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We can ask a question about where someone or something is from using nō hea or nō whea?
Nō hea koe?
Where are you from?
Nō hea tō pāpā?
Where is your father from?
Nō hea can also be used rhetorically to mean "where on earth did you get that idea from?" The implication is that it is from nowhere, it has no source and therefore isn't true. It is used as an emphatic denial - "No way! That's absolutely not true!" Nō hea, in this sense, is often followed by e... ai.
Nō hea ia e mōhio ai ki tēnā!
There's no way he knows that!
This is a strong denial - it's not simply that something is wrong, but that it absolutely can't be true.
On its own, in reply to a question, nō hea means "absolutely not!" It is also used colloquially:
Nō hea au e mōhio!
How would I know!
When used as an emphatic denial, it is sometimes written as one word - nōhea - to differentiate it from the "where" question.
Followed by a definite noun phrase — a pronoun, a name, or a noun with te/ngā/tō/a possessive — nō hea asks origin.
Nō hea tēnei kai?
Where is the food from?
Nō hea tō kai?
Where is your food from?
Followed by a clause or by an indefinite noun phrase with he, it's the emphatic negative.
Nō hea he kai!
There is absolutely no food!
Nō whea e toa te poroheahea i te pōtitanga?
How could a nutter possibly win an election?Nō whea e ora ngā tāngata o te takutai i tēnā taiāniwhaniwha.
There was no chance of the coastal dwellers surviving that tsunami.Nō whea hoki i taea ai!
There's no way that could have been done.Nō whea e hoki te tihe ki te ihu.
A sneeze can't possibly return to the nose.Nō whea e ora ngā tāngata o te maunga i tēnā pakarutanga?
How cold the mountain dwellers possibly survive that eruption?Nō whea e toa tērā kōtiro i te tauwhāingaroa?
How can that girl possibly win the marathon?Nō whea e mutu te whawhai a ngāi tāua, te tangata.
Humankind will never stop fighting.Ka kimihia he puna wai, nō whea e kitea.
They looked for a spring, but had no luck whatsoever finding one.He mate kino i pā ohorere ki ōna roro, nō hea e taea te whakaora.
A serious condition struck her brain without warning, and there was no hope of saving her.Ka aroha rātou. Nō hea e oma, nō hea e huna. - Poor things.
Poor things. There was absolutely nowhere to run, nowhere to hide.Ka kimihihia he rūma mōtēra e wātea ana, nō whea e kitea.
They looked for a vacant motel room, but had no luck whatsoever finding one.Nō whea e pēnā te Māori!
A Māori would never do that!Ka aroha rātou. Nō whea e oma, nō whea e huna.
Poor things. There was absolutely nowhere to run, nowhere to hide.Nō hea i uia te pono o ngā kōrero i tana whārangi pukumata.
The truth of what she put on her facebook page was never questioned.Nō whea tātou i mōhio ai!
We couldn't possibly have known!Nō hea i uia te pono o ngā kōrero i tana CV.
The truth of what he put in his CV was never questioned.