Te Wiki o Te Reo Māori
Guide to language courses, resources, whakataukī, local place names and more.
Te reo Māori courses
Below are some providers offering Māori language courses:
You can also check out these online courses:
- Māori language.net - Learn basics of Te Reo Maori with free video lessons on pronunciation, phrase drills, alphabet, Māori dictionaries, haka, Māori waiata/songs.
- Te Whanake - Māori language learning online series - resources, Māori dictionary, podcasts, animated movies, forums and other online resources and activities.
- Tōku Reo - a language learning show based on the comprehensive Te Whanake language course created by Professor John Moorfield.
Te Wiki o Te Reo Māori
Each year Kāpiti Coast District Libraries offers a range of activities and events to celebrate Te Wiki o Te Reo Māori and encourage widespread participation.
2018
Te Reo Māori Story Time at Paraparaumu Library.
2017
Te reo Māori zumba at Ōtaki Library. This was so much fun!
He aha ra tāu tino kupu Māori? Customers wrote their favourite te reo Māori words on library windows throughout the district.
2016
To celebrate Te Wiki o Te Reo Māori - Māori Language Week - 2016 and Shakespeare 400 the library has produced six posters featuring local young people and the words of Shakespeare translated into te reo Māori.
Ahakoa tōna iti, he koa totoa tonu.
And though she be but little, she is fierce.
Moe hurihuri ai te pane mau karauna.
Uneasy lies the head that wears the crown.
Me he kai o te aroha te puoro, whakatangihia tonutia.
If music be the food of love, play on.
Me he rangi koe nō Hine-Raumati?
Shall I compare thee to a summer's day?
Arohatia te nui, whakawhirinakitia te iti...
Love all, trust a few
Me aro koe ki a koe anō.
To thine ownself be true.
Te reo tamariki time
Special bilingual Tamariki Times happen at our branches throughout the year.
Come to the library for stories in both English and Māori. Singing, music, crafts and fun in both languages.
Nau mai, haere mai. Check our events page for listings or contact the library to arrange a special session.
Whakataukī o te Marama | Saying of the month
Each month a member of the Heritage and Māori Collections team chooses a whakataukī (Māori proverb or saying) for display in the library.
Check out our archive of past whakataukī.
Library names
Kāpiti Coast District Libraries has te reo Māori names for its different branches and collections.
- Ngā Mātāpuna ā Kupu – The Source of Words (Kāpiti Coast District Libraries)
- Te Whare Whakamātau o Paraparaumu – The House of Knowledge (Paraparaumu Library)
- Te Whare Whakamātau o Waikanae - The House of Knowledge (Waikanae Library)
- Te Ara Whetū – The Passage of Stars (our new Waikanae Library)
- Te Whare Pukapuka o Ōtaki – The House of Books (Ōtaki Library)
- Te Wā Kainga – Home (Heritage and Māori Collections space – Paraparaumu Library)
- Te Matahīapo – Treasured Possession (Māori Collection – Adult)
Ngā ingoa Māori o Kāpiti | Māori place names of Kāpiti
Kāpiti is an abbreviation of Te Waewae Kapiti o Tara rāua ko Rangitāne, and refers to the historical dividing line between the tribal lands of the Ngāi Tara and Rangitāne peoples. Below are some other local place names and their common translations:
| Kāpiti | joining (or boundary) place |
| Paekākāriki | hill of the parakeet |
| Raumati | summer |
| Paraparaumu | scraps from an earth oven |
| Ōtaihanga | place made by the tide |
| Waikanae | mullet waters |
| Reikōrangi | gate to heaven |
| Te Horo | the landslide |
| Ōtaki | place of sticking a staff into the ground |
| Tararua | two peaks |
| Horowhenua | the great landslide |
Nau mai kia tirotiro haeretia ngā wāhi o tō tatou nei rohe! Come along and have a look around places in our district!
If you would like to know more about local place names you may want to read these books from our collection:
The New Zealand Gazetteer of Place Names (the Gazetteer) holds all official names for features within the New Zealand Geographic Board’s coverage. It also has other information, such as Māori place names that have macrons , Māori Pā names, Treaty of Waitangi Settlement names and useful links.
You may also be interested in the legend of Haunui-a-Nanaia an ancestor famous for naming various landmarks and tributaries along the western and southern parts of the North Island, including the rivers from Whanganui to Waikanae.
Te reo Māori resources
Te reo Māori books: Scroll through a full list of our Māori language resources displayed in the gallery at the bottom of this page. Click on the cover image for further details.
Resources can be found at https://www.reomaori.co.nz/
- Try a cool game to boost your te reo – https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.languagedrops.drops.learn.learning.speak.language.reo.maori.words&hl=en_NZ
- For serious study – https://www.wananga.com/
- TV programmes in te reo Māori – https://www.maoritelevision.com/tv/te-reo-channel.
Selected resources from our collection
- Cultureflow - Māori Language programme for Beginners. Includes 2 x CD-ROM + audio disc
- Q’s course in Māori - A beginner’s course for all ages and backgrounds - Audiobook cassette read by Quinton Hita and Ngamaru Raerino.
- Pronounce Māori with confidence - This book and CD set gives the basics of how to pronounce Maori correctly, while teaching a little of the language to be used in everyday life. Includes examples of language in use in a variety of settings, including in the home, at the supermarket, at the beach, and on the sports field.
- Let’s learn Māori - An advanced course in the Māori language by Bruce Biggs. Two CD set.
- Mai i te kākano nā Hēni Jacob - Gives examples of alternative and fun ways to say things in everyday situations.
Dictionaries
- English-Māori dictionary by H. M. Ngata - The most comprehensive English to Māori dictionary used today.
- A Dictionary of the Māori Language by Herbert Williams - A comprehensive Māori to English dictionary.
- Te Aka : Maori-English, English-Maori dictionary and index by John C. Moorfield - Has a broader scope than traditional dictionaries, includes key concepts, idioms and colloquialisms.
- Te Kete Kupu: 300 essential words in Māori by Maria Hunia - Alphabetical list of Māori words, with each word used in a sentence.
- He Pātaka Kupu: te kai a te rangatira Te Taura Whiri - Contains over 20,000 entries. Draws on a wide corpus of written material in Te Reo.
Online dictionaries and translators
- Te Aka online dictionary – designed to complement Te Whanake language course.
- Ngata dictionary online – English–Māori, Māori–English.