In this post, you will learn how to say ‘how are you?’ in Māori. You’ll also learn common responses so you can respond if you’re asked this question. This can be really useful if you’re speaking with someone who speaks Māori.
Māori is an Eastern Polynesian language spoken by the Māori people who are the indigenous people of New Zealand.
Since 1945, there has been sharp declines in the number of people who speak Māori. Around 50,000 people report being able to speak Māori very well and around 149,000 people report being able to speak some Māori.
Table of Contents
How To Say ‘How Are You?’ In Māori
There are a few different ways to ask ‘how are you?’. Here are the most common:
| How are you? | Kei te pēhea koe? |
The above phrase is the most common way to say ‘how are you?’ and is used in most places. In some areas of New Zealand, it is said differently due to differing dialects.
You may also hear this:
| How are you? | E pehea ana koe? |
Please note that both of the above phrases would only be used when speaking to one person. If you’re speaking with multiple people then use these phrases:
| How are you? (speaking to 2 people) | Kei te pēhea kōrua? |
| How are you? (speaking to 3 or more people) | Kei te pēhea koutou? |
As you can see, if you’re speaking to 2 people, then you replace ‘koe’ with ‘kōrua’. If you’re speaking to 3 or more people, then replace ‘koe’ with ‘koutou’. You can also use this technique to say the phrase ‘e pehea ana koe?’ to multiple people, just replace ‘koe’ with either ‘kōrua’ or ‘koutou’.
How To Respond To ‘How Are You?’ In Māori
There are many different ways that you can reply to this question. Below are the most common responses to this question. I’ve also included how to say ‘thank you’ as it’s polite to thank someone if they ask how you are.
| Thank you | Kia ora |
| I’m fine/good | Kei te pai |
| I’m really good | Kei te tino pai |
| I’m sick | Kei te māuiui |
| I am happy | Kei te koa |
| I’m tired/sleepy | Kei te ngenge |
| I’m sad | Kei te pōuri |
| I’m angry | Kei te riri |
| I’m hungry | Kei te hiakai |
In the above phrases, ‘kei te’ means ‘I am’ and the words following are the adjectives. Sometimes you will hear people add the word ‘au’ to the end of these phrases but it can be omitted.
The word for ‘very’ in Māori is ‘tino’. You can add this word in before the adjective.
For example, ‘I’m really happy’ would be ‘kei te tino koa’. Just add ‘tino’ after ‘kei te’.
It’s also useful to know how to say ‘and you?’ or ‘what about you?’ to find out how someone else is if they ask you.
| And you? (speaking to 1 person) | Me koe? |
| And you? (speaking to 2 people) | Me kōrua? |
| And you? (speaking to 3 or more people) | Me koutou? |
Check out the below video to hear the pronunciation of these phrases:
Example Conversation:
Person 1: Kei te pēhea koe? (How are you?)
Person 2: Kei te pai, kia ora. Me koe? (I’m good, thanks. And you?)
Person 1: Kei te pai (I’m good)
Thanks for reading this post.
You should now know how to say ‘how are you?’ in Māori and you should also be able to respond if you’re asked!
You can’t go wrong with these simple phrases.
Increase your vocabulary further by learning how to wish someone a happy birthday in Māori.
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