Language guides: how each language works
Written by hand, with sources, for people deciding whether and how to learn.
These guides answer the questions people actually ask about a language before they start it: how different it really is from the language next door, how its sounds work, how it is written, how hard it is, and whether it has a future. Each one cites the research it relies on, and every example in a language is checked against that course’s own vocabulary before the page is built.
Shanghainese
Shanghainese is the language of Shanghai and about fifteen million people around it. It is not a dialect of Mandarin — the two are not mutually intelligible — but it is written with the same characters, which is why so much of what is written about it in English quietly treats it as Mandarin with an accent.
These forty-seven guides are the exception. They cover the sound system consonant by consonant, the grammar, the family it belongs to, how it compares with Mandarin, Cantonese and its Wu neighbours, which romanisation to use, how hard it is and what there is to learn from. Every Shanghainese example is checked against the course’s own deck before the page is built, so no example here is quietly Mandarin and every recording is a Shanghainese voice.
All 47 Shanghainese guides · the free Shanghainese course · the most common Shanghainese words
How it sounds
- Shanghainese tones and tone sandhi, explained properlyShanghainese has five tones, but inside a word only the first syllable keeps its own. How the tones work, the sandhi patterns, and how to learn them.
- Shanghainese pronunciation: the sounds, one by oneEvery Shanghainese initial and final, with IPA, the course’s spelling and a recorded example word — including the voiced consonants Mandarin lost.
- Which Shanghainese romanisation should you use?Three rival systems, none official, and no two textbooks agreeing. Which one to learn, how to read it, and how to convert between them.
- Which Chinese language has the most tones?Cantonese nine or six, Shanghainese five or two, and a Guangxi variety famous for ten that actually has six. Why the question has no clean answer.
How it is put together
- How Shanghainese is written, and why there’s no standardShanghainese is written in Chinese characters, with rival spellings for some common words and several romanisations. Why there’s no standard.
- Shanghainese grammar: how sentences actually workThe pronouns, the copula, negation, aspect and where things are — the grammar that makes a sentence Shanghainese rather than Mandarin.
- Shanghainese pronounsSix words, no gender and no case — and the fastest way to tell Shanghainese from Mandarin. The full paradigm, possessives, and where 阿拉 came from.
- Shanghainese question words: how to ask anythingWhat, who, where, when, why and how in Shanghainese: none is the Mandarin word, one is a false friend, and one particle asks anything.
The Wu family, and where Shanghainese sits in it
- Is Shanghainese a language or a dialect?By the test linguists usually apply, Shanghainese is a separate language from Mandarin. So why is it still called a dialect in Chinese?
- Is Shanghainese dying?Millions still speak Shanghainese, but fewer young people in Shanghai grow up using it. What the surveys show, why it declined, and what is being done.
- Wu Chinese: the family Shanghainese belongs toWu is a branch of Chinese with about 83 million speakers, of which Shanghainese is one variety. Its groups, where each sits, and what holds them together.
Set beside the languages it is compared with
- Shanghainese vs Cantonese: two survivals of Middle ChineseBoth are Chinese languages that are not Mandarin, and they are not close. Tones, consonants, writing and status compared — and what each one kept.
- Shanghainese vs Suzhou, Ningbo and HangzhouThe three Wu varieties nearest Shanghai, how far each is from Shanghainese, whether they are mutually intelligible, and which one shaped the city’s speech.
- Shanghainese vs Wenzhounese: two Wu languagesBoth are Wu and they cannot understand each other. What separates northern from southern Wu, and what is actually true about Wenzhounese as a wartime code.
Learning it
- Is Shanghainese hard to learn?An honest answer: easier grammar and easier tones than Mandarin, a harder sound system, and almost no materials. What it takes, and how long.
- Learn Shanghainese online, free: every resource worth usingEvery free way to learn Shanghainese online — courses, YouTube, podcasts, recorded sentences, dictionaries and flashcards — and what each is good for.
