Locatives and Demonstratives in Māori

In Brief

Māori commonly distinguishes three spatial viewpoints: tēnei means “this, near me,” tēnā means “that, near you,” and tērā means “that, away from both of us.” The matching location words are konei “here,” konā “there by you,” and korā “over there.” With actions, mai points toward the speaker or another reference point, while atu points away from it.

Overview

English usually makes a two-way contrast between this and that, and between here and there. Māori gives you a useful third option. It can identify something in the speaker’s area, something in the listener’s area, or something farther from both. This is a deictic system—that simply means that a word’s meaning depends on where the speaker and listener are situated.

These forms are introduced at A2 because they make everyday talk much more precise. You need them to ask what an object is, point out a person, choose between items, tell someone where to go, or describe movement. The basic pattern is regular: the -nei, -nā, -rā contrast appears across several sets.

The central distinction is often physical distance, but viewpoint matters more than an exact measurement. Tēnā does not merely mean “medium distance”: it normally places something in the listener’s sphere. Tērā places it away from both participants, or treats it as more remote. Context, gesture, and shared attention help establish the intended location.

How It Works

The three-way distance pattern

Viewpoint	Singular demonstrative	Plural demonstrative	Location word	Basic idea
Near the speaker	tēnei	ēnei	konei	this / these; here
Near the listener	tēnā	ēnā	konā	that / those by you; there by you
Away from both	tērā	ērā	korā	that / those over there; over there

A demonstrative is a pointing word such as English this or those. A locative is a word or phrase that identifies a place, such as here or at home.

The concept’s beginner core uses the singular forms tēnei, tēnā, tērā. The plural forms are worth learning at the same time because Māori does not normally make the noun itself plural. Compare tēnei pukapuka “this book” with ēnei pukapuka “these books”: pukapuka stays unchanged.

Demonstratives before a noun

Put the demonstrative before the noun it identifies:

• tēnei pukapuka — this book by me
• tēnā tūru — that chair by you
• tērā whare — that house over there
• ēnei kākahu — these clothes by me
• ērā maunga — those mountains in the distance

These forms act as determiners—words placed with a noun to show which person or thing is meant. They already do the job of an article, so do not add te or ngā before them. Say tēnei pukapuka, not te tēnei pukapuka.

Demonstratives standing alone

A demonstrative can also stand on its own when the noun is obvious:

• He aha tēnei? — What is this?
• Ko tēnā tāku. — That one by you is mine.
• He nui ake tērā. — That one over there is bigger.

In identification sentences, ko may introduce a definite item: Ko wai tēnā? “Who is that by you?” In classification, he gives the category: He kurī tēnā. “That is a dog.” The difference belongs to the larger Māori sentence system: ko wai asks for identity, while he kurī classifies something as a dog.

Locatives with kei, ki, and i

Konei, konā, and korā name locations rather than objects. Their exact English translation depends on the preposition before them:

Pattern	Meaning	Example
kei konei/konā/korā	is here/there	Kei konei te kaiako. — The teacher is here.
ki konei/konā/korā	to here/there	Haere ki konā. — Go there, to where you are pointing.
i konei/konā/korā	at/from here or there in a completed or contextual setting	I noho mātou i konei. — We stayed here.

Do not expect one English word to encode both position and direction. English there can mean either “in that place” or “to that place.” Māori normally lets kei, ki, or i make the relationship clear.

The forms are also common after nouns and descriptive phrases: ngā tāngata i konei means “the people here,” literally “the people at this place.”

Direction with mai and atu

Mai and atu follow a verb and show the direction of the action relative to a viewpoint.

Particle	Core direction	Typical example
mai	toward the speaker or established viewpoint	Haere mai! — Come! / Come here!
atu	away from the speaker or established viewpoint	Haere atu! — Go away! / Go on!

This contrast is about perspective, not simply the English verbs come and go. The same verb haere combines with either particle. Haere mai ki konei explicitly combines movement toward the speaker with the destination “here.”

Directionals can occur with many verbs:

• hoki mai — return toward here; come back
• titiro mai — look toward me/us
• tuku atu — send or pass away from here
• kōrero mai — speak or tell something toward me/us

Some combinations are commonly written as one word. Homai asks for something to be given toward the speaker: “give me/us.” Hoatu directs the giving away from the speaker: “give it to someone there.” Learn these as frequent whole forms, while still noticing the mai/atu contrast inside them.

Examples in Context

Māori	English	Note
He aha tēnei?	What is this?	tēnei stands alone near the speaker.
He kurī tēnā.	That is a dog.	The dog is by the listener.
Ko wai tērā?	Who is that over there?	tērā identifies a remote person.
He pai tēnei pukapuka.	This book is good.	Singular demonstrative before a noun.
Tangohia ēnā hu.	Take off those shoes.	The plural items are in the listener’s area.
Kei te kite koe i ērā maunga?	Can you see those mountains over there?	ērā marks remote plural items.
Kei konei tō waea.	Your phone is here.	kei marks present location.
Waiho te pēke ki konā.	Leave the bag there by you.	ki konā gives the intended place.
Kei korā te marae.	The marae is over there.	A place away from both speaker and listener.
He nui ngā tāngata i konei.	There are many people here.	i konei modifies the setting.
Haere mai ki konei.	Come here.	mai points toward the speaker; ki konei names the destination.
E haere atu ana ia.	He or she is going away.	atu points away from the viewpoint.
Homai tērā pukapuka.	Give me that book over there.	homai directs the transfer toward the speaker.
Hoatu tēnei ki a Mere.	Give this to Mere.	hoatu directs the transfer away to Mere.
Hoki mai āpōpō.	Come back tomorrow.	mai makes the return toward here.

