Convenience Store

1. Kia ora, e hia te utu o tēnei?

   Hi, how much is this?

   Usage

   Transactions in a New Zealand convenience store (locally a "dairy") happen almost entirely in English, but Kia ora is fully naturalised even among English speakers and is a natural way to walk in. Māori openers are usually well received, though the person behind the counter may not be able to continue in Māori.

   Grammar Note

   E hia asks about quantities under ten and is the standard way to ask a price. Demonstratives grade by distance: tēnei (near me), tēnā (near you), tērā (away from us both). Utu means "price" but also carries the weightier cultural sense of reciprocity or requital.

2. Kei te hiahia koe i tētahi pēke?

   Would you like a bag?

   Usage

   Said by staff. New Zealand banned single-use plastic shopping bags in 2019 and extended the ban to thin produce bags in 2023. What you are offered now is a paid paper or reusable bag, and most people bring their own.

   Grammar Note

   Kei te + verb is the core present/continuous tense marker, and the object is introduced by the preposition i. Pēke transliterates English "bag" — Māori reshapes loanwords to fit its strict consonant-vowel syllable structure.

3. Homai tētahi pēke, tēnā koa.

   A bag, please

   Usage

   The customer's version. Bags are charged for (roughly 10-25 cents), so you will be asked whether you want one. Tēnā koa is the polite "please".

   Grammar Note

   Māori marks the direction of an action in the verb itself: homai means "give towards me", hoatu "give away from me". When you are the recipient, homai is the only correct choice.

4. Kāore au i te hiahia pēke.

   I don't need a bag

   Usage

   Bags cost money, so declining is common — and with New Zealand's strong environmental awareness, saying no is entirely unremarkable.

   Grammar Note

   The affirmative kei te becomes i te under negation, and the subject moves up right after kāore: "Kei te hiahia au" → "Kāore au i te hiahia".

5. He moni, he kāri rānei?

   Cash or card?

   Usage

   Said by staff. New Zealand runs on EFTPOS and contactless payment — tapping a card or phone for a two-dollar item is completely normal, and some shops no longer take cash at all. Watch for a card surcharge sign by the till.

   Grammar Note

   Māori rānei (or) follows the alternatives rather than sitting between them, producing the pattern "A, B rānei?".

6. Ka taea te utu mā te kāri?

   Can I pay by card?

   Usage

   The customer's version. You will almost never be refused in New Zealand, though small dairies sometimes set a minimum spend (often $10) for card payment.

   Grammar Note

   Ka taea is a passive-flavoured possibility construction ("it can be done"); to name the agent, add e — Ka taea e au (I can). Mā is the preposition of means or route.

7. Kei te hiahia koe i tētahi rihīti?

   Would you like a receipt?

   Usage

   Said by staff. The terminal usually asks whether to print, and many shops now skip paper by default. You need the receipt for returns or exchanges, so take one for anything expensive.

   Grammar Note

   Rihīti transliterates English "receipt". Māori allows neither consonant clusters nor word-final consonants, so vowels are inserted to yield open syllables throughout (ri-hī-ti). Beware of the lookalike rīhi, a different word meaning "to lease" or "dish" - note the macron sits on a different vowel.

8. Kotahi noa iho, tēnā koa.

   Just one, please

   Usage

   For making the quantity clear. Replace kotahi with e rua (two) or e toru (three) as needed.

   Grammar Note

   Māori cardinals from two upwards take a preceding e (e rua, e toru, e whā), but "one" has the distinct form kotahi. Noa iho is a set phrase meaning "merely, just that".

9. He wai mātao māku, tēnā koa.

   Cold water for me, please

   Usage

   New Zealand tap water is safe to drink, so bottled water is less of a default purchase than elsewhere. In the chiller, wai is plain water and wai reka a sweet drink.

   Grammar Note

   Māku fuses the preposition mā (for) with au (I). Māori splits possession into a-category and o-category; things you acquire or control, such as food and drink, take the a-category forms (māku, tāku).

10. Kei hea te miraka?

    Where is the milk?

    Usage

    The New Zealand "dairy" grew out of the corner shop that sold milk, and milk, bread and newspapers remain its staples — usually together in one corner of the chiller.

    Grammar Note

    Kei hea asks about present location, in the frame "kei hea + te + noun". For past location the preposition shifts to i hea, and for future to hei hea.

11. He parāoa ā koutou?

    Do you have any bread?

    Usage

    For asking whether the shop stocks something. Koutou is "you" for three or more people and treats the shop as an organisation; in a one-person dairy you can use koe instead.

    Grammar Note

    "He X ā koutou?" uses possession to ask about stock. Possessives split into the a-category (ā/tā) and o-category (ō/tō); goods you acquire take the a-category, and the singular would be tā koutou.

12. Ka taea e koe te whakamahana i tēnei?

    Could you heat this up?

    Usage

    New Zealand dairies do not generally offer a heat-up service the way Japanese convenience stores do, so expect a no. What they do have is the pie warmer — meat pies are sold hot from the start.

    Grammar Note

    Whaka- is the causative prefix ("make it X"): mahana (warm) becomes whakamahana (to warm up). It is highly productive — whakapai (to improve), whakaora (to save). The agent is marked by e.

13. Ka taea e au te whakahiko i taku waea i konei?

    Can I charge my phone here?

    Usage

    Small shops will usually say no; cafés, libraries and airports are the realistic options. Whakahiko (to electrify) is the modern Māori term used for charging, though in practice people often just say "charge" in English.

    Grammar Note

    Hiko is the old word for lightning, hence electricity, and whaka- turns it into a verb. Waea transliterates English "wire" — originally the telegraph, now also the mobile phone. Māori builds much modern vocabulary by repurposing existing roots and deriving with whaka-.

14. Kei hea te wharepaku?

    Where is the toilet?

    Usage

    A small dairy will not have a customer toilet. New Zealand has good public toilets in parks and town centres, and that is the faster option. Wharepaku appears on bilingual signage nationwide.

    Grammar Note

    A compound of whare (house) and paku (small). Whare is highly productive in compounds: wharekai (dining hall), wharepaku (toilet), wharenui (the main meeting house on a marae).

15. Kei hea tētahi ATM i konei?

    Is there an ATM around here?

    Usage

    In such a card-driven country you rarely need an ATM, but many small rural towns have lost their bank branch and their machine along with it. The practical alternative is "cash out" — withdrawing cash at a supermarket till as part of your purchase.

    Grammar Note

    Te marks a specific item, tētahi an indefinite one. Since any machine will do, tētahi is the right choice here; the plural is ētahi.

16. Ka kati mātou ā te waru karaka.

    We close at eight o'clock

    Usage

    Said by staff. Dairies typically run from about 07:00 to 20:00-21:00, though rural shops often close by late afternoon. Trading is restricted on public holidays: Good Friday, Easter Sunday, Christmas Day and the morning of ANZAC Day are legally closed for most shops.

    Grammar Note

    Māori distinguishes inclusive tātou from exclusive mātou; staff speaking to a customer correctly use the exclusive mātou. Ā te marks a future time point, while i te marks a past one.

17. Tēnā koe, ka kite anō.

    Thank you, see you again

    Usage

    The line for leaving after paying. A brief exchange with the person at the counter is the norm in New Zealand, so saying something is more natural than walking out in silence — even a plain Kia ora reads as "thanks".

    Grammar Note

    Tēnā koe varies with the number addressed: tēnā kōrua for two, tēnā koutou for three or more. Ka kite anō literally means "will see again" and is the everyday goodbye.

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