Te reo Māori guides
How te reo Māori sounds, how it works, the words you meet first, and how to learn it.
Te reo Māori is the indigenous language of Aotearoa New Zealand and one of its official languages. These guides answer the questions people ask before and while they learn it: which words come first, how to say them, how to greet people and sign off an email, how to introduce yourself with a pepeha, what the proverbs, place names and Matariki stars mean, and how it compares with its Polynesian relatives.
Every Māori example is checked against Verbavia’s own course before a page is built, and where the course has a recording you can play it.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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 greetings for emails and everyday lifeKia 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 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
Learn te reo Māori with Verbavia
Verbavia’s free te reo Māori course starts with the most common words, explains the grammar properly, and plays every example in Papa Reo’s native te reo voice. One lesson a day, from your first word to B1.