haere mai / haere atu

Come and Go

Level 1

Mai and atu show movement relative to a viewpoint.

How It Works

Mai commonly directs movement toward the speaker or the viewpoint being used. Atu directs it away. They follow the verb in these short movement phrases.

A narrator may adopt a character’s viewpoint, so translate the whole event rather than always treating the physical speaker as the destination. These directionals also occur with verbs of giving, speaking and other actions.

Examples (3)

  1. Haere mai ki konei.

    Come here.

  2. Haere atu ki te toa.

    Go to the shop.

  3. Kei te haere mai a Mere.

    Mere is coming.

How It Connects

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

haere mai / haere atuLevel 1Come and Go

Learn This First

Introduce postverbal mai and atu through movement toward and away from a relevant centre. The centre can shift within a story; these short movement phrases also prepare learners to recognize directionals with other actions.