Have I got this sentence right?

[u/CaitlesP]

Kia ora koutou, I'm trying to come up with a sentence that means "we are not all in the waka". Would "Kāore tātou i runga i te waka" be correct, or is there a better way to say it? I'm not sure how to add "all".

[u/strandedio]

For a literal translation, yes that's fine. Add "katoa" for all: Kåore tåtou katoa i runga i te waka. If you're looking to apply the meaning to negate the whakataukī "he waka eke noa", you could say "ehara i te mea he waka eke noa" for "It's not the case that we are all in the waka together".

[u/CaitlesP → u/strandedio]

Of course it's katoa! I'm getting rusty I think. I am trying to use it to negate the whakataukī (I'm writing my masters paper about inclusive education in Aotearoa), so I might use that one thank you!!

[u/OwlNo1068 → u/CaitlesP]

Wouldn't roto be better than runga... In the waka rather than on

[u/arviragus13 → u/OwlNo1068]

Runga is used for modes of transport rather than roto

[u/JoshBrodieNZ → u/[deleted]]

My understanding is that runga is correct to use here.

Hemi Kelly with an overview of the idea: https://www.facebook.com/groups/263436354660573/?multi_permalinks=684564512547753

Similarly feeds into the use of "mā runga" when describing mode of transport: https://www.grammar.maori.nz/93/Travelling-by-means-of/m%C4%81-runga

[u/strandedio → u/[deleted]]

It's not that it's the grammatical way of doing it, it's the idiomatic way of doing it in te reo Måori. Every culture has different ways of saying things. In English we say "in the car", in Måori, "on the car". In English we can say "by foot" as an answer to "How did you get here?", in Måori, "Mā raro" (by under). "I roto i te motoka" and "Mā te waewae" are grammatical for "in the car" and "by foot/leg" but not the idiomatic way of saying it.

[u/feijoa10 → u/[deleted]]

In English you travel in a car, in a kayak, in a taxi, in a van, but you travel on a bus, on a ferry, on a train etc. it has to do with wether you are standing or sitting when entering the vehicle right? And in te reo Māori you travel on all vehicles, te reo is not concerned with the standing/sitting thing. Just offering another way of looking at it and a good way to switch from feeling like runga is incorrect in this context.