Tuesday, 25 May 2010
- From the NZ history on line some New Zealand MAORI words of interest
- Au current
- Awa river
- Iti small, little
- Kai one of the meanings of kai is food; in a place name it signifies a place where a particular food source was plentiful, e.g., Kaikōura, the place where crayfish (kōura) abounded and were eaten
- Mānia plain
- Manga stream
- Maunga mountain
- Moana sea, or large inland 'sea', e.g., Taupō
- Motu island
- Nui large, big
- ō or o means 'of' (so does a, ā); many names begin with ō, meaning the place of so-and-so, e.g., ōkahukura, ōkiwi, ōhau, etc.
- One sand, earth
- Pae ridge, range
- Papa flat
- Poto short
- Puke hill
- Roa long
- Roto lake; inside
- Tai coast, tide
- Wai water
- Whanga harbour, bay
- Arero tongue
- Ihu nose
- Kakī neck
- Kauae, kauwae chin
- Kōpū womb
- Māhunga hair (when used for hair must always be used in plural, indicated by ngā [the, plural]), head
- Manawa heart
- Niho teeth
- Poho chest (also called uma)
- Puku belly, stomach
- Raho testicles
- Ringa hand, arm
- Toto blood
- Tou anus
- Turi knee (also known as pona)
- Tūtae excrement, ordure
- ū breast (breast-milk is wai-ū)
- Upoko head
- Ure penis
- Waewae foot, feet, leg, legs
The following English equivalents are a rough guide to pronouncing vowels in Māori:
- a as in far
- e as in desk and the first 'e' in where; it should be short and sharp
- i as in fee, me, see
- o as in awe (not 'oh!')
- u as in sue, boot
