| Kupu |
Definition |
|---|
| kāeo |
sea tulips |
| kāheru |
shovel, spade |
| Kāhui |
Assembly |
| Kāhui Kaumātua |
Council of Elders |
| kai |
food |
| kaiako |
teacher |
| kaimoana |
seafood, shellfish |
| kāinga |
home |
| Kaihaka |
performers |
| Kaihautū |
Māori leader |
| kaitiaki |
guardian |
| kaitiakitanga |
guardianship, stewardship |
| Kaitito |
Composer, writer |
| kaiwhatu |
weavers |
| kākahu |
clothes, cloak |
| kakama |
agile |
| kākāpō |
green parrot, Strigops habroptilus |
| kakī |
neck |
| kapa haka |
Māori performing arts |
| kapokapowai |
dragonflies |
| karakia |
incantation, prayer |
| karanga |
to call |
| kātote |
soft tree fern |
| kauae |
jaw |
| kaumātua |
grandparent, male elders |
| kaupapa |
plan, purpose |
| kaupapa whakahaere |
principles |
| kauri |
kauri tree, Agathis australis |
| kea |
mountain parrot, Nestor notabilis |
| kererū |
Aotearoa New Zealand woodpigeon, Hemiphaga novaeseelandiae |
| kete |
basket |
| kete whakairo |
patterned bag |
| ketu |
pointed paddle-shaped implement |
| ki hea |
where |
| kia ora |
greeting, hello |
| kiekie |
Freycinetia |
| kina |
sea urchin, Evechinus chloroticus |
| kiore |
rat, Rattus exulans |
| kiri tōtara |
tōtara bark |
| kiwi |
kiwi bird |
| kō |
hoe, digging implement |
| Kōanga |
Spring (Maramataka) |
| kōauau |
flute or kelp |
| kōauau pongaihu |
gourd flute |
| koha |
gift |
| kōhanga |
nest |
| kōhanga reo |
Māori language preschool |
| Kohitātea |
December–January (Maramataka) |
| Kohi-tātea |
December–January (Maramataka) |
| kōiwi tangata |
Māori skeletal remains |
| kōiwi tangata Māori |
Māori skeletal remains |
| kōkako |
orange-wattled crow, Callaeas cinerea |
| kōmako |
Aotearoa New Zealand bellbird, Anthornis melanura |
| kōpū |
belly |
| kōpūwai |
grey mullet, Mugil cephalus |
| kōpūwaitōtara |
puffer fish, Allomycterus jaculiferus |
| Korekore-hahani |
bad day as everything is unattainable (Maramataka) |
| Korekore-piri-ki-ngā-Tangaroa |
moon on the twenty-first night of the lunar month Bad day as everything is unattainable (Maramataka) |
| Korekore-te-rawea |
moon on the twentieth night of the lunar month Bad day as everything is unattainable (Maramataka) |
| Korekore-te-whiwhia |
moon on the nineteenth night of the lunar month Bad day as everything is unattainable (Maramataka) |
| kōrero |
talk, stories, or discussion |
| kōrero ōkawa |
formal speech |
| kōrero ōpaki |
informal speech |
| kōrero tuku iho |
oral histories |
| koro |
grandfather |
| kōwhaiwhai |
painted rafters |
| kua ea |
victory |
| kūi |
the tiger beetle grub, Neocicindela tuberculata |
| kuia |
grandmother, female elder |
| kuia moko |
tattooed female, women elders |
| kūmara |
sweet potatoes |
| kupenga |
net |
| kupu |
word |
| kura kaupapa |
primary school |
| kura kaupapa Māori |
Māori primary school |
| kurī |
dog |
| Kupu |
Definition |
|---|
| mahi |
work |
| Mahitahi |
South Island town (Bruce Bay) |
| māhunga |
head |
| Mahuru |
August–September (Maramataka) |
| maihi |
bargeboard |
| Maitahi |
alternative placename for Mahitahi |
| mamae |
pain, ache |
| mana |
authority, power, prestige |
| mana whenua |
authority over land or territory |
| manaia |
supernatural being |
| manaakitanga |
hospitality, kindness, generosity |
| manawa |
heart |
| Mānawatia a Matariki |
Welcome to Matariki, celebrate Matariki |
| manga |
branch (of a river or tree) |
| Mangawhai |
town in Northland |
| mānia |
slip |
| manu |
bird |
| manu moana |
sea birds |
| manu whenua |
visitors or guests |
| manuhiri |
visitors |
| mānuka |
tea-tree, Leptospermum scoparium |
| Māori |
indigenous New Zealander, indigenous person from Aotearoa New Zealand |
| Māoritanga |
Māori culture and way of life |
| māra |
garden |
| marae |
open area in front of the main meeting house |
| marae ātea |
open area in front of the main meeting house |
| maramataka |
Māori lunar calendar (Maramataka) |
| maro |
body covering worn around the waist |
| mataī |
black pine, Prumnopitys taxifolia |
| Mata-kāheru |
Māori name for the constellation Hyades |
| Matariki |
Māori New Year and the Pleiades star cluster (Maramataka) |
| Matariki ahunga nui |
