List of English words of Māori origin

The following English words are loanwords from the Māori language. Many of them concern native New Zealand flora and fauna that were known prior to the arrival of Europeans in New Zealand. Other terms relate to Māori customs. All of these words are commonly encountered in New Zealand English, and several (such as kiwi) are widely used across other varieties of English, and in other languages.

The Māori alphabet includes both long and short vowels, which change the meaning of words.^[1] For most of the 20th century, these were not indicated by spelling, except sometimes as double vowels (paaua). Since the 1980s, the standard way to indicate long vowels is with a macron (pāua). Since about 2015, macrons have rapidly become standard usage for Māori loanwords in New Zealand English in media, law, government, and education.^[2] Recently some anglicised words have been replaced with spellings that better reflect the original Māori word (Whanganui for Wanganui, Remutaka for Rimutaka).^[3]^[4]

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Flora and fauna

The accepted English common names of a number of species of animal and plant native to New Zealand are simply their Māori names or a close equivalent:

huhu: a type of large beetle
huia: a recently extinct bird, much prized traditionally by Māori for its feathers
kākā: a native parrot
kākāpō: a rare native bird
kahikatea: a type of large tree
katipō: a venomous native spider
kauri: large conifer in the Araucariaceae
kea: a parrot, the world's only alpine parrot
kererū: the native wood pigeon
kina: the sea-urchin, eaten as a delicacy
kiwi: the bird, a New Zealander, or (but not in New Zealand English) kiwifruit
kōkako: a rare type of bird
kōwhai: a type of flowering tree
kūmara: sweet potato
mako: a shark, considered a magnificent fighting game fish
mamaku: a type of large tree fern
moa: extinct giant flightless bird
pāua: abalone
pōhutukawa: a type of flowering tree
ponga (also spelt punga): the silver fern, often used as a symbol for New Zealand
pūkeko: a wading bird, the purple swamphen
rātā: a type of flowering tree
rimu: a tree, the red pine
takahē: a rare wading bird
tarakihi: a common fish, though often mispronounced in English as ‘tera-kee’.
toheroa: a shellfish
tōtara: an evergreen tree
tuatara: rare lizard-like reptile, not closely related to any other living species
tūī: the parson bird
weka: a flightless bird of the rail family
wētā: a large native insect, similar to a cricket
whekī: a type of tree fern

Placenames

Thousands of Māori placenames (with or without anglicisation) are now official in New Zealand. These include:

Territorial authorities: Waikato, Manawatū, Tauranga, Taranaki, Otago^[5]
Cities: Porirua, Rotorua, Tauranga, Timaru, Whanganui, Whangārei
Tourist destinations: Aoraki / Mount Cook, Tongariro, Manapouri, Moeraki, Wakatipu, Te Anau, Waitomo

Many New Zealand rivers and lakes have Māori names; these names predominantly use the prefixes wai- (water) and roto- (lake) respectively. Examples include the Waikato, Waipa and Waimakariri rivers, and lakes Rotorua, Rotomahana and Rotoiti.

Some Treaty of Waitangi settlements have included placename changes.

A Māori name for New Zealand, Aotearoa, has gained some currency as a more acceptable alternative. It appears in the names of some political parties, e.g. Green Party of Aotearoa New Zealand and Communist Party of Aotearoa.

Other words and phrases

Terraces on Maungawhau / Mount Eden marking the sites of the defensive palisades and ditches of this former pā

Waka taua (war canoes) at the Bay of Islands, 1827–8. The word has also given rise to the phrase waka-jumping, in New Zealand politics.

