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Basic Words
BELOW ARE JUST A FEW VERY BASIC MAORI WORDS - ADDITIONS/SUGGESTIONS ARE ALWAYS WELCOME.
NB. Different Iwi have different ways of spelling, pronunciation and regional dialect, therefore there are usually more than one meaning and spelling variants to most words.
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| MAORI | PAKEHA |
GENEALOGY
| WHAKAPAPA | GENEALOGY |
| WHANAU | FAMILY |
| IWI | TRIBE/PEOPLE |
| MOKAPUNA | GRANDCHILD |
| AITANGA | DESCENDANT |
| MATUA WAHINE | MOTHER |
| MATUA TANE | FATHER |
| TAMA TANE | SON |
| TAMAHINE | DAUGHTER |
| TIPUNA TANE | GRANDFATHER |
| TIPUNA WAHINE | GRANDMOTHER |
| WHAEA | AUNT |
| MATUA | UNCLE |
| IRAMUTU | NIECE |
| TAMA | NEPHEW |
| KAIHANA | COUSIN |
| WHANAUTANGA | BIRTH |
| HEMONGA | DEATH |
| MARENA | MARRIAGE |
| WEHENGA MARENA | DIVORCE |
NZ NATIONAL ANTHEM - GOD DEFEND NZ
| E Ihoa Atua | God of nations at thy feet |
| O nga Iwi Matoura | In the bonds of love we meet |
| Ata whaka rongona; | Hear our voices we entreat |
| Me aroha noa. | God defend our free land. |
| Kia hua ko te pai; | Guard Pacific's triple star |
| Kia tau to atawhai; | From the shafts of strife and war |
| Manaakitia mai | Make her praises heard afar |
| Aotearoa | God defend New Zealand. |
HAKA
| Ka mate! Ka mate! Ka ora! Ka ora! | I die! I die! I live! I live! |
| Tenei te tangata puhuru huru | This is the hairy man |
| Nana nei i tiki mai | who fetched the Sun |
| Whakawhiti te ra | And caused it to shine again |
| A upa... ne! ka upa... ne! | One upward step! Another upward step! |
| A upane kaupane whiti ra! | An upward step, another... the Sun shines!!! |
FIRST NAMES
| ATAMA | ADAM |
| ARAPETA | ALBERT |
| ARAPETI | ALFRED |
| ARIHI | ALICE |
| ANARU | ANDREW |
| ANI | ANNE |
| ATONI | ANTHONY |
| BENIAMINE | BENJAMIN |
| PERENARA | BERNARD |
| PURUHI | BRUCE |
| KARORAINA | CAROLINE |
| KATARINA | CATHERINE |
| HAARE | CHARLES |
| HARATA | CHARLOTTE |
| KIRITOPA | CHRISTOPHER |
| RANIERA | DANIEL |
| REWI | DAVE |
| RAWIRI | DAVID |
| RIANA | DIANA |
| TARATI | DOROTHY |
| ERUERA | EDWARD |
| IRIHAPETI | ELIZABETH |
| EHETARA | ESTHER |
| HAARE | HARRY |
| HENARE | HENRY |
| IHAPERA | ISABEL |
| HAKI | JACK |
| HAKOPA | JACOB |
| HEMI | JAMES |
| HENI | JANE |
| HONE | JOHN |
| HOHEPA | JOSEPH |
| HOHUA | JOSHUA |
| HUTITA | JUDITH |
| RUIHA | LOUISE |
| RUIHI | LUCY |
| MAKERE | MARGARET |
| MAAKA | MARK |
| MATENE | MARTIN |
| MAATA | MARTHA |
| MERE | MARY |
| MIKAERE | MICHAEL |
| NIKORA | NICHOLAS |
| PAORA | PAUL |
| PITA | PETER |
| PIRIPI | PHILLIP |
| KUINI | QUEENIE |
| RAHERA | RACHEL |
| RAU | RALPH |
| RIPEKA | REBECCA |
| RIHARI | RICHARD |
| RAPATA or ROPATA | ROBERT |
| RUTA | RUTH |
| HAMUERA | SAMUEL |
| HERA | SARAH |
| HEREWINI | SELWYN |
| TIPENE | STEVEN |
| HUHANA | SUSAN/SUSANNAH |
| TAMATI | THOMAS |
| TOMOTI | TIMOTHY |
| WIKITORIA | VICTORIA |
| WAATA | WALTER |
| WIREMU | WILLIAM |
| METE | SMITH |
NB. Before 1900 records usually give no first names for Maori people unless the Maori person
concerned lived with or was married to a Pakeha, or had a Pakeha parent.
