| Māori loan |
English Translation |
Māori loan |
English Translation |
|
Pākehā |
English, foreign, European, exotic - introduced from or originating in a foreign country; also used to describe New Zealanders of European descent |
Kia Kaha! |
be strong, get stuck in, keep going |
|
Haere Mai |
(interjection) Come here! Welcome! - a greeting |
Marae |
(noun) courtyard - the open area in front of the wharenui, where formal greetings and discussions take place. Often also includes the buildings around the marae |
|
Haere Rā |
(interjection) goodbye (said to someone leaving), farewell! bye, bye-bye |
Pounamu |
(noun) NZ greenstone, nephrite, jade |
|
Iwi |
(noun) extended kinship group, tribe, nation, people, nationality, race - often refers to a large group of people descended from a common ancestor and associated with a distinct territory |
Tapu |
(stative) be sacred, prohibited, restricted, set apart, forbidden, under atua protection. May also be adapted to mean "holy" in a christian context |
|
Kai |
(noun) food, meal |
Waiata |
(verb) (-hia,-tia) to sing, or (noun) a song, chant, psalm |
|
Kai Moana |
(noun) seafood, shellfish |
Waka |
(noun) canoe, vehicle, conveyance, spirit medium, medium (of an atua) |
|
Ka Pai |
Good/Well done |
Whānau |
(noun) extended family, family group, a familiar term of address to a number of people; in the modern context the term is used to include friends who may not have any kinship ties to other members |
|
Haka |
(noun) performance of the haka, posture dance - vigorous dances with actions and rhythmically shouted words; a general term for several types of such dances |
Whare |
(noun) house, building, residence, dwelling, shed, hut, habitation |
|
Hāngī |
(noun) earth oven - earth oven to cook food with steam and heat from heated stones |
Wairua |
(noun) spirit, soul |
|
| Māori loan |
English Translation |
Māori loan |
English Translation |
|
Kākā |
(noun) Nestor meridionalis - large native forest parrot with olive-brown and dull green upperparts and crimson underpart |
Pāua |
(noun) abalone, sea ear, Haliotis spp. - edible molluscs of rocky shores that have flattened, ear-shaped shells with a row of small holes for breathing |
|
Kākāpō |
(noun) ground parrot, Strigops habroptilus - rare, large, green endemic parrot that is nocturnal and flightless; now found only on islands off Stewart Island |
Kina |
(noun) sea egg, common sea urchin, Evechinus chloroticus - a marine echinoderm which has a spherical or flattened shell covered in mobile spines with a mouth on the underside |
|
Kea |
(noun) mountain parrot, Nestor notabilis - intelligent, large, bold endemic parrot, olive-green with scarlet underwings that lives mainly in the alpine regions of the South Island) |
Huhu |
(noun) huhu grub, Prionoplus reticularis - an edible grub found in decayed wood |
|
Kererū |
(noun) New Zealand pigeon, Hemiphaga novaeseelandiae - a large green, copper and white native bush pigeon |
Mako |
(noun) shortfin mako, Isurus oxyrinchus - a large, fast-moving oceanic shark with deep blue back and white underparts |
|
Kiwi |
(noun) Apteryx mantelli and Apteryx australis - flightless, nocturnal endemic birds with hair-like feathers and a long bill with sensitive nostrils at the tip; Kiwi is also used to refer to New Zealanders in general |
Kūmara |
(noun) sweet potato, Ipomoea batatas |
|
Moa |
(noun) large extinct flightless birds of nine subspecies endemic to Aotearoa/New Zealand |
Kauri |
(noun) Agathis australis - largest forest tree but found only in the northern North Island, it has a large trunk and small, oblong, leathery leaves |
|
Pūkeko |
(noun) Porphyrio porphyrio - a deep blue-coloured bird with a black head and upperparts, a white undertail and a scarlet bill that inhabits wetlands, estuaries and damp pasture areas |
Kōwhai |
(noun) Native trees of various species including Sophora microphylla and Sophora tetraptera - small-leaved native trees common along riverbanks and forest margins |
|
Tūī |
(noun) the parson bird, Prosthemadera novaeseelandiae - a songbird that imitates other birds' calls and has glossy-black plumage and two white tufts at the throat |
Pōhutukawa |
(noun) New Zealand Christmas tree, Metrosideros excelsa and Metrosideros kermadecensis - trees found in coastal areas which bear large, red flowers about Christmas time |
|
Tuatara |
(noun) Sphenodon punctatus - an endemic reptile with baggy skin and spines down the back |
Ponga |
(noun) silver tree fern, Cyathea dealbata - tall, native tree-fern with prominent, peg-like frond bases on the trunk and having green fronds above and silver-white beneath; a popular NZ icon |
|
Wētā |
(noun) large insects of various species found in trees and caves; they are active at night and all Aotearoa/New Zealand species are wingless |
Rimu |
(noun) red pine, Dacrydium cupressinum - a tall coniferous tree with dark brown flaking bark, scale-like prickly leaves and gracefully weeping branches |
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