Glossary of Māori words
| Māori Word |
English Translation |
| Hapū |
subtribe |
| Harakeke |
flax bush |
| He |
a, or one (pending sentence structure), or some (plural) |
| Hongi |
to press noses, a formal greeting |
| Iwi |
tribal people |
| Kaiako |
teacher |
| Kaupapa |
subject, topic |
| Kia |
let, so that, until = pending sentence structure |
| Kōhanga |
learning nest |
| Kōkiri |
to charge forward |
| Kura |
school, college |
| Marae |
a Māori communal facility (generally consisting of a meeting house, dining hall, kitchen, and ablution area) |
| Me |
and |
| Mihimihi |
greeting |
| Ngā |
the (plural) |
| O |
of |
| Papa |
formally recognised as 'Papatuanuku' - earth mother |
| Puni |
camp |
| Rangatira |
high-ranking person |
| Reo |
language |
| Tamariki |
children |
| Tāngata whenua |
(local) people of the land |
| Te |
the (singular) |
| Tiriti |
treaty |
| Tongarewa |
transluscent greenstone, pounamu |
| Tūngia |
to set alight |
| Tupu |
develop |
| Ururua |
overgrown bush |
| Waka |
canoe, vessel |
| Wānanga |
university |
| Whakamutunga |
finish |
| Whakataukī |
proverb |
| Whakaritorito |
heart of the plant |
| Whānau |
family |
| Whare |
house |
| Māori Word |
English Translation |
| Akaroa |
Long harbour |
| Aotearoa |
Long white cloud (Māori name for New Zealand) |
| Hokianga |
Returning |
| Kaikōura |
To eat crayfish |
| Kaitāia |
(Kaitatāia) Food thrown about |
| Kapiti |
Crevice, joining |
| Kawhia (Kaawhiawhi) |
To perform a ceremony |
| Kōhanga Reo |
Māori preschool |
| Kupe |
The great Polynesian navigator who discovered Aotearoa |
| Kura Kaupapa |
Māori secondary school |
| Mana |
Strength, prestige, power |
| Manawatū |
Heart stood still |
| Manukau |
Wading bird |
| Māori |
Indigenous person of Aotearoa |
| Motungārara |
Insect or lizard island |
| Ōpōtiki |
The place of Potiki |
| Otago |
Correctly: Otakou - the place of red earth or ochre |
| Ōtaki |
To stick in (the place where the staff was stuck in the ground) |
| Paihia |
Good here (partial transliteration) |
| Pākehā |
White person |
| Rangitoto |
Blood sky |
| Rotorua |
(The) second lake |
| Ruapuke |
Two hills |
| Tāmaki |
Battle |
| Tauranga |
Sheltered anchorage |
| Te Herenga Waka |
The hitching post of the canoes |
| Te Kaha |
The rope (or boundary line) |
| Te Papa Tongarewa |
The Treasure Box (Our Place, The National Museum) |
| Te Puni Kōkiri |
The group moving forward (the Ministry of Māori Development) |
| Tokomaru |
An ancestral canoe, or a staff shelter |
| Waiapu |
Swallowing water |
| Waikanae |
Water, mullet (the glistening of the mullet) |
| Waikato |
Flowing water |
| Waimate |
Weeping water |
| Waitangi |
Weeping water |
| Wanganui |
(properly: Whanganui) Big harbour |
| Whakarewarewa |
To prepare for war |
| Whakatāne |
To act like a man |
Page Last Updated: 30 Aug 2006
