Te reo Māori (the Māori language) is the indigenous language of Aotearoa New Zealand, and while complete fluency levels are low, the use of phrases and signage are commonly integrated into the nation's vocabulary and identity. It is difficult to spend any time in Aotearoa without picking up at least a few phrases, and we would like to strongly encourage you to feel empowered using kupu reo Māori (Māori language words) in your RP! As such, I've prepared a list of common knowledge phrases for your characters to use throughout their day to day conversations. All phrases are linked to Te Aka Māori Dictionary, to give you additional context for their usage as well as a handy pronunciation example. All words/phrases included here are common knowledge, and used in casual day-to-day speech and communication by all residents of Aotearoa regardless of ethnicity or culture.
GREETINGS
Kia ora - Hello/thank you (casual)(eg; Kia ora, Rowan!/Oh, kia ora for the present you sent for Christmas!)
Tēnā koe/kōrua/koutou- Hello/thank you (formal) - see pronouns section for elaboration
(Eg; Tēnā koutou, students!/Tēnā koe Professor for helping with my thesis!)
Haere mai - Welcome/come in
(eg; Haere mai to the first woodworking workshop of the year!)
Ka kite anō au i a koe/kōrua/koutou - See you later (Usually
shortened to ka kite or ka kite anō in casual speech) - see pronouns section for elaboration
(eg; Text me when you get home from the pub, ka kite!)
(eg; Text me when you get home from the pub, ka kite!)
HOME LIFE
(eg; Wanna come round my whare to revise?)
Wharepaku - Lavatory(eg: I'll catch up with you guys, just gotta go to the wharepaku.)
Kai - Food(eg; I'm starving, wanna go get some kai from the hub?)
Wai - Water
(eg; I can't be bothered getting up, can you get me some wai?)
Paru - Dirty
(eg; It's your turn to vacuum, the flat is paru as!)
WORK/SCHOOL
Mahi - Work
(eg; I hope you all put in plenty of mahi on last week's essay!/I've gotta go, gotta get to mahi!)
Kura - School
(eg; Where did you go to kura?)
Whare Wānanga - Tertiary school
(eg; I was lookin into courses at Te Wānanga o Aotearoa.)
Kōrero - Talk/conversation/speech
(eg; We need to have a kōrero about the plagiarism in your last essay./Kia ora class, today's kōrero is about the difference between copper and bronze.)
(eg; We need to have a kōrero about the plagiarism in your last essay./Kia ora class, today's kōrero is about the difference between copper and bronze.)
Pātai - Question
(eg; Does anyone have any pātai before we continue?)
Whakarongo mai - Listen
(eg; Alright class, whakarongo mai, time to get your notes out!)
Kaiako - Teacher
(eg; What do you think about the new kaiako?)
Tauira - Student
(eg; My tauira are all late with this week's essay.)
Pukapuka - Book
(eg; I need a new pukapuka mahi, I've taken too many notes this semester.)
E noho - Sit down
(eg; Alright guys, e noho, let's get this workshop started.)OTHER USEFUL PHRASES/CONCEPTS
Ka pai - Good/well done
(eg; That spell came out beautifully, ka pai!)Kia kaha - Stay strong/keep going
(eg; Kia kaha to everyone studying for their finals!)
Tautoko - Support
(eg; I'm going to tautoko Rowan at his appointment tomorrow.)
Mihi - Greet/acknowledge
(eg; Oh man there's my auntie, I better go say a quick mihi.)
Koha - Gift/donation/informal payment
(eg; This community workshop is koha entry./Here's some koha for your help volunteering.)
Tou parahua - An insult/swear word. The strength depends on the intensity of how it's delivered & the context.
(eg; Hey, were you hitting on my girl? Tou parahua!)
Parakaeto - A swear word. (Can also mean dung.) The strength depends on the intensity of how it's delivered & the context.
(eg; Parakaeto! I'm late for class!)
ENVIRONMENT
Taiao - Nature
(eg; I've been so cooped up, I need to get out into te taiao.)
Ao - World
(eg; The Ao is full of so much beauty.)
Awa - River
(eg; I'm gonna go for a swim down the awa, anyone wanna come?)
Maunga - Mountain
(eg; I love climbing maunga, I'd love to try Aoraki some day.)