aroha: love, sympathy, compassion
arohanui: "lots of love", commonly as a valediction^[6]^[7]
haere mai and haere ra: welcome and goodbye (respectively)
haka: traditional Māori dance, not always a war dance, often performed by New Zealand sports teams to 'challenge' opponents; see Haka of the All Blacks
hāngī: (1) earth oven used to cook large quantities of food (2) the food cooked in the hāngī
hapū: clan or subtribe, part of an iwi
hīkoi: march or walk, especially a symbolic walk such as a protest march
hongi: traditional Māori greeting featuring the pressing together of noses and sharing of breath
hui: meeting, conference
iwi: tribe
kai: food^[8]
kai moana: sea food
kapa haka: a cultural festival or music and dance
ka pai: very pleasant, good, fine
karakia: sung prayer or welcome
kaupapa: policy or principle, credo, methodology or theoretical foundation
kāwanatanga: transliteration of the English word "governance," sometimes mistranslated as "sovereignty." See also: tino rangatiratanga and Differences in the Māori and English versions of the Treaty of Waitangi
kia kaha: an expression of support, lit. be strong
kia ora: a greeting, lit. be healthy
koha: gift, present, offering, donation, contribution^[9]
kōhanga reo: Māori language preschool (literally 'language nest')
kōrero: to talk; to speak Māori; story
koru: stylised fern frond pattern, used in art
Kura Kaupapa Māori: Māori language school
mahi: work, employment
mahinga mātaitai: traditional seafood gathering place
mana: regard in which someone is held; respect of their authority; reputation^[10]
manaia: guardian spirit, often found in Māori artwork and carving
Māoritanga: Māori culture, traditions, and way of life, lit. Māoriness
marae: meeting house, the communal or sacred place that serves religious and social purposes in Māori society
Matariki: midwinter festival, the Māori new year, lit. the star cluster of the Pleiades
mihi: lit. greet, acknowledge; sometimes used for internet board or forum message
moko: facial tattoo
mokopuna: descendants, young children. Lit. grandchildren
Ngaire: woman's name, origin unknown
pā: hill fort
pakarū: broken, not working; often rendered in New Zealand English as puckeroo or puckerooed
Pākehā: New Zealander of non-Māori descent, usually European
Papakāinga: land used as housing by a hapu or whanau group
poi: A dance art that originated in Māori culture and is now popular in object-manipulation communities
pounamu: greenstone, jade, nephrite
pōwhiri: ceremony of welcome^[11]
puku: abdomen, tummy
rāhui: a ban or prohibition
rohe: homeland, tribal area
tangata whenua: lit. "people of the land". The home tribe of a given marae or district; locals; by extension, Māori in the New Zealand context.^[12]
taniwha: mythical water monster
taonga: treasure, especially cultural treasures. Māori usage: property, goods, possessions, effects, treasure, something prized. The term whare taonga ("treasure house") is used in the Māori names of museums
tapu: sacred, taboo; to be avoided because of this; (a cognate of the Tongan tabu, origin of the English borrowing of taboo)
te reo: the Māori language (literally, 'the language')
tiki: stylised representation of a male human, found in Māori artwork and carving
tino rangatiratanga: a political term, sometimes translated as "chieftainship," but most accurately rendered as "(complete) sovereign authority", a right promised to Māori in the Treaty of Waitangi
tukutuku: traditional woven panels
utu: revenge. Māori usage: revenge, cost, price, wage, fee, payment, salary, reciprocity
wāhi tapu: sacred site
wai: water (often found in the names of New Zealand rivers)
waiata: singing, song
waka: canoe, transport
whakapapa: genealogy, ancestry, heritage
whānau: extended family or community of related families^[13]
whare: house, building

Word list

Many Māori words or phrases that describe Māori culture have become assimilated into English or are used as foreign words, particularly in New Zealand English, and might be used in general (non-Māori) contexts. Some of these are:

Aotearoa: New Zealand. Popularly interpreted to mean 'land of the long white cloud', but the original derivation is uncertain
aroha: Love, sympathy, affection^[14]
arohanui: "lots of love", commonly as a complimentary close^[6]^[7]
haere mai: welcome
haka: a chant and dance of challenge (not always a war dance), popularised by the All Blacks rugby union team, who perform a haka before the game in front of the opposition
hāngī: a method of cooking food in a pit; or the occasion at which food is cooked this way (compare the Hawaiian use of the word luau)
hongi: traditional Māori greeting featuring the pressing together of noses
hui: a meeting; increasingly being used by New Zealand media to describe business meetings relating to Māori affairs
iwi: tribe, or people
kai: food^[8]
kapai: very pleasant; good, fine. From Māori 'ka pai'^[8]
kaitiaki: guardianship of the environment
kaupapa: agenda, policy or principle^[15]
kia ora: hello, and indicating agreement with a speaker (literally 'be healthy')
koha: donation, contribution^[9]
kōhanga reo: Māori language preschool (literally 'language nest')
kōrero: to talk; to speak Māori; story
Kura Kaupapa Māori: Māori language school
mana: influence, reputation — a combination of authority, integrity, power and prestige^[10]
Māoritanga: Māori culture, traditions, and way of life. Lit. Māoriness.
marae: ceremonial meeting area in front of the meeting house; or the entire complex surrounding this, including eating and sleeping areas
Pākehā: Non-Māori New Zealanders, especially those with European ancestry
piripiri: clinging seed, origin of New Zealand English 'biddy-bid'.
pōwhiri: ceremony of welcome^[11]
puku: belly, usually a big one^[16]
rāhui: restriction of access
tāngata whenua: native people of a country or region, i.e. the Māori in New Zealand (literally 'people of the land')^[12]
tapu: sacred, taboo; to be avoided because of this; (a cognate of the Tongan tabu, origin of the English borrowing of taboo)
tangi: to mourn; or, a funeral at a marae
taniwha: mythical water monster
te reo: the Māori language (literally, 'the language')
waka: canoe, boat^[17] (modern Māori usage includes automobiles)
whānau: extended family or community of related families^[13]
whare: house, building