- How long does it take to learn Shanghainese?Nobody has measured it. The FSI has no Shanghainese entry, so every figure online is borrowed from Mandarin. Here is what that number is worth.
Counting, counters and verbs
- Shanghainese numbers: counting, prices, dates and timeZero to ten thousand in Shanghainese, with recordings: the one-syllable word for twenty, and what tone sandhi does to a number.
- Shanghainese verbs and aspect: 仔, 勒海 and 过Shanghainese verbs never change form. What they take instead: 仔 for a finished action, 勒海 for one in progress, 过, 脱, and the negators 呒没 and 勿曾.
- Shanghainese classifiers and measure wordsThe Shanghainese classifiers Mandarin doesn’t have (爿 for shops, 桩 for matters, 眼 for a little) and the five different jobs of 个.
Typing it, watching it, hearing it
- How to type ShanghaineseThe one real Shanghainese input method (Rime with the Wugniu schema) on every platform, the pinyin workaround, and the particle phones can’t draw.
- Blossoms Shanghai in Shanghainese: the dialect versionWong Kar-wai’s Blossoms Shanghai aired in two languages. Which version is which, where to stream it, and the Shanghainese words that caught on.
- Shanghainese on screen and in song: films, TV and musicThe films and series with real Shanghainese dialogue, the ones wrongly listed as Shanghainese, and the music that is actually in the language.
Out in the city
- Shanghainese phrases for visitorsThe Shanghainese phrases worth knowing on a trip to Shanghai, with characters, pronunciation and recordings, and the one phrase to avoid.
- Shanghainese food: dishes and noodles, and how to say themShanghai's famous dishes and noodles with their Shanghainese names and readings, the Mandarin habit to avoid for each, and enough to order.
- Telling the time, dates and prices in ShanghaineseThe clock, the calendar and the cost, in Shanghainese — 礼拜 rather than 星期, 今朝 rather than 今天, 铜钿 rather than 钱, and the coin word Shanghai kept.
How it got this way
- The foreign words in Shanghainese, and Yangjingbang pidginThe English and Russian words Shanghainese took in through the concessions, the pidgin named after a filled-in creek, and which etymologies are true.
- Literary and colloquial readings in ShanghaineseWhy some Shanghainese characters have two pronunciations, which one goes in which word, and why the everyday reading is usually the older of the two.
- Old and new Shanghainese: 170 years of changeShanghainese has lost tones and vowel endings within living memory. How old, middle and new speakers differ, and which one a learner should copy.
Coming to it from Mandarin
- Shanghainese vs Mandarin: what’s actually differentShanghainese and Mandarin share a writing system but not a spoken language. The words, sounds, tones and grammar that separate them.
- Can Mandarin speakers understand Shanghainese?No, and there is an experiment with numbers. Why comprehension runs one way only, and what a Mandarin speaker does and does not catch.
- Shanghainese for Mandarin speakers: what transfersThe characters transfer, the readings do not, the pronouns do not at all. An honest inventory of what your Mandarin buys you and what it will cost you.
The words themselves
- Shanghainese slang, and the words you will actually hearThe everyday Shanghainese that textbooks leave out: praise, insults, the treaty-port loanwords from English, and what the profanity actually is.
- Shanghainese family words: mother, father, grandparentsWhat Shanghai families actually call each other — 姆妈 rather than 妈妈, 阿奶 and 老爹 rather than 奶奶 and 爷爷 — and why the older words are going first.
Chinese beyond Shanghai
- What is a Chinese topolect?方言 is not “dialect”, and the mistranslation causes real confusion. Where topolect came from, what it fixes, and the argument on the other side.
- The Chinese languages, by number of speakersMandarin, Min, Wu, Yue, Jin, Gan, Hakka, Xiang — how big each branch is, where it is spoken, and why the numbers you find disagree with each other.
- Are Chinese topolects dying?Putonghua went from about half of China to 80% in twenty years. What that did to the other varieties, and why the big ones aren’t formally endangered.
