Starter Vocabulary
Start with some of the most common words in te reo Māori – people, things, actions, and describing words. These will appear again and again in examples, so learning them now will make everything else easier.
What you will learn
Build a starter toolkit of basic words to use in sentences: everyday nouns, action verbs, and simple describing words. These kupu give you something to talk about right from the beginning.
People and Things
Common nouns like whare (house), waka (vehicle), pukapuka (book), tamariki (children), ngeru (cat).
Action Words
Useful everyday verbs like haere (go), kai (eat), moe (sleep), waiata (sing), ako (learn).
Describing Words
Basic adjectives like nui (big), iti (small), whero (red), hou (new), tawhito (old), pai (good).