great food piles of Matariki |
| Matariki hunga nui |
the many people of Matariki |
| Matariki manako nui |
the wishes and desires of Matariki |
| mātauranga |
Māori knowledge |
| Mātauranga Māori |
Māori knowledge |
| matua |
parent |
| mātua |
parents |
| matuku |
white-faced heron Egretta novaehollandiae |
| Māui |
storyteller and trickster |
| maunga |
mountain |
| mau rākau |
Māori martial arts |
| Maure |
fairly good for planting and fishing and spearing eels (Maramataka) |
| mauri |
life force |
| Māwharu |
a good day, especially for cray fishing (Maramataka) |
| māwhero |
pink |
| mere |
weapon |
| mīere |
honey |
| mihingare |
missionary |
| mita |
rhythm, metre |
| moa |
large extinct flightless bird |
| moana |
sea |
| moko |
tattoos, reptiles, grandchild, human remains |
| moko kauae |
female tattooing |
| mokomoko |
grandmother, female elder |
| mokopuna |
grandchildren |
| momo |
species |
| Mōrena |
Good morning |
| mōteatea |
poetry |
| moto |
blow of the fist |
| motu |
island, country, land |
| muka |
flax fibre |
| Mutuwhenua |
the worst day of all (Moon is dead) (Maramataka) |
| Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa |
our Māori name, ‘Te Papa Tongarewa’, translates literally to ‘container of treasures’ |
| Kupu |
Definition |
|---|
| Ohoata |
also Hoata – a good day for fishing and planting (Maramataka) |
| Ōhua |
Good day for planting; good returns for all seeds and seedlings (Maramataka) |
| Oike |
Not a good day for fishing or planting (Maramataka) |
| Okoro |
Good day for planting and eeling (Maramataka) |
| Ōmutu |
The last day of the productive period of fishing, planting and eeling(Maramataka) |
| one |
beach |
| oriori |
lullabies |
| Ōrongonui |
Good day, whitebait descending when Moon is well on the wane (Maramataka) |
| Ōtāne |
Good day for deep-sea fishing and night eeling (Maramataka) |
| Ōturu |
Good day for eeling, fishing and planting (Maramataka) |
| Ōuenuku |
good day for laying down seedling beds, planting and fishing (Maramataka) |
| Kupu |
Definition |
|---|
| rākau |
trees |
| Rakiura |
Stewart Island |
| Rākaumatohi |
moon on the sixteenth (or eighteenth) night of the lunar month – a fairly good day, whitebait moving (Maramataka) |
| Rākaunui |
full moon – a good day for planting, but not fishing (Maramataka) |
| rangahau |
research |
| rangatahi |
youth |
| rangatira |
leader |
| rangi |
sky |
| Ranginui |
the sky father |
| rāpeti |
rabbit |
| raranga |
weaving |
| Rātana |
Rātana, placename |
| raupatu |
conquest |
| rawe |
excellent |
| Rehua |
Antares (star) |
| Rēkohu |
Chatham Islands, Wharekauri |
| rerekore |
flightless |
| reo |
language, dialect, tongue, speech |
| rimurapa |
bull kelp |
| ringa |
arm, hand |
| rīwai |
or taewa – Māori potatoes |
| rō |
stick insect |
| roa |
length |
| rohe |
region |
| rongoā |
medicine |
| Rongomaraeroa |
Rongomaraeroa is the name of Te Papa’s whole marae, including entrances and pūwhara (lookout) |
| roto |
lakes |
| Ruapehu |
Mount Ruapehu |
| Rūaumoko |
god of earthquakes |
| ruru |
morepork owl, Ninox novaeseelandiae |
| Kupu |
Definition |
|---|
| taewa |
or rīwai – Māori potatoes |
| taha huahua |
gourds |
| tāhuhu kōrero |
history |
| tai |
coast |
| taiaha |
long wooden weapon |
| taiao |
nature |
| taiāpure |
coastal reserve |
| taihoa |
wait (interjection) |
| taiko |
Westland petrel, Procellaria westlandica |
| Tai Rāwhiti |
East Coast |
| takahē |
flightless bird, Porphyrio hochstetteri |
| Takirau |
son |
| takurua |
winter |
| tama |
moon on the third night after the full moon. Best day of all to plant kūmara (Maramataka) |
| tamāhine |
daughter or girl |
| tamaiti |
child |
| Tāmakimakaurau |
Auckland |
| Tamanuiterā |
the sun, sun god |
| Tama-nui-te-rā |
the sun, sun god |
| tamariki |
children |
| Tamatea-ā-hotu |
Bad day for planting and fishing (Maramataka) |
| Tamatea-āio |
Good day for planting and fishing (Maramataka) |
| Tamatea-ā-ngana |
Bad day for planting and fishing (Maramataka) |
| Tamatea-kai-ariki |
Bad day for planting and fishing (Maramataka) |
| tāmoko |
tattoo, apply traditional tattoo |
| tāne |
male |
| Tānemahuta |
god of the forest |
| Tāne-mahuta |
