Learn phrases for meeting and greeting with A Māori Phrase A Day

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.