Glossary of Māori words
This is a glossary of the various Māori terms used in Te reo Māori in the New Zealand Curriculum. Translations of longer passages, such as greetings and proverbs, are given where these occur; they are not repeated in this glossary.
| Māori | English |
|---|---|
| āe | yes |
| akomanga | classroom |
| amokura | native bird |
| ao | world |
| Aotearoa | New Zealand |
| Āperira | April |
| ārahi | guide |
| arapū | alphabet |
| aroha | love, sympathy, empathy |
| atawhai | show kindness, foster |
| au | I, me |
| auē | alas |
| auraki | mainstream, as in kura auraki/mainstream schools |
| haere | go, move |
| hamumu | utter, speak |
| hapū | subtribe |
| hauora | health |
| hongi | press noses in greeting |
| hui | meeting; to meet |
| hurihuri | turbulent; turn over |
| iwi | tribe |
| kaha | strong |
| kai | food, to eat |
| kaiako | teacher |
| kāinga | home |
| kāo | no |
| karakia | prayer |
| karanga | to call; ritual call |
| kāri | card |
| kaua | don’t (do…) |
| kaumātua | elder(s) |
| kaupapa | theme, topic |
| kāwai | strand |
| kāwanatanga | government |
| kawe | to carry |
| kete | kit, bag |
| kimi, kimihia | to look for, seek |
| kīwaha | idiom |
| koe | you (one person) |
| kōhanga reo | nest |
| kōhanga | Māori-medium preschool |
| kōrero kōrerotia, | to speak, talk |
| korimako | bellbird; Te Korimako: a Māori newspaper |
| kōrua | you (two people) |
| koutou | you (three or more people) |
| kupu | word |
| kura | school |
| kura kaupapa Māori | Māori-medium primary school |
| mahi | work, to make, to do, to work |
| mana | prestige, authority, power |
| manaakitanga | hospitality |
| manuhiri | visitor(s) |
| marautanga | curriculum |
| mātakitaki | viewing |
| mātauranga | knowledge |
| mauri | life force |
| mihi | greeting, to greet |
| moe | to sleep |
| moko | tattoo |
| mōteatea | traditional song poem |
| ngātahi | together |
| noa | non-sacred |
| nui | big, important |
| ōkawa | formal |
| ora | well, healthy |
| oti | completed |
| pai | good |
| pakaritanga | maturing, strengthening |
| pānui | notice; to read, to announce |
| Papa | Earth Mother, a short form of Papa-tū-ā-nuku |
| Papa-tū-ā-nuku | Earth Mother |
| pēnā | like that |
| pene | pen |
| pēnei | like this |
| pepeha | tribal saying |
| pōwhiri | welcome ceremony; to welcome |
| puāwaitanga | blossoming |
| rangatira | chief |
| rangatiratanga | ownership, independence |
| Rangi | Sky Father, a short form of Ranginui |
| rangimārie | tolerance, peace |
| Ranginui | Sky Father |
| rapu | to seek, look for |
| raranga | weave, plait |
| rāua | they, them (two) |
| reo | language, voice |
| roto | in |
| runga | on |
| taha | side |
| taiao | nature, environment |
| taku | my (singular) |
| tamariki | children |
| tangata | person |
| tangi | to cry; a sound |
| tangihanga | funeral |
| taonga | treasure, possession |
| tapu | sacred |
| tata | near, close |
| tātou | us (all of us) |
| Te Puni Kōkiri | Ministry of Māori Development |
| Te Tāhuhu o te Mātauranga | Ministry of Education |
| Te Taura Whiri i te Reo Māori | Māori Language Commission |
| tēnā | that, near the listener |
| tēnei | this, near the speaker |
| tēpu | table |
| tiaki | look after, care for |
| tikanga | customs, practices, ways of doing things properly |
| tino | very |
| tīpuna | grandparents, ancestors |
| tiriti | treaty; street |
| titiro, tirohia | to look at, look |
| tuhituhi | writing; to write |
| tūpuna | grandparents, ancestors |
| tupuranga | growth |
| uara | values |
| wā | time |
| waiaro | attitudes |
| waiata | song |
| wairua | spirit |
| waka | canoe, vehicle |
| wānanga | forum; to evaluate |
| whaikōrero | oratory |
| whakaaetanga | agreement |
| whakaari | presenting |
| whakaaro | thought; to think |
| whakaiti | humility |
| whakapapa | genealogy |
| whakarongo | listening; to listen |
| whakataukī | proverb, saying |
| whakatōtanga | planting |
| whakawhanau – ngatanga | relating well to others |
| whānau | family; to be born |
| whanaungatanga | relationships, being related |
| whare | house, building |
| wharekai | dining hall, restaurant |
| wharekura | Māori-medium secondary school |
| wharenui | meeting house |
| whenua | land, country |