Māori Grammar

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Talking about more than one person

rāua ko..., rātou ko... ko...

In English, we can use "and" to talk about more than one person: "Peter, Paul and Mary".

In te reo Māori, there is a specific way to do this.

When there are only two people, and we are talking about people other than ourselves, we use rāua ko:

Kei te haere a Rangi rāua ko Hemi ki te papa tākaro.
Rangi and Hemi are going to the playground.

Ko Brian rāua ko Fran ōku mātua.
Brian and Fran are my parents.

Where there are more than two people, and we are talking about poeple other than ourselves, we use rātou ko... ko...

Kei te waiata a Peter, rātou ko Paul ko Mary.
Peter, Paul and Mary are singing.

When you are speaking about yourself and someone else, we do not say "me". Intead, you would use māua ko if you are just talking about you and another person, and mātou ko... ko... if you are talking about you and two or more other people:

I taraiwa māua ko taku hoa.
Me and my friend drove.

Māua ko Amaru.
Amaru and me.

Mātou ko tōku whānau.
Me and my family.

I haere mātou ko Rangi ko Hemi.
Me and Rangi and Hemi went.

Ko Pita rātou ko Paul, ko Mere.
Peter, Paul and Mere.

Ko Aidan rātou ko Kaia, ko Liam
Aidan and Kaia and Liam

Kei muri a Miriama rāua ko Rehutai i te pahi.
Miriama and Rehutai are behind the bus.

Kei te oma a Mere rātou ko Hariata, ko Matiu, ko Ropata.
Mere, Hariata, Matiu and Ropata are running.

E whakarongo ana māua ko Paora ki te tumuaki.
Paora and I are listening to the head-master.

Ko Brian rāua ko Fran ōku mātua
Brian and Fran are my parents

Nikau rātou ko tōna whanau.
Nikau and his family.

Ko Jim rāua ko Doug aku taokete.
Jim and Doug are my brother in laws.

Ko Isaac te tama a Phill rāua ko Angie.
Isaac is the son of Phill and Angie.

I taraiwa māua ko taku hoa ki te whare wānanga i te waru karaka.
Me and my friend drove to uni at 8 o'clock.

Ko Aroha te mokopuna a Koa rāua ko Moana.
Aroha is the grandchild of Koa and Moana.

Ko Hone rāua ko Rāhera ōku mātua
Hone and Rāhera are my parents.

Mā mātou koutou e manaaki.
We (3+ exclusive) will take care of you.

I muri i te piringa o Rangi rāua ko Papa ka whānau mai ngā tamariki.
After the union of Rangi and Papa the children were born.

Nō Kirikiriroa, engari kei konei mātou ko tōku whānau e noho ana.
From Hamilton, but my family and I are staying here.

Kei mua a Miriama rāua ko Rehutai i te pahi.
Miriama and Rehutai are in front of the bus.

He hoa piritahi rāua ko Rāwiri.
He and Rāwiri are best friends.

I tērā tau ka haere mātou ko aku hoa ki Pōneke ki te tirotiro haere.
Last year me and my friends went to Wellington to look around.

Ko Barry rāua ko Lynne ōku mātua.
Barry and Lynne are my parents.

Ko Tīwana rāua ko Riripeti aku irāmutu.
Tīwana and Riripeti are my nieces/nephews.

Ko Chris te tama a Richard rāua ko Gin.
Chris is the son of Richard and Gin.

Ko māua ko Mere ngā kaiāwhina.
Mere and I are the helpers.

Ko ia te mea hangareka o rāua ko Riripeti, tōna tuahine.
She is the funny one between her and Riripeti, her sister.

Ko Brooklyn te mokopuna a Lynne rāua ko Barry.
Brooklyn is the grandchild of Lynne and Barry.

Kei te katakata a Mia rāua ko Niko.
Mia and Niko are laughing.

Mātou ko Hata.
Hata and the rest of us.

Kei te hui a Rama rāua ko Pita ki te pātaka kōrero.
Rama and Pita are meeting in the library.

I mahi māua ko tōku māmā.
My mother and I (us two, but not you the listener) worked.

Kei Pōneke māua ko Sarah.
Sarah and I are in Wellington.

Ehara a Amaru rāua ko Aria i te mātua.
Amaru and Aria are not parents.

Ko Hēmi te tamaiti kei waenganui i a Tame rāua ko N3.
Hēmi is the child between Tame and N3.

