A South Auckland woman has been sentenced to home detention for the manslaughter of her partner - who she stabbed to death after years of domestic violence

Karen Anne Ruddelle has been sentenced at the High Court at Auckland to 11 months home detention.

She had been found guilty of killing Joseph Michael Ngapera, who died in November 2018 after being stabbed twice in the chest.

Ngapera's father, John Ngapera Senior, read a victim impact statement at today's sentencing -- saying he struggled to believe his son was dead but is forced to face reality.

Ruddelle broke down in tears in the dock as the sentence was delivered.