- Why most Chinese topolects have no written standardWritten Chinese is Mandarin in characters. How Cantonese built its own written form anyway, why Shanghainese didn’t, and how the characters get made.
Starting out
- What language is spoken in Shanghai?Mandarin is the language of school, work and signs; Shanghainese is the city’s own. Who speaks which, how different they are, and where you hear each.
- Hello, thank you and goodbye in ShanghaineseHow to say hello, thank you and goodbye in Shanghainese, with recordings and pronunciation — and the Mandarin word that gives you away in each.
Word by word, counted
- 50 words that differ in Shanghainese and MandarinFifty everyday words that are different in Shanghainese and Mandarin, side by side, with characters, pronunciation and a recording of each.
- Which Shanghainese words survive, and which fadedShanghainese words counted in 1868 and 1907 textbooks and in speech today: the core has held, a few old words are gone, and Mandarin has a foothold.
Festivals and greetings
- Chinese New Year greetings in 3 Chinese languagesChinese New Year greetings in Mandarin, Cantonese and Shanghainese, side by side, with characters and pronunciation, for the Year of the Goat in 2027.
- Happy birthday in Shanghainese, and other wishesHappy birthday in Shanghainese, with cheers, congratulations, Merry Christmas and wedding wishes, beside Mandarin and Cantonese, and how to answer.
Questions people ask about it
- Why does Shanghainese sound like Japanese?Why Shanghainese sounds like Japanese: voiced consonants Mandarin lost, tones that act like a pitch accent, and the old readings the two share.
- What does Shanghai mean? The name and the verbWhat does Shanghai mean? 上海 is read as “on the sea”, but the name came from a creek. Plus Hu and Shen, and why “to shanghai” means to kidnap.
- How to say I love you in ShanghaineseI love you in Shanghainese is 我爱侬 ngu e non. Here it is beside Mandarin and Cantonese, with the gentler ways people say it: I like you, I miss you.
Māori
Te reo Māori is the indigenous language of Aotearoa New Zealand. These guides cover the words a beginner meets first, how the language sounds and is spelt, everyday greetings and numbers, and how it relates to Hawaiian and the other Polynesian languages.
All 95 Māori guides · the free Māori course · the most common Māori words
Starting out
- How many Māori words do you need to know?How many Māori words do you need? What the 100, 500 and 1,000 most common words cover of real te reo Māori, measured, and why the answer is so few.
- Is te reo Māori hard to learn?Is te reo Māori hard to learn? Spelling and verbs are easy; possession, verb-first order and finding people to talk to are the real work.
- How many people speak Māori? The census figuresHow many people speak Māori? 213,849 in New Zealand’s 2023 Census, 4.3% of the country. What that figure measures, and how te reo came back.
Sounds and spelling
- Māori pronunciation guide: vowels, wh, ng and macronsA Māori pronunciation guide: the five vowels and their long forms, what a macron does, how to say wh, ng and r, and NZ place names said properly.
- Māori place names and what they meanWhat Māori place names mean: the words they are built from, the meanings of Aotearoa, Taupō, Rotorua and more, and the 85-letter hill.
- How to type Māori macrons on any deviceHow to type Māori macrons (ā ē ī ō ū) on Windows, Mac, iPhone and Android, step by step, with capitals, Word, Google Docs and double vowels.
Everyday Māori
- Māori words in New Zealand English, and what they meanKia ora, whānau, kai, mahi, hui, mana: the Māori words used in New Zealand English, grouped by where you hear them, with meanings and pronunciation.
- Māori email greetings and sign-offs: Kia ora to Nāku noa, nāKia ora, tēnā koe, kōrua or koutou, ngā mihi, nāku noa, nā: Māori greetings and email sign-offs, what each means, and templates to copy.
- Māori numbers, days of the week and monthsMāori numbers from 1 to 1,000 and beyond, counting things and people, ordinals, the time, and both sets of names for the days and months.
