Auē means: Oh Heck! Oh Dear! Oh no!
Auē seems to be another example of a verb which is used an interjection with its own meaning. The verb auē means “to cry, howl, groan, wail, bawl”. When used in the manner detailed above, it can also be paired with “taukuri” for the expression “auē taukuri ē” with a similar meaning to “auē” alone.
I’m yet to find any good written sources on the use of interjections in te reo Māori, although a lot of the common ones like ‘auē’ and ‘kia ora’ are well known. It seems like the Routledge Descriptive Grammar series on Māori may have good coverage of this topic, so I’ll have to track down a copy.
While ‘kia ora’ is an interjection, its literal translation of ‘be well’ is an example of the use of the preposed particle ‘kia’ which can be used to indicate wish, intent or encouragement, typically with stative verbs or experience verbs to suggest that the named state be achieved:
It can also be used to communicate the manner in which you wish or instruct someone to carry out a task: