	nose
puku	stomach; belly	Common in everyday talk about discomfort

Showing one or more than one

Māori usually does not make these nouns plural by changing their endings. A determiner (a small word before a noun that identifies it) often shows whether the speaker means one or more than one.

Māori pattern	English	What changes
te taringa	the ear	te marks one definite item
ngā taringa	the ears	ngā marks definite plural items
tētahi waewae	a/one leg or foot	tētahi selects one
ētahi waewae	some legs or feet	ētahi is plural

This differs from English, where ear normally becomes ears. Do not add an English-style plural ending to a Māori body-part word. The form taringa itself can occur with either singular or plural meaning.

Saying whose body part it is

A possessive is a form that expresses a relationship like “my”, “your”, or “her”. Body parts are normally treated as ō-category possessions: relationships that are inherent, not freely chosen or controlled by the possessor. At beginner level, the practical rule is simple: learn body parts with forms such as tōku, tōu, tōna, ōku, ōu, and ōna.

The first vowel distinguishes one possessed item from several possessed items. Forms with tō- refer to one item; forms with ō- refer to more than one. The ending identifies the possessor.

Possessor	One body part	More than one body part
I	tōku ihu — my nose	ōku ringaringa — my hands/arms
you (one person)	tōu waha — your mouth	ōu waewae — your feet/legs
he, she, or one they	tōna puku — his/her/their stomach	ōna kanohi — his/her/their eyes

Māori does not distinguish “his” from “her” in these forms. Tōna and ōna can therefore be translated as “his”, “her”, or singular “their”. Context identifies the person.

In instructions addressed directly to someone, shorter possessive forms also occur. The concept example Horoi ō ringaringa means “Wash your hands.” Here ō introduces the addressee’s multiple body parts; you do not need to insert a separate Māori word for “you”.

Talking about pain

The most useful health pattern in this set is:

Kei te mamae + possessive + body part.

Mamae expresses being painful or sore. Kei te places the state in progress at the present time. In Kei te mamae tōku māhunga, the sore thing is tōku māhunga, literally “my head”; natural English says “My head hurts.”

Māori	English	Structure
Kei te mamae tōku māhunga.	My head hurts.	One body part with tōku
Kei te mamae tōku puku.	My stomach hurts.	Present pain or soreness
Kei te mamae ōku waewae.	My legs/feet hurt.	Multiple body parts with ōku
Kei te mamae tōu taringa?	Does your ear hurt?	A question can keep the same word order

Notice the difference from English. Māori does not need an equivalent of dummy “it” or the verb have in this pattern. Start with Kei te mamae, then name the affected body part.

Giving a simple instruction

A direct command may begin with the action word. Horoi means “wash”, so Horoi ō ringaringa is a compact everyday instruction. The body part follows the action.

Other action words can be combined with body vocabulary when you know them, but do not guess commands simply by translating English word for word. For this A1 topic, memorising the complete chunk Horoi ō ringaringa is more reliable than trying to build every possible instruction immediately.

Describing a feature

The concept example He ātaahua ōna kanohi means “His/Her eyes are beautiful.” He introduces the description, ātaahua supplies the quality “beautiful”, and ōna kanohi identifies what is being described. English places the possessor first and uses a form of be; Māori uses its own predicate pattern and does not insert a direct counterpart of English are.

Examples in Context

The examples below combine body vocabulary with possession, pain, identification, description, and instructions. Read the notes as guides to the pattern rather than word-for-word translations.

Māori	English	Note
Kei te mamae tōku māhunga.	My head hurts.	The affected part is singular.
Kei te mamae tōku puku.	My stomach hurts.	A useful everyday health sentence.
Kei te mamae ōku waewae.	My legs/feet hurt.	Ōku goes with multiple possessed parts.
Kei te mamae tōu taringa?	Does your ear hurt?	Intonation and the question mark make it a question.
Horoi ō ringaringa.	Wash your hands.	A direct instruction.
He ātaahua ōna kanohi.	His/Her eyes are beautiful.	Ōna does not mark the person’s gender.
Ko tēnei tōku ihu.	This is my nose.	Identifies a particular body part.
Ko tēnā tōu waha.	That is your mouth.	Tōu means “your” with one possessed item.
Ko ēnei ōku ringaringa.	These are my hands/arms.	Plural ēnei matches the intended plural meaning.
Ko ērā ōna waewae.	Those are his/her legs/feet.	Number is shown outside the noun.
Ko te māhunga tēnei.	This is the head.	Useful while pointing to a diagram.
Ko ngā taringa ēnei.	These are the ears.	Ngā marks the noun phrase as plural.

