The Māori alphabet has 5 vowels, each with a short and a long variant, and 10 consonants, 2 of which are digraphs.
A vowel is made long by adding a macron (a tohutō) above the glyph.
Short
Long
Example
a
ā
car
e
ē
bed
i
ī
ski
o
ō
for
u
ū
blue
Consonants
h
k
m
n
p
r
t
w
ng
wh
Pronunciation (whakahua)
T
The pronunciation of the letter t varies depending on the vowel which follows it. The soft pronunciation has no sibilance, while the hard pronunciation has some sibilance.
Pairing
Sound
ta
soft
te
soft
ti
hard
to
soft
tu
hard
Leading vowels
When a word starts with a vowel, the sound of that leading vowel is merged with the trailing vowel of the preceding word. This can be seen in the pronunciation of ‘kia ora’, which is typically pronounced as ‘kiaora’.
Rules
a
Names of people and places are preceded by ‘a’ when they stand as the subject of a sentence.
Words (kupu)
Word
Definitions
mihi
(v) to greet, thank, acknowledge, honour, respect
tērā
(determiner) that, away from speaker and listener
Language
Word
Definitions
arapū
(n) word
pātai
(v) to ask (n) question
whakahua
(v) to pronounce, say (n) pronunciation
kaupapa
(n) topic, policy, subject
tohutō
(n) macron
kupu
(v) to speak (n) word, message
kupu mino
(n) loanword
horopaki
(v) to surround (n) context
Greetings, farewells, thanks
Word
Definitions
tēnā koe/kōrua/koutou
Hello/thanks to one/two/more people (formal)
kia ora koe/kōrua/koutou
Hello/thanks to one/two/more people (informal)
ngā mihi
Thank you (formal)
haere ra
Farewell (to those leaving)
e noho ra
Goodbye (to those staying)
ka kite anō
See you again
mā te wā
Until we meet again
hei tērā wiki
Goodbye until next week
Questions
‘nō’ indicates a previous value of a quality which the possessor has no control over, similar to ‘was’. ‘ko’ is used to inidicate the current value of a quality, similar to ‘is’. This is very simplified.
‘kei’ is a particle marking present position or time.
Example
hea
where? (interrogative)
nō hea
from where?
nō hea koe? — where are you from?
ko hea
what place?
ko hea tērā — what is that place?
ko wai
who is?
ko wai tō ingoa? — what is your name?
kei hea
where is?
ko wai au
who am I?
Family names (ingoa whānau)
koro
grandfather
kui
grandmother
matua
father, uncle, male teacher
whaea
mother, aunt, female teacher
tāne
man, husband
wahine
woman, wife
mokopuna
grandchild
tamariki
children
tama
son, boy, nephew
tamāhine
daughter, girl, niece
Pronouns
au, ahau
me
koe
you (singular)
ia
them (singular)
tāua
us (you and I, two)
māua
us (them and I, two)
kōrua
you (two)
rāua
them (two)
tātau
us (you and I, three or more)
mātou
us (them and I, three or more)
koutou
you (three or more)
rātou
them (three or more)
Determiners
tēnei
this (near to speaker)
nā wai tēnei pene? — who’s pen is this?
tēnā
that (near to listener)
nā wai tēnā pene? — who’s pen is that?
tērā
that (far from listener and speaker)
nā wai tērā pene? — who’s pen is that?
tāku
my (single item, dominant)
kei hea tāku ika? — where’s my fish?
tāu
your (single item of person)
kei hea tāu ika? — where’s your fish?
tāna
their (single item of person)
kei hea tāna ika? — where’s their fish?
āku
my (multiple items, dominant)
kei hea āku ika? — where are my fish?
ō
āna
their (multiple items, dominant)
kei hea āna ika? — where are their fish?
Objects
Word
Definitions
pukapuka
(v) to send a document (n) book, document, sheet of paper