Moana - Ocean/other large body of water
(eg; How cold's the moana today?)
Ua - Rain
(eg; Ugh, we're in for ua all week.)
Whiti - Sunshine
(eg; I miss the summer whiti...)
Hau - Wind
(eg; I knew I shouldn't have moved to the city with the worst hau in the world...)
Putiputi - Flower
(eg; Your putiputi garden is coming along so well!)
Rākau - Tree/Wood(eg; What kind of rākau is that?)
Kōhatu - Stone
(eg; I'm so tired from carving kōhatu all evening.)
FAMILY & FRIENDS
Whānau - Family
(eg; Gonna go have dinner with the whānau this evening!)
(eg; Gonna go have dinner with the whānau this evening!)
Māmā - Mother
Pāpā - Father
Whaea - Aunt or respected adult woman (contextual)Matua - Uncle or respected adult man (contextual)
Tamaiti - Child
Tamariki - Children
Rangatahi - Teenager/young adult
Tama - Son
Tamāhine - Daughter
Kuia/Kui - Grandmother; elderly or respected older woman (contextual)
Koroua/Koro - Grandfather; elderly or respected older man (contextual)
Koroua/Koro - Grandfather; elderly or respected older man (contextual)
Kaumātua - Elder
Tuakana - Older sibling of the same gender (add macron over the a to pluralise)
Teina - Younger sibling of the same gender (add macron over the e to pluralise)
Tungāne - A female person's brother, regardless of birth order
Tuahine - A male person's sister, regardless of birth order
Tungāne - A female person's brother, regardless of birth order
Tuahine - A male person's sister, regardless of birth order
Mātāmua - Oldest sibling/child
Pōtiki - Youngest sibling
Irāmutu - Niece or Nephew
Tāne - Man/husband
Wāhine - Woman/wife
Mokopuna - Grandchild
Hoa - Friend (usually used as e hoa meaning "my friend")
Ngeru - Cat
Kurī - Dog
PRONOUNS
Ia - him/her/them, he/she/they (singular and gender-neutral) exclusive of listener
Tāua - We (two people) inclusive of listener and speaker
Tātou - We (three or more people) inclusive of listener and speaker
Māua - We (two people) exclusive of listener, inclusive of speaker
Mātou - We (three or more people) exclusive of listener, inclusive of speaker
Kōrua - You (two people) inclusive of listener, exclusive of speaker
Koutou - You (three or more people) inclusive of listener, exclusive of speaker
Rāua - They (two people) exclusive of listener and speaker
Rātou - They (three or more people) exclusive of listener and speaker
A note on pluralisation
Except for in specific contexts, all nouns in te reo Māori are used for both the singular and plural. An easy English equivalent is sheep - you can have one sheep, two sheep, or a hundred sheep, and the word is the same. Likewise, in te reo Māori you could have kotahi kiwi, rua kiwi, or kotahi rau kiwi, and the word is the same. There are specific exceptions in some cases for words like tipuna/tīpuna or tamaiti/tamariki, but the majority of the time all reo Māori nouns are both singular and plural, and this carries over to their use in English sentences. (eg; I can't believe I just saw a hundred kiwi!)
A note on macrons
Macrons are a crucial part of te reo Māori, and their use is not optional. Vowel length can dramatically change the meaning of a word, which makes it easy to inadvertently say something entirely different to what you were intending. An easy example is tāra/tara. Tāra means dollar, and tara means (among other things) vagina. Really not a mix up you want to make in a cafe! In a situation in which it isn't possible to use a macron for whatever reason, the grammar rule is to double the vowel instead. (eg; Hōhepa would become Hoohepa) In the Waikato dialect, this is the standard, and macrons are not used at all.
A final note
This is a long post, and may come across as intimidating to those for whom te reo Māori is not familiar. If you have any questions I strongly encourage you to PM me - I am not a fluent speaker but I have lived in Aotearoa my whole life and can give the local perspective, and I'll be able to easily find you resources for any situations I'm uncertain about myself. Ultimately though, I strongly encourage you to take the plunge and explore using te reo Māori in your characters speech, both to integrate them into the setting and to enrich your own experience of the world. And remember, effort is respect!