(NZ) The horizontal element on the ground at the front of a wharenui, serving as the threshold of the building.
(NZ) The horizontal element on the ground at the front of a wharenui, serving as the threshold of the building.
"paepae" means the horizontal element on the ground at the front of a wharenui, serving as the threshold of the building. It is one of many casual words teens pick up from friends, social media, music or sport, and on its own it carries no particular warning. If you hear your teen use it, it is fair to ask what they mean by it in their friend group, since meanings drift quickly. Asking out of curiosity rather than alarm tends to keep the conversation open and useful.
"paepae" means the horizontal element on the ground at the front of a wharenui, serving as the threshold of the building. It is one of many casual words teens pick up from friends, social media, music or sport, and on its own it carries no particular warning. If you hear your teen use it, it is fair to ask what they mean by it in their friend group, since meanings drift quickly. Asking out of curiosity rather than alarm tends to keep the conversation open and useful.
Slang is read by different audiences for very different reasons. The For parents view re-explains the term in plain, non-judgemental language so a caregiver can understand what their child means without needing the surrounding subculture. The For English learners view focuses on register (when it's safe to use), formal alternatives, and common mistakes — what a textbook won't teach you.
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Regional slang from around the English-speaking world — British, Australian, Irish, Caribbean, Nigerian, Filipino, AAVE, and the hyphenated-English dialects that make the internet sound local.
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(NZ) A wall panel located under the veranda of a wharenui, generally carved with ancestral emblems.
(chiefly, NZ) The courtyard of a Maori wharenui or meeting-house, seen as a cultural and spiritual focal point; by extension the buildings and people around it; a spiritual or cultural centre.
(NZ) Land used for housing by a hapu or whanau group.
A Maori house or other building.
"paepae" is informal English meaning the horizontal element on the ground at the front of a wharenui, serving as the threshold of the building. It is mainly heard in Australian or New Zealand English. A more formal or neutral equivalent would be something like "the horizontal element on the ground at the front of a wharenui" expressed in standard vocabulary. A common mistake is to assume "paepae" can replace its standard equivalent in every register; keep it for spoken or casual situations and use the formal form in writing.
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(NZ) A large building in Maori communities for communal sleeping or for group meetings; a meeting house.