Te Reo Māori Videos!

A conjunction joins two phrases together to make a longer sentence. In te reo Māori, two common conjunctions are ā (and) and engari (but) .

Using 'a' as a personal article before a name.

ki a au, ki a koe, but not ki a ahau.

In Māori, kei te marks the present tense (action happening now). Verbs like oma (run) or waiata (sing) never change form—unlike English. The same structure forms questions (Kei te waiata koe?). Tense is shown by markers before the verb, not by altering the verb itself.

Simple sentences in the present tense with a verb and a noun as a subject.

Simple sentences with a noun and an adjective. Unlike in English, the adjective follows the noun (the house big, the cer red). For example: "Kei te oma te tāne nui" (the big man is running).

Te reo Māori has four structures: active (subject acts, object with i/ki), passive (object as subject, verb suffix, agent with e), agent-emphatic (highlights doer with nā/mā), and stative (no suffix, agent with i, subject affected). Tenses apply across all. Key difference: passive uses e, stative uses i for the agent.

In Māori, pakaru (stative) takes the broken thing as subject, with the agent marked by i (e.g., Kua pakaru te matapihi i ngā tamariki). The active verb pākaru uses i for the object, while its passive form uses e and suffix -tia.

Kei te means "at the moment". It can be used with an adjective to say how you are now. "Kei te pai" means "at the moment, I am well", and "kei te ora koe" means "you are well now".

What an adjective is. Kei te ora ahau (I am well(. Kei te ngenge ahau (I am tired).

More adjectives. Using koe with an adjective. Kei te ātaahua koe. Personal pronouns: ahau, koe, koutou.

Simple sentences with a noun and an adjective. Unlike in English, the adjective follows the noun (the house big, the cer red). For example: "Kei te oma te tāne nui" (the big man is running).

In Māori, adjectives cannot precede a noun in a string. Instead, repeat the noun or use mea ("thing") to avoid repetition: He kurī pango, he mea nui (the black dog, the big thing). For a second adjective, add hoki ("also"): He tangata mōmona, māngere hoki ia (a fat, lazy man).

Use of tino and ahua to mean "very" and "somewhat". "Kei te tino pai" means "I am very well and "Kei te āhua ora koe" means "you are somewhat well".

Direction markers: ake (up), atu (away), iho (down) and mai (towards the speaker).

Comparatives use ake (up) for “more” (better/bigger) and iho (down) for “less/smaller/worse”. Use i to introduce the thing compared. Note: kino ake is common for “worse”, but strictly it’s kino iho—though this can sound ambiguous, so rephrasing is safer.

"Anake" means "alone" or "only" and directly follows the word it modifies. Moving it changes meaning (e.g., "only sang" vs. "only Rangi" vs. "only one song"). It contrasts with "katoa" (all), as shown in examples like "only the women worked" versus "all the women worked."

Direction markers: ake (up), atu (away), iho (down) and mai (towards the speaker).

Comparatives use ake (up) for “more” (better/bigger) and iho (down) for “less/smaller/worse”. Use i to introduce the thing compared. Note: kino ake is common for “worse”, but strictly it’s kino iho—though this can sound ambiguous, so rephrasing is safer.

Sentences that start with he are called "categorizing sentences" and put something into a class or category. For example "he pene tēnei" means "this is a pen", or, literally "in the category of pen this is".

A conjunction joins two phrases together to make a longer sentence. In te reo Māori, two common conjunctions are ā (and) and engari (but) .

Dual pronouncs: me, not you; you and me, those two, you two.

A conjunction joins two phrases together to make a longer sentence. In te reo Māori, two common conjunctions are ā (and) and engari (but) .

You can say hello to someone say "kia ora". "Kia" is a mild imperative or a command, encouraging someone to be a certain way. Ora is the world for healthy or well, and so "kia ora" means "may you be well!"

In Māori, e is a particle of address used when speaking directly to someone, so you say Kia ora e hoa! (Hello friend!), not Kia ora hoa. Particles like e are small but tricky words with multiple meanings depending on context, making them a key challenge in learning te reo.

Greeting more than one person using mā.

Use of tēnā koe as a more formal greeting than kia ora.

The plural personal pronoun koutou.

Saying goodbye - if you are leaving or staying.

Direction markers: ake (up), atu (away), iho (down) and mai (towards the speaker).

Sentences that start with he are called "categorizing sentences" and put something into a class or category. For example "he pene tēnei" means "this is a pen", or, literally "in the category of pen this is".

In te reo Māori, He X ahau means “I am X,” not “I have X.” To say “I have,” you must use possessives like tāku (one thing) and āku (more than one). Some people and family words also change in the plural by lengthening the vowel, like tuakana → tuākana.

When hoki means "also" or "and," it always comes immediately after the word or phrase it adds to the statement. It can follow nouns to include an additional person or thing, verbs to add an extra action, adjectives to add another quality, or even entire clauses to connect related ideas. In every case, hoki simply attaches to whatever is being included, making it a versatile way to say "too" or "as well" across all parts of speech.

Direction markers: ake (up), atu (away), iho (down) and mai (towards the speaker).

Comparatives use ake (up) for “more” (better/bigger) and iho (down) for “less/smaller/worse”. Use i to introduce the thing compared. Note: kino ake is common for “worse”, but strictly it’s kino iho—though this can sound ambiguous, so rephrasing is safer.