Common Mistakes

Adding an English plural ending

• Wrong: ngā taringas
• Right: ngā taringa
• Why: Māori normally leaves the noun unchanged. Ngā, not an added -s, marks the definite plural.

Using a one-item possessive for several body parts

• Wrong: tōku ringaringa when you mean “my hands”
• Right: ōku ringaringa
• Why: In the basic pattern taught here, tōku presents one possessed item, while ōku presents more than one. Context can affect how broad a body-part word is, so make your intended number clear.

Choosing the ā-category by analogy with ordinary ownership

• Wrong: tāku māhunga for ordinary “my head”
• Right: tōku māhunga
• Why: Body parts normally belong to the ō-category because they are inherent to the person rather than acquired or controlled possessions.

Translating “My stomach hurts” word for word

• Wrong: trying to construct the sentence around a Māori equivalent of English my stomach has pain
• Right: Kei te mamae tōku puku.
• Why: Māori uses Kei te mamae followed by the sore body part. Learn the whole pattern rather than forcing English syntax onto it.

Assuming ōna tells you gender

• Wrong: treating ōna kanohi as necessarily “his eyes”
• Right: translate it as “his eyes”, “her eyes”, or “their eyes” according to context
• Why: Māori third-person possessives do not encode the English distinction between his and her.

Dropping or moving macrons

• Wrong: mahunga when the intended word is māhunga
• Right: māhunga
• Why: A macron marks vowel length and belongs to the spelling. It is not decorative punctuation.

Usage Notes

Choose the translation from the situation

A speaker may use one Māori word where English prefers different labels. If someone washes ō ringaringa, “your hands” is the natural English translation. If pain follows physical exertion and waewae are mentioned, “legs” may fit better than “feet”. Do not conclude that one of the dictionary glosses must always be wrong; look at the action and the surrounding sentence.

Māhunga and ūpoko

Both words in this concept can refer to the head. At A1, it is enough to recognise both and consistently use the form taught by your teacher, community, or course. Do not invent a strict universal difference from their two English glosses alone. Māori usage can vary by context and speaker.

Kanohi and more specific wording

Kanohi is central vocabulary for the face and also appears where English translation refers to the eye or eyes, as in the supplied example He ātaahua ōna kanohi. You may also encounter karu for the eye. For a beginner, the safest approach is to remember the exact phrases in which each word appears rather than replacing one automatically with the other.

Macrons in real text

Some older publications, names, keyboards, or informal messages may omit macrons. That does not make vowel length unimportant. In your own study notes and writing, use standard macrons so that spelling and pronunciation reinforce each other.

Beyond the Basics / Advanced Use

You do not need to master the full Māori possession system yet, but body parts are a good first encounter with it. The distinction between ā-category and ō-category possession is not simply the English difference between objects you own and objects you do not own. It reflects the relationship between possessor and possessed. Body parts normally take the ō-category, but later study will show that category choice across people, transport, food, actions, and other relationships requires more detailed rules.

You will also meet richer ways to locate pain or describe the body. Māori can mark a location with prepositional phrases, distinguish temporary states from more general descriptions, and use body-part words in figurative expressions. Those extensions belong to later vocabulary and sentence-pattern work. The solid beginner foundation is to control number and possession in phrases such as tōku puku and ōku waewae, then place those phrases accurately after Kei te mamae.

Body vocabulary also carries cultural meaning in expressions and in ways of speaking about people, identity, and encounter. For example, kanohi ki te kanohi is used for “face to face”. Such expressions should be learned as complete units: translating each body-part word separately may miss the conventional meaning of the phrase.

Finally, natural speech does not always identify every detail that English forces a translator to choose. A Māori sentence may leave gender unstated through tōna/ōna, and a broad body-part term may leave “hand versus arm” or “foot versus leg” to context. An accurate English translation often has to be more specific than the Māori original. Recognising that asymmetry is an important advanced reading skill.

Practice Tips

1. Point and say a full phrase. Instead of reciting ihu, waha, puku, point to each part and say tōku ihu, tōku waha, tōku puku. Then contrast one and several with tōku taringa and ōku taringa.
2. Build a three-line health drill. Substitute body parts into Kei te mamae tōku ... and Kei te mamae ōku .... Say each sentence aloud, making sure that the possessive matches the number you intend.
3. Label a simple body outline. Write the Māori word with its macron, add te or ngā, and then add a possessed phrase. Three forms—te māhunga, tōku māhunga, Kei te mamae tōku māhunga—turn one vocabulary item into usable language.

Related Concepts

• No prerequisite: Body Parts is a standalone A1 vocabulary concept in the current Māori grammar map.
• Useful next study: Revisit your course’s concepts on possessives, singular and plural noun phrases, present states with kei te, and commands when they become available; no related concept links are currently specified for this entry.