- Māori family words: whānau, tamariki, mokopuna, kuiaMāori family words: whānau, mātua, tamariki, mokopuna, kuia and koro, and the four words for brother and sister that depend on who is speaking.
Māori and its relatives
- Māori vs Hawaiian: how similar are they?Māori and Hawaiian are close Polynesian relatives: the same words with regular sound shifts, the same grammar, and limited mutual understanding.
- Māori vs Samoan and Tongan: how similar are they?Māori, Samoan and Tongan share their basic words through regular sound changes: kai is ʻai in Samoan. Which letters change, and which one is closer.
Culture, proverbs and ideas
- Pepeha: how to introduce yourself in MāoriHow to write a pepeha: each line’s grammar (ko, tōku, nō), a full example with a translation, and what published guidance says for non-Māori.
- Whakataukī: Māori proverbs and what they mean24 well-known whakataukī (Māori proverbs) grouped by occasion, each with a literal translation, its meaning, when to use it and where it comes from.
- Matariki: the stars, words and phrases explainedThe nine Matariki stars and what each stands for, what Mānawatia a Matariki means, and every Matariki public holiday date set out in law.
- Māori words with no English equivalentMana, tapu, noa, utu, aroha, whanaungatanga: Māori words with no English equivalent, what each means, and why one English word falls short.
Choosing how to learn
- The best way to learn te reo Māori in 2026The best way to learn te reo Māori in 2026: free courses, classes, immersion wānanga, apps and media compared on cost, time and speaking practice.
- The best apps to learn te reo Māori, comparedThe best apps to learn te reo Māori in 2026, compared on price, depth, audio and level: Verbavia, Asalei, uTalk, Kōrerorero, Drops, Ling and more.
- Is te reo Māori on Duolingo? The answer in 2026Is te reo Māori on Duolingo? No: as of October 2026 there is no Māori course. What was announced in 2020, what happened, and where to learn instead.
- Free te reo Māori courses: online and in personFree te reo Māori courses as of October 2026: Verbavia, the wānanga, kura pō and free online resources, with exactly who qualifies for each.
Learning it in practice
- English to Māori translation: what Google can’t knowEnglish to Māori translation: what Google Translate and other tools can’t know from English, and when to use Te Aka or a licensed translator.
- Te reo Māori for teachers: classroom phrasesTe reo Māori classroom phrases for teachers: greetings, the roll, instructions, praise, the date and weather, and where to build real fluency.
- Learn Māori for beginners: your first 30 daysLearn Māori for beginners: a 30-day plan at 15–20 minutes a day. Sounds, greetings, pepeha, ko and he sentences, kei te and the tense markers.
Getting started
- Common Māori phrases for everyday useCommon Māori phrases for everyday use: thank you, how are you, sorry, please, yes and no, good luck, well done, let’s go and phrases for work.
- How long does it take to learn te reo Māori?How long does it take to learn te reo Māori? Published hours for A1, A2 and B1, and what 10 or 20 minutes a day reaches in 1, 3, 6 and 12 months.
- Te reo Māori for kids: words, songs, learning togetherTe reo Māori for kids: first words, numbers, praise and waiata, free resources for tamariki, and how a whānau can learn te reo together at home.
How the grammar works
- Māori sentence structure: how a sentence is builtMāori sentence structure and word order explained: the verb comes first, a small word in front sets the tense, and there is no verb “to be”.
- Māori a and o categories: tāku or tōku? ExplainedThe a and o categories in te reo Māori: why “my” is tāku or tōku, which things take which, every possessive form, and the neutral form that is never wrong.
- Māori pronouns: tāua, māua, tātou and mātouMāori pronouns explained: one, two, or three or more people, and four words for “we” that say whether the listener is included. With examples.
Words by topic
- Māori colours: ngā tae, from whero to kiwikiwiThe Māori colours with pronunciation: whero, kahurangi, kākāriki, kōwhai and the rest, where each word comes from, and how to say what colour something is.
