How Many and How Much in Māori

In Brief

Use e hia to ask “how many?” about things: E hia ngā pukapuka? “How many books?” When counting people, use tokohia: Tokohia ngā tāngata? “How many people?” Answers normally use e + number for things, but toko- + number for small numbers of people: E whā ngā rā “four days”; Tokorima ngā tamariki “five children.”

Overview

Quantity questions are an A1 skill that builds directly on the Māori numbers tahi, rua, toru, whā, rima, and so on. They let you ask practical questions about books, days, money, age, and groups of people. The main distinction is not the English difference between “how many” and “how much.” Instead, Māori distinguishes counting people from counting most other things.

For things in general, hia appears after the particle e: e hia. A particle is a short grammatical word that helps mark the role of what follows. For people, toko- replaces the ordinary counting pattern: the question is tokohia, and answers include tokorua “two people” and tokorima “five people.”

English speakers should therefore avoid searching for separate Māori equivalents of English “many” and “much” in these questions. Māori e hia covers both count questions and questions such as “How much does it cost?” The choice of pattern depends chiefly on what is being quantified.

How It Works

Asking about things with e hia

Put e hia before the noun phrase (the noun together with words such as “the” or “your”):

Pattern	Use	Example
E hia ngā + noun?	a plural set of things	E hia ngā pukapuka? — How many books?
E hia ngā + unit?	units of time or measurement	E hia ngā rā? — How many days?
E hia te + noun?	the amount, price, or total of one named item	E hia te utu? — How much is the price/cost?
E hia ō + noun?	a quantity associated with “your”	E hia ō tau? — How old are you? (literally, how many are your years?)

The article ngā marks a plural definite noun: ngā pukapuka “the books.” Māori nouns themselves usually do not add an ending equivalent to English -s, so pukapuka keeps the same shape.

A useful beginner frame is:

E hia + noun phrase?

• E hia ngā tūru? — How many chairs?
• E hia ngā wiki? — How many weeks?
• E hia ngā tāra? — How many dollars?

Answering about things

For ordinary counting before a noun phrase, use e + number:

Quantity	Māori form	Example
one	kotahi	Kotahi te whare. — There is one house.
two	e rua	E rua ngā whare. — There are two houses.
three	e toru	E toru ngā whare. — There are three houses.
four	e whā	E whā ngā whare. — There are four houses.
five	e rima	E rima ngā whare. — There are five houses.
ten	tekau	Tekau ngā whare. — There are ten houses.

The number one has a particularly common form, kotahi, rather than beginner-style e tahi. Likewise, tekau “ten” and larger number expressions do not always fit a simplistic “put e before every number” rule. Learn complete phrases as you meet them: kotahi te..., e rua ngā..., tekau ngā....

The article also changes naturally with number. Compare:

• Kotahi te pukapuka. — One book.
• E rua ngā pukapuka. — Two books.

With one item, te is singular; with two or more definite items, ngā is plural.

Asking about people with tokohia

When the quantity refers to people, use tokohia, not ordinary e hia, in the basic pattern:

Tokohia + plural people noun?

• Tokohia ngā tāngata? — How many people?
• Tokohia ngā tamariki? — How many children?
• Tokohia ngā ākonga? — How many students?

The toko- element signals that human beings are being counted. It is attached directly to hia, with no space: tokohia.

Answering about people

For small numbers of people, attach toko- directly to the number:

People counted	Form	Example
one person	tokotahi	Tokotahi te manuhiri. — There is one guest.
two people	tokorua	Tokorua ngā kaiako. — There are two teachers.
three people	tokotoru	Tokotoru ngā ākonga. — There are three students.
four people	tokowhā	Tokowhā ngā hoa. — There are four friends.
five people	tokorima	Tokorima ngā tamariki. — There are five children.
six people	tokoono	Tokoono ngā kaitākaro. — There are six players.
seven people	tokowhitu	Tokowhitu ngā manuhiri. — There are seven guests.
eight people	tokowaru	Tokowaru ngā kaimahi. — There are eight workers.
nine people	tokoiwa	Tokoiwa ngā kaiwaiata. — There are nine singers.

Write each form as one word: tokorua, not toko rua. For larger groups, ordinary number constructions are common, for example tekau ngā tāngata “ten people.” The essential A1 set is tokohia? and the toko- forms from one to nine.

Short answers and full answers

A question can receive only the quantity or a complete phrase:

• E hia ngā āporo? — E toru. — How many apples? — Three.
• E hia ngā āporo? — E toru ngā āporo. — How many apples? — There are three apples.
• Tokohia ngā tamariki? — Tokorima. — How many children? — Five.
• Tokohia ngā tamariki? — Tokorima ngā tamariki. — How many children? — There are five children.

The short answer is natural when the thing being counted is already obvious. A full answer is useful for practice because it reinforces the contrast between ordinary and human counting.