BASIC WORDS
| AOTEAROA | LAND OF THE LONG WHITE CLOUD [NEW ZEALAND] |
| KIA ORA | HELLO |
| PAKEHA | EUROPEAN NEW ZEALANDER |
| KIWI | ALL NEW ZEALANDERS [SLANG] |
| MAORI | NATIVE PEOPLE |
| WHARE | HOUSE |
| MARAE | MEETING GROUND |
| NGERU | CAT |
| KURI | DOG |
| PATU | CLUB |
| KAI | FOOD |
| MOKO | TATTOO |
| TIKI | ORNAMENT |
| PIUPIU | FLAX SKIRT |
| TAIAHA | SPEAR |
| WHAKAIRO | CARVING |
| PAUA | ABALONE |
| WHARENUI | MEETING HOUSE |
| POUNAMU | GREENSTONE |
| HONGI | PRESS NOSES |
| TAPU | SACRED/FORBIDDEN |
NUMBERS
| TAHI | ONE |
| RUA | TWO |
| TORU | THREE |
| WHA | FOUR |
| RIMA | FIVE |
| ONO | SIX |
| WHITU | SEVEN |
| WARU | EIGHT |
| IWA | NINE |
| TEKAU | TEN |
| TEKAU MA TAHI | ELEVEN |
| TEKAU MA RUA | TWELVE |
| TEKAU MA TORU | THIRTEEN |
| TEKAU MA WHA | FOURTEEN |
| TEKAU MA RIMA | FIFTEEN |
| TEKAU MA ONO | SIXTEEN |
| TEKAU MA WHITU | SEVENTEEN |
| TEKAU MA WARU | EIGHTEEN |
| TEKAU MA IWA | NINETEEN |
| RUA TEKAU | TWENTY |
| TORU TEKAU | THIRTY |
| WHA TEKAU | FORTY |
| RIMA TEKAU | FIFTY |
| ONO TEKAU | SIXTY |
| WHITU TEKAU | SEVENTY |
| WARU TEKAU | EIGHTY |
| IWA TEKAU | NINETY |
| KOTAHI RAU | ONE HUNDRED |
MONTHS
| KOHI-TATEA / HANUERE | JANUARY |
| HUI-TANGURU / PEPUERE | FEBRUARY |
| POUTU-TE-RANGI / MAEHE | MARCH |
| PAENGA-WHAWHA / APERIRA | APRIL |
| HARATUA / MEI | MAY |
| PIPIRI / HUNE | JUNE |
| HONGONGOI / HURAE | JULY |
| HERE-TURI-KOKA / AKUHATA | AUGUST |
| MAHURU / HEPETEMA | SEPTEMBER |
| WHIRINGA-A-NUKU / OKETOPA | OCTOBER |
| WHIRINGA-ARANGI / NOEMA | NOVEMBER |
| HAKIHEA / TIHEMA | DECEMBER |
Many thanks to Carol Whyte for the Months of Sept, Oct, Nov & Dec
--------------------------- G E N E o N Z ---------------------------
NZ & Maori Genealogy
Carol Whyte, Auckland, New Zealand
http://www.geocities.com/wlorac
--------------------------- G E N E o N Z ---------------------------
SEASONS
| KOANGA | SPRING |
| RAUMATI | SUMMER |
| NGAHURU | AUTUMN |
| HOTOKE | WINTER |
COLOURS
| WHERO | RED |
| KIKORANGI | BLUE |
| KAKARIKI | GREEN |
| KOWHAI | YELLOW |
| MA | WHITE |
| PANGO | BLACK |
| PARAKARAKARA | ORANGE |
| MAWHERO | PINK |
| PARAONE | BROWN |
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Kia mau koe ki nga kupu o ou tupuna (hold fast to the words of your ancestors)
NZSG YouTube Clip
Whakapapa Research Guide
WHAKAPAPA: An introduction to researching Māori and Pākehā-Māori families, their history, heritage, and culture