god of the forest |
| Tangaroa |
god of the sea |
| Tangaroa-a-mua |
moon on the eighth night after the full moon Good day for deep-sea fishing; white-bait is running (Maramataka) |
| Tangaroa-a-roto |
Good day for deep-sea fishing; white-bait is running (Maramataka) |
| Tangaroa |
god of the sea |
| tangata |
person |
| tāngata |
people |
| Tangata Tiriti |
Treaty People |
| tangata whenua |
the indigenous people of Aotearoa New Zealand |
| tangi |
crying, funeral |
| tangihanga |
funeral |
| taniwha |
supernatural water creature |
| taonga |
treasures |
| taonga Māori |
Māori cultural treasures |
| taonga pūoro |
musical instrument |
| taonga tuku iho |
heritage |
| tapu |
sacred restriction |
| Tapuārangi |
star associated with everything that grows up in the trees: fruits, berries, and birds |
| Tāruke |
crayfish pot |
| Tarawera |
Mount Tarawera |
| tātarakihi |
cicada |
| tatau |
to count |
| Tauiwi |
foreigner, non-Māori |
| tautoko |
exclamation to show agreement |
| Tautoru |
Orion’s belt (sometimes called ‘the pot’) |
| tawaki |
Fiordland crested penguin, Eudyptes pachyrhynchus |
| Tāwhirimātea |
god of the weather |
| te ao |
the world |
| te ao Māori |
the Māori world |
| Te Ātiawa |
an iwi |
| Te Hāhi Katorika |
the Catholic Church |
| Te Hāhi Ringatū |
the Ringatū Church |
| Te Hau ki Tūranga |
the traditional meeting house from Ko Rongowhakaata iwi in Mana Whenua Te Papa |
| Te Ika a Māui |
The Fish of Maūi, North Island |
| teina |
the younger sister (of a female), younger brother (of a male) |
| teka |
foot tread |
| tēnā koe |
hello (to one person) |
| tēnā kōrua |
hello (to two people) |
| tēnā koutou |
hello (to three or more people) |
| tēnā koutou katoa |
hello to you all (to three or more people) |
| tēnā tātou katoa |
formal greeting to everybody present |
| te pītau a manaia |
a traditional carving pattern |
| te reo Māori |
the Māori language |
| Te Tai Rāwhiti |
East Coast of the North Island |
| Te Tai Tokerau |
Northland |
| Te Tairāwhiti |
East Coast of the North Island |
| Te Tiriti o Waitangi |
The Treaty of Waitangi |
| Te utu |
cost |
| Te Waipounamu |
The South Island |
| Te Waka a Māui |
The Canoe of Māui | South Island |
| te wao nui |
the great forests |
| te wao nui a Tāne |
the great forests of Tāne |
| Te Whanganui-a-Tara |
Wellington |
| Te Wiki o te Reo Māori |
Māori Language Week |
| tiaki |
safeguarding |
| tīeke |
saddleback, Philesturnus rufusater |
| tihei mauri ora |
the sneeze or breath of life |
| tikanga |
custom |
| tiki |
carved figure |
| tī kōuka |
cabbage tree, Cordyline australis |
| timo |
grubber for loosening soil |
| tino rangatiratanga |
sovereignty |
| tipuna |
ancestor |
| tīpuna |
ancestors |
| Tirea |
Bad day. The New Moon determines the start of the lunar month (Maramataka) |
| tītī |
muttonbirds |
| titiwai |
glow-worm |
| toa |
warriors |
| tohunga |
expert |
| tohunga kōkōrangi |
expert astronomers |
| tohunga tāmoko |
tattoo experts |
| tohunga whakairo |
master carver |
| tohutō |
macrons |
| toi moko |
preserved Māori tattooed heads |
| toke |
earthworms |
| toki |
adze, axe |
| toki poutangata |
greenstone adze |
| tokotoko |
walking stick |
| Tongariro |
Mount Tongariro |
| toroa |
albatross |
| tōtara |
Podocarpus totara tree |
| toto |
blood |
| tuāhine |
sisters (of a male) |
| tuakana |
elder sister (of a female), elder brother (of a male) |
| tuakoi tonga |
southern hemisphere |
| tūere |
hagfish, Eptatretus cirrhatus |
| tūī |
parson bird, Prosthemadera novaeseelandiae |
| tukutuku |
ornamental lattice-work |
| tuna |
eel, Anguilla australis |
| tungāne |
brother (of a female) |
| Tupuānuku |
star associated with everything that grows within the soil to be harvested or gathered for food |
| Tupuārangi |
Atlas - one of the stars in Te Kāhui o Matariki, the Pleiades star cluster |
| tupuna |
ancestor |
| tūpuna |
ancestors |
| tūranga |
stand |
| Tūranganui |
Gisborne |
| Tūranga-nui-a-Kiwa |
Gisborne |
| tūrangawaewae |
place of belonging, location of identity |
| turi |
deafness |
| Turu |
Full moon. Fairly good for planting, the Sun and the Moon can both be seen (Maramataka) |
| tūtae |
poo |
