A 14-year-old who fatally stabbed a 16-year-old at Dunedin's bus hub says he was acting in self defence

Enere McLaren-Taana died of a single stab wound on Great King Street last May.

The boy accused, who was 13 at the time, has pleaded not guilty to his murder.

Crown Prosecutor Richard Smith says McLaren-Taana told the boy to pull his socks down and made a derogatory remark while walking past him.

He says the boy pulled the finger and yelled back, before swinging a kitchen knife at McLaren-Taana.

The trial is set down for three weeks.