Wondering how to say hello in Māori?
This post covers how to greet people in Māori and teaches you some essential phrases including ‘hello’, ‘good morning’, ‘good afternoon’ and ‘good night’.
It also covers some other Māori greetings such as the traditional hongi greeting.
Hopefully you’ll leave this page knowing some essential Māori greetings.
Table of Contents
How To Say Hello In Māori
If you want to say hello in Māori then you can do so with the following phrases.
Click on the Māori word to hear the pronunciation by a native speaker.
- Hello – Kia ora (Key-ah oh-rah)
Kia ora is the most common way to say hello in Māori. Use this word if you’re speaking to one person.
If you’re speaking to multiple people use the following:
- Hello everyone – Kia ora koutou (Key-ah oh-rah kow-tow)
Both of the above phrases using kia ora are super friendly and casual phrases that you can use in most situations.
You will hear lots of people in New Zealand using this phrase including the Prime Minister and local shopkeepers.
Kia ora is more than just a greeting, it is also a wish of good health and fortune to the person you are speaking to. It is also used to say thank you in Māori.
Another way to say hello in Māori is:
- Hello (to one person) – Tēnā koe (Teh-nah kweh)
- Hello (to two people) – Tēna kōrua (Teh-nah koor-u-ah)
- Hello (to three or more people) – Tēnā koutou (Teh-nah kow-tow)
These three versions of hello are a bit more formal than kia ora.
Note: the lines above certain letters like ā indicate a long vowel sound so make these vowels a little longer.
One other greeting you may want to use if you’re welcoming someone is:
You could use these phrases, for example, when welcoming someone into your home.
Both nau mai and haere mai mean ‘welcome’ and you can use them interchangeably.
Continue your conversation by learning how to say ‘how are you?’ in Māori.
How To Say Other Māori Greetings e.g. ‘Good Morning’
You may want to use some other greetings in Māori such as ‘good morning’, ‘good afternoon’ and ‘good night’.
Check out these other Māori greetings below:
How To Say Good Morning In Māori
To say good morning in Māori, you can say:
- Good morning – Mōrena (Moh-reh-nah)
Mōrena is the most common way to say good morning in Māori but there is another way to say it…
- Good morning – Ata mārie (Ah-tah mah-ree-eh)
This version of good morning is literally wishing the person a peaceful morning.
The word ata literally means ‘morning’ and mārie means peaceful.
How To Say Good Afternoon In Māori
To say good afternoon in Māori, you can say:
- Good afternoon – Ahiahi mārie (Ah-hee-ah-hee mah-ree-eh)
This phrase wishes the person you say it to a peaceful afternoon.
Ahiahi literally means ‘afternoon’ and mārie means peaceful.
How To Say Good Evening & Good Night In Māori
To say good evening or good night in Māori, you can say:
- Good evening/night – Pō mārie (Poh mah-ree-eh)
This phrase wishes the person you say it to a peaceful evening/night.
Pō literally means ‘night’ and mārie means peaceful.
Check out the video below to hear the pronunciation and use of the above greetings in Māori by a native speaker:
Māori Greetings
When meeting someone for the first time, handshakes are common.
If you’re greeting a friend or family member then it is common to hug or kiss each other on the cheek.
Hongi
Traditional Māori people will often greet with the hongi.
The hongi involves two people pressing their noses and foreheads together and breathing in at the same time.
The idea of it is that the two people are sharing the same moment and the same breath. You share the breath of life for a brief moment.
This type of greeting is used at meetings amongst Māori people and at major ceremonies.
Many Māori people also choose to use hongi in day to day life. It’s not uncommon to see people, young and old, male and female, hongi when they meet in everyday situations.
This greeting isn’t just reserved for traditional ceremonies, the Māori people use this naturally everyday especially with other Māori people.
Check out the hongi in practice in the video below:
Thanks for reading this post on how to greet someone in Māori. Continue your conversation by learning how to say ‘how are you?’ in Māori.
Hopefully you now know how to say ‘hello’ in Māori and also how to say ‘good morning’, ‘good afternoon’ and ‘good night’ in Māori.
You can find out more about the Māori language here.
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