He kupu wetereo. Ko te tangata, te wāhi, te whakaaro, te āhuatanga rānei, ko ia te tino kaupapa o te rerenga kōrero. Ko tētahi kupu e āhua rite ana te tikanga i roto i te mahi whakaako, ko te 'kupu kiko'. Hei tauira o te tumu:
| Te rerenga kōrero, te aho rānei | Te tumu |
| Kua mutu te hui. | te hui |
| Inanahi nei rātou i tae mai ai. | rātou |
| ... e tū mai rā ia | ia |
| ... te awa e rere nei | te awa |
A grammatical term. The person, place, idea, or thing that a sentence is about. A word with a similar meaning but more aligned with the pedagogy of learning and teaching is 'content word'.
tumu - stump, base, foundation
Tautohua te tumu o ēnei rerenga kōrero.
Ko tēhea momo kupu te tumu o te rerenga kōrero?
Ko te tumu tētahi wāhanga matua o te rerenga kōrero.