Common Mistakes

Reducing everything to “near” and “far”

• Wrong idea: tēnā is simply “that at a medium distance.”
• Better: Use tēnā for something associated with or near the listener; use tērā for something away from both speaker and listener.
• Why: Māori organizes this system around participants’ viewpoints, not a fixed number of metres.

Adding an article before a demonstrative

• Wrong: te tēnei pukapuka
• Right: tēnei pukapuka
• Why: tēnei is already the determiner for the singular noun. Likewise, use ēnei pukapuka, not ngā ēnei pukapuka.

Using a singular form for several things

• Wrong: tēnei pukapuka for several books
• Right: ēnei pukapuka
• Why: The demonstrative, not the noun, marks the singular–plural contrast: tēnei/ēnei, tēnā/ēnā, tērā/ērā.

Treating konei as both “here” and “to here” without a preposition

• Wrong: Haere konei.
• Right: Haere mai ki konei.
• Why: ki marks the destination. Mai adds movement toward the speaker; it does not replace ki when the destination is stated.

Reversing mai and atu

• Wrong: Haere atu ki konei when inviting someone toward you
• Right: Haere mai ki konei.
• Why: mai points toward the speaker or chosen viewpoint. Atu points away from it.

Translating homai as a neutral “give”

• Wrong idea: homai works regardless of who receives the item.
• Better: Use homai when the transfer comes toward the speaker’s side; use hoatu when it goes away toward someone else.
• Why: The directional element remains meaningful even in these common combined forms.

Usage Notes

The distance categories are flexible in real interaction. A speaker may use gesture, gaze, or the conversational situation to place something in one sphere rather than another. An object does not have to be touching the listener for tēnā to be appropriate; it can simply be the thing in front of them, the idea they have just mentioned, or something treated as theirs to attend to.

Māori greetings provide a familiar reminder that these syllables occur in more than one grammatical pattern: tēnā koe is a conventional greeting to one person. Learn the greeting as a complete expression rather than trying to interpret it as an ordinary “that near you” noun phrase.

Macrons matter. Write tēnei, tēnā, tērā, ēnei, ēnā, and ērā with their long vowels. Konei, konā, and korā follow their own spelling patterns. Careful spelling helps both pronunciation and recognition.

English speakers often leave viewpoint implicit: “Put it there” can be accompanied by a gesture. Māori lets you encode more of that viewpoint directly. Before choosing a form, briefly ask: “Is it in my sphere, your sphere, or away from us both?”

Beyond the Basics / Advanced Use

You do not need to master the following details at A2, but you will meet the same pointing system in more advanced Māori.

The shorter particles nei, nā, and rā can occur after a noun phrase or elsewhere in discourse. They preserve the broad contrast of near speaker, near listener, and remote. In connected speech they can point not only through physical space but also through the conversation: toward what is currently being said, what belongs to the listener’s contribution, or something more distant in thought or time. Their interpretation therefore depends heavily on context.

You will also encounter mai and atu with an established viewpoint that is not the person currently speaking. In a story, for example, movement may be described toward or away from a place or character already serving as the narrative centre. This is why “toward me” and “away from me” are excellent beginner rules but not complete translations in every sentence.

The directional system extends beyond this lesson. Ake commonly contributes an upward direction and iho a downward direction, while all four particles develop wider idiomatic uses. Atu, for example, also appears in expressions such as ētahi atu “some others” and in comparisons such as nui atu “bigger/more.” In those uses, translating it literally as “away” would be misleading.

Remote rā can also add discourse or stylistic force rather than point to a visible distant object. Songs, speeches, and narratives make rich use of these particles. At this stage, recognition is enough: first make the concrete spatial system automatic, then learn extended meanings from complete phrases and real contexts.

Practice Tips

1. Build a three-zone scene. Put one object beside you, one beside an imagined conversation partner, and one across the room. Name them with tēnei/tēnā/tērā, then repeat with several objects using ēnei/ēnā/ērā.
2. Pair place with movement. Practise contrasting Kei konei “it is here,” Haere ki konā “go there,” Haere mai “come,” and Haere atu “go away.” This prevents English here/there from hiding the difference between position and destination.
3. Use transfer gestures. Move a book toward yourself while saying homai, then pass it away while saying hoatu. A physical gesture makes the viewpoint contrast easier to remember than a word-for-word translation.

Related Concepts

• Prerequisite: Definite Articles (te/ngā) — compare ordinary definite noun phrases with demonstratives, which replace the article.
• Later extension: Directional Particles — expands mai and atu with ake, iho, and more advanced directional uses.