- Māori body parts: ngā wāhanga o te tinanaMāori body parts with pronunciation, from upoko and kanohi to ringa and waewae, the words that cover two parts at once, and how to say what hurts.
At work
Names, haka and heritage
- Māori baby names and their meaningsMāori baby names and their meanings: girls’, boys’ and either, by theme, with how to say them and New Zealand’s most popular Māori names for 2025–26.
- Ka Mate haka: the words and what they meanThe words of the Ka Mate haka line by line, with a literal translation, the story of Te Rauparaha’s escape, and what the 2014 Act asks of anyone using it.
- Kapa haka explained: poi, haka, waiata-ā-ringaWhat kapa haka means, the six items of a bracket from whakaeke to whakawātea, poi and the kinds of haka, the words you hear, and Te Matatini.
Birds, animals and food
- Māori names for native birds and animalsMāori names for native birds and animals: tūī, kererū, ruru, kea, tuatara, wētā and more, how to say them, what they mean, and which are threatened.
- Māori food words: kai, kūmara, hāngī, rēwenaMāori food words explained: what kai means, what a hāngī is, rēwena bread, kūmara, pūhā, seafood, loanwords, table phrases and a karakia for food.
- Māori words for nature: land, sea, sky, forestMāori words for nature: whenua (land), maunga (mountain), wai (water), moana, awa, ngahere, rangi and more, with Te Aka meanings and easy sentences.
Dialects and close neighbours
- Māori vs Cook Islands Māori: the same language?Cook Islands Māori is a separate language from New Zealand Māori: whare is ʻare, kia ora is kia orāna. The sound rules, the islands and who speaks it.
- Māori dialects: Kāi Tahu’s k and Whanganui’s hMāori dialects differ in sound and in a few words: Kāi Tahu say k for ng, Whanganui turns h into a glottal stop, Tūhoe say n, Ngāpuhi say haka-.
Pōwhiri and karakia
- Pōwhiri explained: what happens and what you hearWhat happens at a pōwhiri, step by step: the karanga, speeches, waiata, koha, hongi and kai, what each Māori word means, and what to do as a guest.
- Karakia for meetings: opening and closingKarakia for meetings, explained: Whakataka te hau and a closing karakia word by word, where they come from, the ending, and using them at work.
- Parts of a marae, with a labelled diagramThe parts of a marae, labelled: waharoa, marae ātea, paepae, wharenui, wharekai, and the front of a meeting house from koruru and maihi to amo.
Songs, the anthem and Māori Language Week
- The New Zealand national anthem in MāoriThe New Zealand national anthem in Māori: all five verses of Aotearoa, the first line by line beside Bracken’s English, its history and how to say it.
- Pōkarekare Ana lyrics, translation and storyThe Pōkarekare Ana lyrics in te reo Māori with a word-by-word translation, what the famous lines mean, who wrote it, and how it reached the world.
- Te Wiki o te Reo Māori: history and phrasesTe Wiki o te Reo Māori, Māori Language Week: the 1972 petition behind it, the 2026 dates, the slogans and what they mean, and easy ways to take part.
- Pō Atarau lyrics (Now Is the Hour) and storyThe Pō Atarau lyrics in Māori and English, word by word: who wrote Now Is the Hour, the farewell song in Project Hail Mary, and how to say it.
Love, birthdays and kia kaha
- I love you in Māori, and other words of loveI love you in Māori: kei te aroha au ki a koe, ka nui taku aroha ki a koe. What aroha means, terms of endearment, and signing off with love.
- What does kia kaha mean? Grammar and usesKia kaha means “be strong”: the grammar it shares with kia ora, when New Zealanders say it, kia kaha, kia māia, kia manawanui, and how to say it.
- Happy birthday in Māori, and the Rā Whānau songHappy birthday in Māori is Rā whānau or Hari huritau: what the words mean, the birthday song line by line, and the words for cake, candles, cards and age.
