Here is a brief explanation of the te reo Māori name for the Nurses Society and the name of our union arm.
o There are multiple transliterations for the word nurse in te reo Māori. Some years ago when a te reo Māori name was being selected, two options for nurse that were considered were nēhi and nāhi. However, experts advised that some Māori speakers dislike both, preferring more traditional words.
o There are also regional dialectal differences. Nāhi is apparently popular in the north, while nēhi is used on the East Coast and West Coast.
o Tapuhi, as a verb, means to nurse and tend to the sick and those in distress. As a noun, it means a nurse.
o It is notable that The Nursing Council of New Zealand (Te Kaunihera Tapuhi o Aotearoa) uses tapuhi.
o Rōpū was considered for the word Society. As a noun, it means a party of people, company, gang, association, entourage, committee, organisation or category. However, in the end kāhui was selected, as it is used for groups with a shared interest and arguably it has more gravitas than rōpū.
o Hence our te reo Māori name Te Kāhui Tapuhi o Aotearoa was adopted.
o The official name of our registered union arm is Te Uniana o NSNZ, which literally translates as “the union of NSNZ”. It has no English language name and never has.
Here is a brief explanation of the te reo Māori name for the Nurses Society and the name of our union arm.
o There are multiple transliterations for the word nurse in te reo Māori. Some years ago when a te reo Māori name was being selected, two options for nurse that were considered were nēhi and nāhi. However, experts advised that some Māori speakers dislike both, preferring more traditional words.
o There are also regional dialectal differences. Nāhi is apparently popular in the north, while nēhi is used on the East Coast and West Coast.
o Tapuhi, as a verb, means to nurse and tend to the sick and those in distress. As a noun, it means a nurse.
o It is notable that The Nursing Council of New Zealand (Te Kaunihera Tapuhi o Aotearoa) uses tapuhi.
o Rōpū was considered for the word Society. As a noun, it means a party of people, company, gang, association, entourage, committee, organisation or category. However, in the end kāhui was selected, as it is used for groups with a shared interest and arguably it has more gravitas than rōpū.
o Hence our te reo Māori name Te Kāhui Tapuhi o Aotearoa was adopted.
o The official name of our registered union arm is Te Uniana o NSNZ, which literally translates as “the union of NSNZ”. It has no English language name and never has.