I haere mātou ko aku hoa mā runga i te waka o Betsy ki te takutai, ki Te Māhia.
Me and my friends went on Betsy's car to the beach, to Māhia.

Ka kōrero ia ki a māua ko Mere.
He spoke to Mere and me.

Ko Moki rāua ko Tū-te-kawa ngā rangatira.
Moki and Tu-te-kawa were the chiefs.

Ko Liam te mokopuna a Beverley rāua ko Denis.
Liam is the grandchild of Beverley and Denis.

Kei te haere atu rātou ko Hone, ko Hōhepa, ko Tai.
Hone, Hōhepa and Tai are going.

Kua tūtaki au ki a Taika rāua ko tana hoa wahine, ko Rina.
I have met Taika and his girlfriend, Rina.

Ko Pāora rāua ko Tawa.
Pāora and Tawa.

Ko Pāora rāua ko Mia ngā hoa o Manu rāua ko Kauri.
Pāora and Mia are the friends of Manu and Kauri.

Māua ko tōku hoa.
My friend and I.

I hararei mātou ko aku hoa.
My friends and I had a holiday.

Ko Ani rāua ko Mere.
Ani and Mere.

He mātua a Pani rāua ko Hata,.
Pani and Hata are parents.

I te ata o te Rāhoroi ka haere mātou ko taku whānau ki Taranaki ki te whakatā.
On Saturday morning my family and I went to Taranaki for a holiday.

Ko Aroha rāua ko Ani ōku tuāhine.
Aroha and Ani are my sisters.

Kei te kanikani a Aria rāua ko Hera.
Aria and Hera are dancing.

Ehara ngā rangatira i a Moki rāua ko Tū-te-kawa.
Moki and Tū-te-kawa were not the chiefs.

Ko Rāwiri rāua ko Tūmanako aku tama.
Rāwiri and Tūmanako are my sons.

Kei roto a Nikau rāua ko Koa i tō rāua whare.
Nikau and Koa are inside their (2x) house.

Ko Flo rāua ko Rāwiri ōku kaumātua.
Flo and Rāwiri are my grandparents.

Nō muri noa mai ka whānau mai ngā tamariki a Tame rāua ko Ataahua.
The children of Tame and Ataahua were born much later.

Ko Hone rāua ko Rāhera ōku hungawai.
Hone and Rāhera are my parents-in-law.

Ko Ataahua rāua ko Honi ō tāua hoa.
Ataahua and Honi are our friends.

Koutou ko tōu whanau.
You and your family.

E hui ana a Rama rāua ko Pita ki te pātaka kōrero.
Rama and Pita are meeting in the library.

Tokorima. Ko aku mātua, mātou ko taku tuakana, ko taku tungane.
Five. My parents, (me) and my older sister and my brother.

I hea a Miti rāua ko Auau?
Where were Miti and Auau?

Ko Kauri rātou ko Pita ko N3 āku tamariki.
Kauri, Pita and N3 are my children.

Kei te haere a Riria rāua ko Larisa ki konā
Riria and Larisa are going there (by you the listener).

Ko Tai, ko Moana rātou ko Rangi.
Tai, Moana and Rangi.

Ko Niko rāua ko Moana ngā mātua o Tawa.
Niko and Moana are the parents of Tawa.

Manu rāua ko tōna hoa.
Manu and her friend.

He mātua pai a Ari rāua ko Aria.
Ari and Aria are good parents.

Ko Tai rāua ko Moana ngā ingoa o ōku hoa.
The names of my friends are Tai and Moana.

Ko Ari rāua ko Amaru kei te haere ki te tāone.
Ari and Amaru are going to town.

Ko Timi rāua ko Jen aku mātua.
Timi and Jen are my parents.

Ko Hēmi rāua ko Rina ngā mokopuna o Rangi rāua ko Mia.
Hēmi and Rina are the grandchildren of Rangi and Mia.

Nō muri i te piringa o Rangi rāua ko Papa ka whānau mai ngā tamariki.
After the union of Rangi and Papa, the children were born.

Nō mua i te piringa ki a Rangi, ka moe a Papa rāua ko Tangaroa.
Before the union with Rangi, Papa was in a relationship with Tangaroa.

Kei te ako a Rangi rāua ko Taika i ngā kupu whānau i te reo Māori.
Rangi and Taika are learning Māori 'family' words.