Other Māori words and phrases may be recognised by most New Zealanders, but generally not used in everyday speech:

hapū: subtribe; or, pregnant
kapa haka: cultural gathering involving dance competitions; haka team
karakia: prayer, used in various circumstances including opening ceremonies
kaumātua: older person, respected elder
kia kaha: literally 'be strong'; roughly "be of good heart, we are supporting you"
Kīngitanga: Māori King Movement
matangi: wind, breeze ("Matangi" is the name for a class of electric multiple unit trains used on the Wellington suburban network, so named after Wellington's windy reputation).
mauri: spiritual life force
mokopuna: literally grandchildren, but can mean any young children
pakarū: broken, damaged
rangatira: chief
rohe: home territory of a specific iwi
taihoa – not yet, wait a while
tamariki: children
tohunga: priest (in Māori use, an expert or highly skilled person)
tūrangawaewae: one's own turf, "a place to stand"
tutū: to be rebellious, stirred up, mischievous ^[18] Used in New Zealand English to mean "fidget" or "fiddle" e.g. "Don't tutū with that!"
urupā: burial ground
utu: revenge (in Māori, payment, response, answer)
wāhi tapu: sacred site
whaikōrero: oratory
whakapapa: genealogy
waiata: song
wairua: spirit

References

^ "Why Stuff is introducing macrons for te reo Māori words". Stuff. 10 September 2017. Retrieved 2018-10-29.
^ "Use of tohutō (macrons) a sign of respect". Stuff. 8 September 2018. Retrieved 2018-10-29.
^ McLachlan, Leigh-Marama (2018-09-10). "Mixed emotions as newspaper adopts Māori spelling". RNZ. Retrieved 2019-12-23.
^ Ensor, Jamie (12 April 2019). "Misspelled Māori Wellington place and street names may be fixed". Newshub. Retrieved 2019-12-23.
^ The name "Otago", and several other placenames in the southern South Island have names from a southern dialect of Māori, and thus these names are not in keeping with standard Māori spelling. Other names of this type include Lake Waihola and Wangaloa.
^ ^a ^b 'Merry Christmas, Happy New Year, and Farewell from Ambassador McCormick" Archived 2012-03-05 at the Wayback Machine, US Embassy
^ ^a ^b 'Arohanui Howard Morrison, New Zealand Woman's Weekly
^ ^a ^b ^c "Kiwis say ka pai to pie kai". The New Zealand Herald. 3 October 2010. Retrieved 19 October 2011.
^ ^a ^b Benson, Nigel (2 April 2009). "Festival goes glam today". Otago Daily Times. Retrieved 19 October 2011. There is also a 2pm matinee today. Entry is by koha
^ ^a ^b "Rugby: Fitzy gracious as record set to fall". Otago Daily Times. NZPA. 12 November 2010. Retrieved 19 October 2011.
^ ^a ^b Constantine, Ellie (18 February 2009). "New commander for district". Otago Daily Times. Retrieved 19 October 2011.
^ ^a ^b Conway, Glenn (7 March 2008). "Local Maori excited about fishing reserve decision". Otago Daily Times. Retrieved 19 October 2011.
^ ^a ^b Fox, Rebecca (26 April 2008). "Whanau given POW journal". Otago Daily Times. Retrieved 19 October 2011.
^ "Kiwi in Boston feeling the 'aroha'", 3news.co.nz
^ "Our Kaupapa: We value parental choice and...", Early Childhood on Stafford
^ George, Garth (2 November 2006). "Garth George: Beware decrees from little dictators about what to eat". The New Zealand Herald. Retrieved 19 October 2011.
^ Gay, Edward (6 February 2010). "New and old waka celebrate Waitangi". The New Zealand Herald. Retrieved 19 October 2011.
^ "Maori Dictionary". Archived from the original on 30 September 2011. Retrieved 26 August 2011.

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