Directions and position
- Directions in Māori: runga, raro, mauī, matauDirections in Māori: runga and raro, mua and muri, mauī and matau, the words for north, south, east and west, and how to ask the way.
- Shapes in Māori: porowhita, tapawhā, tapatoruShapes in Māori with pronunciation: porowhita, tapatoru, tapawhā rite and the rest, 3D shapes from poi to koeko, and sentences for the classroom.
Health and wellbeing
- Takiwātanga: the Māori word for autismTakiwātanga, the Māori word for autism, means “his or her own time and space”. Who made it, how it is built, and how to use it.
- Te Whare Tapa Whā and Māori health modelsTe Whare Tapa Whā word by word: whare, tapa, whā, the four taha and whenua, plus Te Wheke’s eight arms, Te Pae Mahutonga and the word hauora.
Words for people, pets and feelings
- What does Pākehā mean? Origin and usePākehā is the Māori word for a New Zealander of European descent. What it covers, where it comes from, whether it is offensive, and how to say it.
- Māori words for feelings and emotionsMāori words for feelings with pronunciation: happy, sad, angry, scared, worried, lonely, tired and shy, and how to say how you feel.
- Māori pet names and dog names, with meaningsMāori pet names and dog names with meanings: colours, stars, birds, food and character words, how to say them, and commands to use with a dog.
Songs and films
- Māori songs everyone knows, and what they meanMāori songs everyone knows in New Zealand: Tūtira Mai, Te Aroha, Hine e Hine, Pōkarekare Ana, Poi E and more, who wrote them and what they mean.
- Māori movies and Disney films in te reo MāoriMāori movies for learners: Moana, Frozen and The Lion King in te reo, films made in Māori, TV for beginners, and how to learn from what you watch.
Loss and condolence
- Condolences in Māori, and what moe mai rā meansCondolences in Māori: moe mai rā word by word, other ways to say rest in peace, short sympathy messages to copy, and what visitors do at a tangihanga.
- Hura kōhatu: the Māori headstone unveilingHura kōhatu, the Māori headstone unveiling: what the words mean, why it comes about a year after the tangi, what happens on the day, and the words to know.
Symbols, flags and legends
- Māori symbols and meanings: koru to hei tikiWhat Māori symbols mean: koru, hei tiki, manaia, hei matau and toki, what pounamu is and who owns it, and which popular meanings are modern.
- The Māori flag: its name, colours and historyThe Māori flag is the Tino Rangatiratanga flag: what the name means, what its black, white, red and koru stand for, who designed it and when it is flown.
- Māori mythical creatures: taniwha to patupaiareheMāori mythical creatures explained: taniwha, patupaiarehe, tūrehu, kēhua, ponaturi, ngārara and the pouākai, what each word means and where they lived.
Slang and swearing
- Māori slang: chur, meke, uce, cuz and their rootsChur, cuz, bro, uce, meke, half-pie: which Kiwi slang is really Māori, which is English or Samoan, and where each word comes from, with dates.
- Māori swear words and insults: why to be carefulMāori swear words and curses with how strong each is: pokokōhua, kai a te kurī, tō tero, what teke means, and why a boiled head is the worst insult.
The moon and the calendar
- Maramataka: Māori moon calendar, night by nightThe maramataka is the Māori lunar calendar: the names of the moon’s nights, what each was good for in fishing and planting, and tonight’s moon.
- Four seasons in Māori: raumati to kōangaThe four seasons in Māori: raumati, ngahuru, hōtoke and kōanga, the months each covers in Aotearoa, how to say them, and the sayings of the Māori year.
What the words Māori and te reo mean
Haka beyond Ka Mate
- Kapa o Pango meaning: the haka line by lineWhat Kapa o Pango means line by line, from Te Aka’s word meanings and the published translations, who wrote it, the throat gesture, and Ka Mate compared.
- Tika Tonu haka lyrics, meaning and actionsThe Tika Tonu haka in full with a word-for-word meaning, what tika tonu means, the actions the words call for, who composed it and when it is performed.