Indicating direction from using i.

We can have both i and ki in the same sentence. (I am reading the book to the children, the woman is singing the song to the people.)

The object of a sentence (a book being read, a cake being eaten) is marked by "i" in a sentence.

In Māori, prefix whaka adds 'cause to be/do' or 'turn into' to adjectives, statives, verbs, and nouns (whakaora = heal; whakakōwhatu = petrify). Prefix kai marks a doer (kaiako = teacher). Combined kaiwhaka- means 'one who causes' (kaiwhakahaere = manager; kaiwhakawhānau = midwife).

More adjectives. Using koe with an adjective. Kei te ātaahua koe. Personal pronouns: ahau, koe, koutou.

"Anake" means "alone" or "only" and directly follows the word it modifies. Moving it changes meaning (e.g., "only sang" vs. "only Rangi" vs. "only one song"). It contrasts with "katoa" (all), as shown in examples like "only the women worked" versus "all the women worked."

The Māori particle "kē" marks deviation from expectations in four ways: unexpected timing ("already"), contrary action ("instead"), surprising categorization (e.g., unusual strength), or departure from the norm (strange/extraordinary). Its translation depends on context—ranging from neutral surprise to compliment or mild criticism.

Kei te means "at the moment". It can be used with an adjective to say how you are now. "Kei te pai" means "at the moment, I am well", and "kei te ora koe" means "you are well now".

In Māori, kei te marks the present tense (action happening now). Verbs like oma (run) or waiata (sing) never change form—unlike English. The same structure forms questions (Kei te waiata koe?). Tense is shown by markers before the verb, not by altering the verb itself.

Direction markers: ake (up), atu (away), iho (down) and mai (towards the speaker).

Simple sentences in the present tense with a verb and a noun as a subject.

Simple sentences with a noun and an adjective. Unlike in English, the adjective follows the noun (the house big, the cer red). For example: "Kei te oma te tāne nui" (the big man is running).

The object of a sentence (a book being read, a cake being eaten) is marked by "i" in a sentence.

Using ki to indicate direction.

We can have both i and ki in the same sentence. (I am reading the book to the children, the woman is singing the song to the people.)

Some verbs, such as arohoa, take "ki".

Direction markers: ake (up), atu (away), iho (down) and mai (towards the speaker).

Plural personal pronouns, including "us but not you".

Plural personal pronouns, including "us but not you".

Dual pronouncs: me, not you; you and me, those two, you two.

Simple sentences in the present tense with a verb and a noun as a subject.

Using ki to indicate direction.

The object of a sentence (a book being read, a cake being eaten) is marked by "i" in a sentence.

Some verbs, such as arohoa, take "ki".

The tense marker kua is translated with "has" or "have".

The plural personal pronoun koutou.

Plural personal pronouns, including "us but not you".

Usually, nouns don't change in the plural.

A handful of words change their forms in Māori by lengthening the vowel: wahine becomes wāhine.

A handful of words change slightly in the plural (eg, wahine becomes wāhine). The exception to the rule that words in Māori don't change in the plural is the word for child (tamaiti) which because tamariki is plural.

How to say "my", "your" and "his/her".

In te reo Māori, He X ahau means “I am X,” not “I have X.” To say “I have,” you must use possessives like tāku (one thing) and āku (more than one). Some people and family words also change in the plural by lengthening the vowel, like tuakana → tuākana.

Māori pronunciation.

The question "how are you? Kei te pēhea koe?" And you? Me koe? Āe, kao, auē!

Rānei means "or", but unlike in English,it is placed after the final listed option. It handles multiple choices and, with a single option, turns statements into emphatic yes/no questions (implying "or not"). It works in negative forms too. Its core role is marking direct, choice-focused questions.

In Māori, rānei forms questions; its placement shifts emphasis (action, subject, or object). Kāore rānei means "or not". Ehara rānei asks negative questions. Crucially, answering "yes" agrees with the negative statement ("I have not"), while "no" contradicts it ("I have").

Dual pronouncs: me, not you; you and me, those two, you two.

Use tino before an adjective for "very"; rawa after for "too/excessively". Combine tino...rawa for "very exceedingly". Comparatives use ake...i ("than"). Superlatives use rawa atu ("the most"). Adding tino before rawa atu intensifies to "absolutely amazing".

Simple sentences in the present tense with a verb and a noun as a subject.

Simple sentences with a noun and an adjective. Unlike in English, the adjective follows the noun (the house big, the cer red). For example: "Kei te oma te tāne nui" (the big man is running).

How to say "my", "your" and "his/her".

Dual pronouncs: me, not you; you and me, those two, you two.

Instead of using "the" or "a", we can use words like "this" or "those". In te reo Māori we have tēnei (this near me), tēnā (that near you) and tērā (that over there) amd the plurals ēnei, ēnā and ērā.

"a" and "some"

Use of tino and ahua to mean "very" and "somewhat". "Kei te tino pai" means "I am very well and "Kei te āhua ora koe" means "you are somewhat well".

Tonu means 'still/continuously' with tense markers like kei te (kei te mahi tonu – still working). Without a tense marker in past narratives, it means 'immediately' (haere tonu – immediately went). Paired as rite tonu... ki, it means 'just like' for comparisons (rite tonu ki te tia – like a deer).