[Elamur Dictionary](https://md.dictionary.elamur.ai/free/en/) · [this page in HTML](https://dictionary.elamur.ai/free/en/english/maori/)

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# maori

noun (a Māori, Māori); adjective (Māori); the language (Māori, te reo Māori)

«maori» in the English dictionary: everyday — its meanings, how the lessons use it, and examples, each with its tree on Mova.

## Everyday

1. Māori are the Indigenous people of New Zealand (Aotearoa), who were living there long before Europeans arrived. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/M/maori/#m1)
2. Māori (te reo Māori) is also their language. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/M/maori/#m2)
3. As an adjective, Māori describes things belonging to this people and culture, like Māori songs and art. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/M/maori/#m3)

### In the lessons

In New Zealand schools, children learn te reo Māori words and greetings (kia ora = hello, whānau = family, kai = food), songs (waiata), the haka, and Māori stories and history, such as the Treaty of Waitangi. The All Blacks rugby team performs a haka. Māori tradition says their ancestors came in great voyaging canoes (waka) from Polynesia. Phrases: «te reo Māori», «Māori culture», «a Māori legend», «kia ora».

### Examples

- Māori are the first people of New Zealand. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/M/maori/#x1)
- «Kia ora» is a Māori greeting. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/M/maori/#x2)
- We learned a Māori song at school. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/M/maori/#x3)
- The rugby team performed a haka before the game. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/M/maori/#x4)
- Many places in New Zealand have Māori names. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/M/maori/#x5)
- Te reo Māori is one of New Zealand's official languages. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/M/maori/#x6)
- My friend told us a Māori legend about the god Māui. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/M/maori/#x7)
- The Māori carving was made from wood. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/M/maori/#x8)

### Note

Written with a capital M and, properly, with a long mark over the a: «Māori». The plural is usually also «Māori», not «Māoris». Pronounced roughly «MAH-oh-ree» (or «MOW-ree»). Aotearoa is the Māori name for New Zealand.

## On Mova

- [Trees and pragmatics of «maori» in the school dictionary](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/M/maori/): every meaning and example parsed by Mova, with its dependency tree and frames.
- [«maori» in the school dictionary](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/school/w/maori.html) on Mova free.