- Māori weapons: taiaha, patu, mere and wahaikaMāori weapons names and meanings: taiaha, tewhatewha, pouwhenua, patu, mere pounamu, wahaika and kotiate, what each was made of and how it was used.
Prayer and church
- The Lord’s Prayer in Māori, with EnglishThe Lord’s Prayer in Māori from a Catholic prayer book of about 1910, with the English beside it, a word-by-word translation and help saying it.
- E Toru Ngā Mea lyrics, meaning and Bible verseThe E Toru Ngā Mea lyrics in te reo Māori with a line-by-line translation, the Bible verse they sing, 1 Corinthians 13:13, and help saying them.
Names for teams, groups, businesses and universities
- Māori team names, business names and boat namesMāori team names and meanings, plus names for groups, businesses and boats: each word’s Te Aka meaning, how to say it, and what to check first.
- Māori names of NZ universities and what they meanThe Māori names of NZ universities, from Waipapa Taumata Rau to Te Herenga Waka: what each university says its name means, and how to say it.
Speaking and singing at gatherings
- Waiata tautoko: what they are and which to singWaiata tautoko explained: the song sung after each speech, who leads it, and easy ones named for work, pōwhiri, tangi and graduation.
- Poroporoaki: Māori farewell speeches and wordsPoroporoaki means farewell: what a Māori farewell speech holds, lines for a colleague leaving work, what the leaver says back, and a card to copy.
Weddings
Instruments and Poi E
- Poi E: meaning, translation and the Pātea storyWhat Poi E means, verse by verse with the key words translated, who wrote it, and how a closed freezing works in Pātea gave New Zealand a number one.
- Māori musical instruments: taonga puoro by nameMāori musical instruments, taonga puoro, by name: kōauau, pūtōrino, nguru, pūtātara, pūrerehua and more, what each word means and what each sounds like.
Cloaks and the Kīngitanga
- Māori cloaks: korowai, kahu huruhuru, graduationMāori cloaks explained: what korowai means, the feather, kiwi and dogskin cloaks, how kākahu are woven, and why graduates wear a korowai.
- Māori kings and queens in order, and the wordsEvery Māori king and queen in order with the dates of each reign, how a new monarch is chosen, and the words kīngi, kuīni, Kīngitanga and Tūrangawaewae.
Song by song
- Me He Manu Rere lyrics, meaning and actionsWhat the Me He Manu Rere lyrics mean, word by word from Te Aka, who wrote the song, who made it famous, and what is known about its actions.
- E Ipo meaning: Prince Tui Teka’s love songWhat E Ipo means, part by part with Te Aka’s meanings for its words, and how Prince Tui Teka’s 1982 love song to his wife Missy went to number one.
- Tōku reo, tōku ohooho: meaning and lyricsTōku reo, tōku ohooho, the whakatauākī and the 1987 waiata: the saying word by word, how it is translated, who said it, and what the song says.
Ideas and values
- What does tikanga mean? Examples and kawaWhat does tikanga mean? The right Māori way of doing things: Te Aka’s meanings, everyday examples, tikanga and kawa compared, and tikanga in NZ law.
- Ka mua ka muri: walking backwards into the futureKa mua, ka muri means walking backwards into the future: why mua is the front and the past, muri the back and the future, and the saying’s longer form.
Kōhanga reo and kura
Friends and friendship
Borrowed words
Rugby and sport
Waka
Test yourself
Christmas and the new year
More languages
Verbavia teaches nine languages on the web and sixteen in all, and a set of guides like the ones above is being written for each of them in turn. Shanghainese came first because it needed it most: it shares Mandarin’s characters, so almost everything written about it in English treats it as Mandarin with an accent, and a learner has no way to tell from the page which language they are reading.
Until the others are written, the frequency word lists cover every open course — the most common words in each, with translations and, where the writing system needs it, pronunciation.