Learn how to greet people in te Reo Māori with these handy phrases
Tēnā koe, e hoa.
Hi, mate.
Tēnā koe – Hello (to one)
Tēnā kōrua – Hello (to two)
Tēnā koutou – Hello (to three or more)
Kia ora, kei te pēhea koe?
Hi, how are you?
Respond with:
Kei te pai ahau – I’m good
Kei te ora ahau – I’m well
Kei te hiakai ahau – I’m hungry
Kei te hōhā ahau – I’m annoyed
Nō hea koe?
Where are you from?
You can either answer this question by referencing the place you come from or the tribe you belong to:
Nō Taupō ahau – I’m from Taupō
Nō Ngāti Tūwharetoa ahau – I’m from Ngāti Tūwharetoa
Ko wai tō ingoa?
What’s your name?
ingoa – name
Here’s an example response:
Ko Hēmi tōku ingoa – My name is Hēmi
Kua roa te wā!
It’s been a long time!
wā – time
Kua aua atu te wā! – I don’t know how long it’s been!
Kei te pai tō āhua.
You’re looking good.
āhua – appearance
Replace pai with:
kino – bad
rawe – excellent
ora – well
Kei te aha koe ināianei?
What are you doing now?
ināianei – now
Kei te ako – Studying
Kei te mahi – Working
Kei te whakatā – Taking a break
Kei whea koe e mahi ana?
Where are you working?
Use kei before the name of the place to say ‘at’, ‘on’ or ‘in’ at the present time.
Kei te whare wānanga – At the university
Me hui anō tāua ākuanei.
Let’s meet again soon.
ākuanei – soon
Replace ākuanei with:
āpōpō – tomorrow
ā tērā wiki – next week
ā tēra marama – next month
Kei te aha koe ā te mutunga wiki?
What are you doing on the weekend?
mutunga wiki – weekend
Respond with:
Kei te kore noa iho – Nothing
Kei te mahi – Working
Kei te whakatā – Resting
He aha tō tau waea?
What’s your cellphone number?
You might hear tau waea or nama waea being used for phone number.
Māku koe e pātuhi.
I’ll text you.
pātuhi – text
Replace pātuhi with:
waea – call
whakapā – contact
īmēra – email
Hei konā!
See you then!
Other common farewells include ka kite anō (see you again) and mā te wā (see you in time).
If someone is leaving and you are staying you can say Haere rā and they might respond by saying E noho rā.
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