mātou / tātou

A Group with or Without You

Level 1

Mātou excludes the listener; tātou includes the listener.

How It Works

Tātou includes the person being addressed along with the speaker and at least one other person. Mātou includes the speaker’s group but leaves the addressee outside it.

English we does not show this difference. In a story, check who is speaking and who is listening each time the pronoun appears. For a pair use tāua or māua instead.

Examples (3)

Kei te haere tātou.
We are going, including you (three or more).
Kei te kai mātou.
We are eating, excluding you (three or more).
Me noho tātou.
We should sit down, including you (three or more).

How It Connects

Tap a pattern to see what it builds on and what it leads to.

mātou / tātouLevel 1A Group with or Without You

Learn This First

Extend inclusive and exclusive first-person reference to larger groups. Tātou includes the addressee and mātou excludes them; identify the speaking situation each time rather than relying on undifferentiated English “we.”

māua / tāuaTwo People with or Without You
The dual pair already establishes speaker membership and addressee inclusion or exclusion; this lesson retains that contrast while increasing the group to three or more.
Level 1

Learn Next

Patterns that build on this one.

Practice mātou / tātou in Bubblegum

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