Arā, ko au te tama a Hone rāua ko Rāhera.
That is, I am the child of Hone and Rāhera.

Ko Rāwiri rāua ko Tūmanako ōku taokete.
Rāwiri and Tūmanako are my twins.

Ko Rāhera rāua ko Tipene ōna hoa.
Her friends are Rāhera and Tīpene.

No Te Kaha mātou ko Hata mā.
Hata and I and the rest are from Te Kaha.

Ko Hone rāua ko Rāhera ōku mātua.
Hone and Rāhera are my parents.

Ko Aroha rāua ko Timi ana mātua.
Aroha and Timi are her parents.

I taraiwa māua ko taku hoa ki te whare wānanga.
Me and my friend drove to uni.

Ko Kayte rāua ko Denis, ko Beverley
Kayte and Denis and Beverley

Ko Riripeti rāua ko Tīwana ā māua tamariki.
Riripeti and Tīwana are our children.

I hiahia a Rangi rāua ko Aroha ki te tūtaki i a rāua anō.
Rangi and Aroha wanted to meet each other.

I tērā tau i te marama o Mahuru ka haere mātou ko aku hoa mai i Papaioea ki Pōneke ki te tirotiro haere.
Last year in September me and my friends went from Palmerston North to Wellington to look around.

Nō te wā o te piringa o Rangi rāua ko Papa ka tupu te werawera, ka rērere te kohu.
At the time of the union of Rangi and Papa, the heat grew, the mist rose.

E tākaro ana a Mia rāua ko Niko.
Mia and Niko are playing.

Ko Billy rāua ko Bob ā rāua māhanga.
Their twins are Billy and Bob.

Ākuanei ka haere māua ko Hēmi ki te tiki i a Tame.
Soon Hēmi and I will go to fetch Tame.

Ko Mere rāua ko Lennon āku tamariki.
Mere and Lennon are my children.

Kei te moe a Angie rāua ko Raiha.
Angie and Raiha are sleeping.

Nā wai a Papa rāua ko Rangi i whakawehe?
Who separated Papa and Rangi?

I hea a Retitia rāua ko Mihinui?
Where were Retitia and Mihinui?

Ko Val te tamāhine a Una rāua ko Vic.
Val is the daughter of Una and Vic.

Kei te tangi a Mereana rāua ko Paul.
Mereana and Paul are crying.

Māua ko Pāora.
Pāora and me.

Ko Rāhera rāua ko Hone ōku tūpuna.
Rāhera and Hone are my ancestors.

Rātou ko ōna hoa.
She and her friends.

Kei roto a Kahurangi rāua ko Hōhepa i tō rāua whare.
Kahurangi and Hōhepa are inside their house.

Ko Aidan rāua ko Liam
Aidan and Liam

Kei te hui a Tawa rāua ko Aria ki te pātaka kōrero.
Tawa and Aria are meeting in the library.

Ko Hana rāua ko Jacob
Harnah and Jacob

Ko Jacob rāua ko Hana āku tamariki.
Harnah and Jacob are my children

Mātou ko ōku hoa.
My friends and I.

Kei te haere a Raureka rāua ko Te Naera.
Raureka and Te Naera are going.

Ko Kauri te tamāhine a Nikau rāua ko Aroha.
Kauri is the daughter of Nikau and Aroha.

Ko Rongomai rāua ko Moana ōku mātua.
Rongomai and Moana are my parents.

Kei te haere a Hera rāua ko Nikau mā runga i te motukā.
Hera and Nikau are travelling by car.

Ko Rāwiri rātou ko Tūmanako, ko Rongomai, me tana tāne a Moana, aku mokopuna.
Rāwiri, Tūmanako, Rongomai, and Moana, her husband, are my grandchildren.

Ko Rāwiri rāua ko Tūmanako ōku tungāne.
Rāwiri and Tūmanako are my brothers.

Ka haere māua ko Koa ki te hokomaha tiki ai.
Koa and I are going to the supermarket to shop.

Ko Sally rāua ko Tīmoti ōku mātua.
My parents are Sally and Timoti.

Ko Tanya rāua ko Sarah
Tanya and Sarah

Kei te haere a Ataahua rāua ko Honi.
Ataahua and Honi are going.

Ko Riripeti rāua ko Tīwana āku irāmutu.
Riripeti and Tīwana are my nieces/nephews.