Examples in Context

Māori	English	Note
E hia ngā pukapuka kei runga i te tēpu?	How many books are on the table?	General count with e hia
E rua ngā pukapuka kei runga i te tēpu.	There are two books on the table.	Ordinary answer with e rua
E hia ngā kapu?	How many cups are there?	Plural thing
Kotahi te kapu.	There is one cup.	Singular kotahi te pattern
E hia ngā rā e noho ai koe ki konei?	How many days will you stay here?	A unit of time
E whā ngā rā.	Four days.	e + number
E hia te utu?	How much does it cost?	Asking for a price
E hia ngā tāra?	How many dollars?	Counting units of money
E hia ō tau?	How old are you?	Literally asks the number of your years
Tokohia ngā tāngata kei roto i te waka?	How many people are in the vehicle?	Human question with tokohia
Tokorua ngā tāngata kei roto i te waka.	Two people are in the vehicle.	Human answer with tokorua
Tokohia ngā ākonga i te akomanga?	How many students are in the classroom?	Counting learners
Tokowhitu ngā ākonga.	There are seven students.	toko- attached to the number
Tokohia koutou?	How many of you are there?	The group is clear without a following noun
Tokotoru mātou.	There are three of us.	Speaker’s group, excluding the listener

Common Mistakes

Using e hia for a group of people

• Wrong: E hia ngā tamariki?
• Right: Tokohia ngā tamariki?
• Why: In the basic counting system, questions about people use tokohia. Reserve e hia for things, amounts, units, and general quantities.

Answering a people question with an ordinary small number

• Wrong: E rima ngā tamariki.
• Right: Tokorima ngā tamariki.
• Why: Small numbers of people take the attached prefix toko-: tokorua, tokotoru, tokowhā, tokorima.

Writing toko- as a separate word

• Wrong: Toko rima ngā tamariki.
• Right: Tokorima ngā tamariki.
• Why: Toko- is a prefix, meaning an element attached to the beginning of a word. Write the result as one word.

Using ngā with one item

• Wrong: Kotahi ngā pukapuka.
• Right: Kotahi te pukapuka.
• Why: Kotahi refers to one item, so the singular article te and singular meaning are appropriate. Ngā marks a plural definite noun phrase.

Translating English “how much” word for word

• Wrong approach: Looking for a completely separate question word because English contrasts “how many” and “how much.”
• Right: E hia te utu? — How much does it cost?
• Why: Māori uses e hia for many numerical amounts, including price. Learn the whole question pattern rather than matching each English word separately.

Putting e before every number

• Wrong: E kotahi te whare.
• Right: Kotahi te whare.
• Why: E rua, e toru, e whā are useful core patterns, but one is normally kotahi, and ten is commonly tekau. The rule is not mechanically identical for every number.

Usage Notes

Context often makes a short answer enough

Māori does not require you to repeat a noun that both speakers already understand. After Tokohia ngā manuhiri?, the answer Tokorua is complete. After E hia ngā pō?, E toru is enough. Repeating the noun is not wrong; it simply gives a fuller answer.

E hia asks for a number, not a vague assessment

E hia? normally expects a numerical quantity or amount. English “How many?” can also be answered vaguely with “a lot” or “not many,” but those responses involve other quantity expressions in Māori. For this topic, practise giving a number first.

English “people” is not the trigger—the referent is

Use the human pattern because actual people are being counted, even when the noun is a role such as kaiako “teacher,” ākonga “student,” or manuhiri “guest.” Conversely, ordinary objects associated with people still use e hia: E hia ngā tūru? “How many chairs?”

Pronunciation and spelling matter

Keep the long vowels marked by macrons: whā “four” and Māori. A macron shows a long vowel and is part of standard written Māori. Also keep tokohia and the toko- numbers together as single words.

Beyond the Basics / Advanced Use

You do not need to master all of these details at A1, but they help explain forms you will encounter later.

Counting people inside more complex sentences

The toko- form can stand as the quantity phrase while the rest of the sentence adds location or other information:

• Tokotoru ngā kaiako kei te kura. — There are three teachers at the school.
• Tokowhā ngā tāngata i tae mai. — Four people arrived.

The same human-counting distinction remains even when the sentence is no longer a simple question and answer.

Tokohia with pronouns

When the group is already identified by a pronoun, a noun is unnecessary:

• Tokohia koutou? — How many of you are there?
• Tokorua māua. — There are two of us (the speaker and one other person, excluding the listener).

Māori pronouns can show not only person but also group size and whether the listener is included. That larger pronoun system is a separate topic; for now, notice that tokohia still asks for the number of people.

Numbers as labels versus quantities

The counting particles are used when a number expresses quantity. Numbers used as names or labels—such as a bus number, room number, or item in a sequence—may appear in a different construction. Do not assume every visible numeral needs e or toko-. First ask: “Am I counting a quantity of things or people, or am I naming a label?”

Variation beyond the beginner range

Traditional and contemporary usage can vary in how speakers handle larger numbers of people. The safest beginner practice is to use toko- for one through nine and ordinary larger number expressions such as tekau ngā tāngata for ten people. As your listening grows, follow the usage of fluent speakers and trusted Māori-language resources in the community or context where you learn.

Practice Tips

1. Sort questions into two piles. Write ten nouns on cards. Put human nouns such as tamariki, kaiako, and ākonga under tokohia; put objects and units such as pukapuka, tūru, and rā under e hia. Then ask a complete question for each card.
2. Practise question-and-answer pairs aloud. Cycle through E hia ngā āporo? — E toru ngā āporo and Tokohia ngā manuhiri? — Tokotoru ngā manuhiri. Alternating the two patterns makes the contrast automatic.
3. Learn numbers as chunks, not isolated words. Memorise kotahi te..., e rua ngā..., and tokorua ngā... alongside the bare numbers. This prevents the most common errors with e, te/ngā, and toko-.

Related Concepts

• Prerequisite: Numbers — learn the basic Māori number words before adding e and toko- quantity patterns.