1. What does 'Kia ora' mean?
Hello
Kia ora is the most common Māori greeting. It also does double duty as thanks and as a general good wish.
2. How do you say 'yes' in te reo Māori?
Āe
Āe means yes. Its opposite, kāo, means no.
3. How do you say 'no' in te reo Māori?
Kāo
Kāo means no. Āe is its opposite, yes.
4. What is 'tahi' in English?
One
Tahi is the number one. Rua is two and toru is three.
5. What is 'rua' in English?
Two
Rua is the number two.
6. What does 'whānau' mean?
Family
Whānau means family, and often means the wider, extended family, not just parents and children.
7. What colour is 'mā'?
White
Mā means white. Its opposite, pango, means black.
8. What colour is 'pango'?
Black
Pango means black.
9. What does 'wai' mean?
Water
Wai means water. Kai, a similar-looking word, means food.
10. What does 'ka pai' mean?
Good, well done
Ka pai is a common way to say good, or well done.
11. What is 'toru' in English?
Three
Toru is the number three.
12. What is 'whā' in English?
Four
Whā is the number four.
13. What is 'rima' in English?
Five
Rima is the number five.
14. What is 'tekau' in English?
Ten
Tekau is the number ten.
15. What colour is 'whero'?
Red
Whero means red.
16. What colour is 'kōwhai'?
Yellow
Kōwhai means yellow. It shares its name with the yellow-flowered kōwhai tree.
17. What colour is 'kikorangi'?
Blue
Kikorangi means blue.
18. What does 'māmā' mean?
Mum
Māmā means mum. Pāpā means dad.
19. What does 'pāpā' mean?
Dad
Pāpā means dad.
20. What is 'kūmara'?
A sweet potato
Kūmara is a sweet potato, a food grown in New Zealand for centuries.
21. What day is 'Rāhina'?
Monday
Rāhina is Monday, the first weekday.
22. What day is 'Rātapu'?
Sunday
Rātapu is Sunday.
23. What does 'karu' mean?
Eye
Karu means eye.
24. What does 'ihu' mean?
Nose
Ihu means nose.
25. What does 'taringa' mean?
Ear
Taringa means ear.
26. What does 'tuakana' mean?
An older sibling of the same gender
Tuakana is an older brother (to a boy) or older sister (to a girl). Teina is the younger sibling in the same relationship.
27. What does 'teina' mean?
A younger sibling of the same gender
Teina is a younger sibling of the same gender. Tuakana is the older one.
28. How do you ask someone 'How are you?' in te reo?
Kei te pēhea koe?
Kei te pēhea koe? literally asks how you are travelling or feeling.
29. 'Kei te pai ahau' means what?
I am good
Kei te pai ahau is a common reply to Kei te pēhea koe?, meaning I am good.
30. 'He aha tēnei?' means what?
What is this?
He aha tēnei? asks what a nearby object is.
31. What is a 'kiwi'?
A flightless native bird
The kiwi is New Zealand's flightless national bird, and gave its name to New Zealanders.
32. What is a 'tūī'?
A native bird known for its song
The tūī is a native songbird known for its complex calls and the white tuft at its throat.
33. What does 'ua' mean?
Rain
Ua means rain.
34. What does 'hau' mean?
Wind
Hau means wind.
35. What does 'mahana' mean?
Warm
Mahana means warm.
36. What does a macron (the line over a vowel, like ā) do to a Māori word?
Makes the vowel sound longer
A macron shows the vowel is held longer. Getting it right can completely change a word's meaning.
37. Which of these words means 'cake'?
Keke
Keke, with short vowels, means cake. Kēkē, with a macron on both vowels, means armpit. The same trick applies to kākā, the native parrot: said with long vowels, kā-kā, not short ones.
38. Which of these words means 'armpit'?
Kēkē
Kēkē means armpit. Without the macrons, keke means cake, a completely different word.
39. How is 'wh' usually pronounced in te reo Māori?
Like an f sound
In most words and dialects, wh sounds like the English f. Whānau, for example, sounds roughly like 'fah-no'.
40. How is 'ng' pronounced in a word like 'tangata'?
As one soft sound, like the ng in 'singer'
Ng is a single sound, the same as the ng in the English word singer, with no hard g.
41. What is a marae?
A communal meeting ground and the buildings around it
A marae is a community's meeting grounds, centred on a wharenui, the meeting house.
42. What is a pōwhiri?
A formal welcome ceremony onto a marae
A pōwhiri is the formal process of welcoming visitors onto a marae.
43. What is a hongi?
A traditional greeting where two people press noses together
A hongi is a greeting where two people press noses (and often foreheads) together, sharing breath.
44. Who are 'manuhiri' at a pōwhiri?
The visitors being welcomed
Manuhiri are the visitors. The hosts, who belong to the marae, are called tangata whenua.
45. How do you ask 'What is your name?' in te reo?
Ko wai tō ingoa?
Ko wai tō ingoa? literally asks 'who is your name', and is answered with Ko [name] tōku ingoa.
46. If you are the one leaving, which farewell do you say to the people staying?
E noho rā
E noho rā means something like 'stay well' and is said by the person leaving. Haere rā, 'go well', is said by the person staying, to the one leaving.
47. If you are staying and someone else is leaving, which farewell do you say to them?
Haere rā
Haere rā, 'go well', is said to the person who is leaving. E noho rā is said by that person back to you, the one staying.
48. During a pōwhiri, the karanga, the ceremonial call that begins the welcome, is traditionally given by whom?
Women
The karanga, the calling that opens a pōwhiri, is traditionally performed by women of the home marae.
49. During a pōwhiri, whaikōrero, the formal speeches, are traditionally given by whom?
Men
Whaikōrero, formal oratory during a pōwhiri, is traditionally the role of men, though practice can vary between marae.
50. Who are 'tangata whenua' at a pōwhiri?
The hosts, the people of that land
Tangata whenua literally means people of the land, the hosts who belong to that marae.