Te Wiki o te Reo Māori/Māori Language Week, 12–18 Mahuru (September) 2022
Interested in learning te reo Māori? Here are some mihi (greetings) and pronunciation tips to start you off:
Kia ora – Hello (also used to say ‘thanks’)
Kia ora kōrua – Hello to two people
Kia ora koutou – Hello to everyone
Tēnā koe – Hello (more formal than kia ora)
Tēnā koutou – Greetings (said to three or more people)
Nau mai, haere mai – Welcome
Kei te pēhea koe? – How’s it going?
Ka kite/Ka Kite anō – See you later (informal)
Haere rā – Goodbye (said to someone who is leaving)
E noho rā – Goodbye (said to someone who is leaving)
Kia ora is a general expression of appreciation, as well as a greeting.
Tēnā koe (to one person), tēnā kōrua (to two people) or tēnā koutou (to three or more people) also mean thank you.
Ngā mihi – Acknowledgements
Te reo Māori consists of five vowel sounds:
i (‘i’ like the ‘ee’ in ‘tree’)
u (‘u’ like an ‘o’ in ‘to’)
Vowels can be long or short. A long vowel is signified with a macron above it. For example:
a (short vowel), as is papa (earth)
ā (long vowel), as in pāpā (father)
In addition to the eight consonants that sound similar to those in English—h, k, m, n, p, r, t and w—there is also ‘wh’ (similar to the English ‘f’) and ‘ng’ (sounds like the last half of the English word ‘sing’).
Tamata i te reira; try it out!
Don’t let whakamā (embarrassment) hold you back from giving it a go. Kia kaha katoa <3