Maori words and New Zealand Slang

[Dave in NZ]

I Thought I would look into Maori words and what some of the sayings Kiwis come out with to try and make it easier for you.

Aotearoa : Land of the long white cloud(Maori name for New Zealand)
Haere mai : Welcome
Haere ra : Goodbye
Hangi : Traditional way of cooking food. This is where the food is cooked in the ground.
Hapu : Sub tribe
Hongi : To press noses. This is the formal greeting.
Hui : A meeting to discuss a special topic.
Iwi : Tribal people
Kai : Food
Kaiako : A teacher
Ka pai : Good
Kawa : Customs
Kia ora : Maori greeting, also used as an expression of grattitude and agreement.
Kura : School.
Mana : Prestige,status, authority.
Marae : A Maori communal meeting house.
Me : And
Mihimihi : Greeting.
Pakeha : The Maori word for non Maori people.
Rangatira : High ranking person.
Reo : Language.
Tamariki : Children.
Tangata whenua : Local people of the land.
Tangi : Funeral.
Tapu : Sacred.
Tena Koe : How do you do ?
Te Reo : The Maori language.
Tiriti : Treaty.
Waka : Canoe.
Wananga : University.
Whanau : Family.
Whare : Meeting house on a marae.
Whenua : Land.

There are so many more Maori words but these are a few general ones. I will be putting somw Kiwi Slang next.


Dave and Caroline

[stu70]

Cheers for this great post. Boy you are a real good Kaiako .Could someone kindly throw in the pronounciations along for idiots like me? Regards,

[Dave in NZ]

A lot of this is very similar to Australian Slang and some of it is used by us English as well.

Awesome : Fine,excellent.
Bach: A holiday home.( Also known as a crib in the South Island.
Barbie: Barbeque
Beaut,beauty: Something good or outstanding.
Bro : Term of address for a male friend or relative.
Bright as a button : Looking alert.
Bright spark : Intelligent person
Bring a plate : This means for people attending a barbie or party etc, to bring some food to share.Do not bring an empty plate
Bush : New Zealands native forest.
Bushed : Exhausted.
BYO : Bring your own. A BYO restaurant means you can bring your own wine to drink with your meal. You are usually charged for corkage.
Chocker : Full.
Choice : Fine, excellent.
Chunder: To vommit.
Clean as a whistle : Sparkling clean.
Crook : To be unwell, also means a thief.
Dork : An idiot
Drongo : A term of abuse, idiot.
Dude: A cool or good looking male.
Fade : A type of haircut that is very short at the back and over the ears and becomes longer on top.
Feed : A meal.
Flat tack : At top speed.
Fully : I agree.
G'dday : Greeting meaning hello.
Greenie : A conservationist.
Gumboots : Waterproof rubber boots ( Wellingtons in UK)
Grog : Alcohol
Grouse : Meaning fine ,excellent,used to express delight.
Hard case : A tough but likeable person.
Head over heals : Used to describe someone who is very happy.
Hook up : Meet up or join in.
Hoon : A noisy person,a lout, used to describe young boy racers.
Jandals : Rubber sandals ( Called flip flops in UK)
Kiwi : New Zealand native bird and to describe a New Zealander
Mission : An adventure.
Mongrel : A term of abuse or contempt for a person.
Mullet : Hair cut where the hair is short and spikey on topand long and straggly at the back.
Munted : To be broken or distorted.
Narley : Cool, good'
No worries: Common phrase of agreement.
On a high: a good feeling that can come from success.
Piker : Someone who opts out of an activity.
Pootang : Gross or disgusting.
Potluck dinner: Everyone brings food to share with others.
Rapt : Very pleased.
Rellie : A relation.
she'll be right : Everything is going to be ok.
Shocking : Very bad.
Shout: To treat your friends to a drink or meal etc. ( Its My Shout )
Skite : To boast or showoff.
Smoko : A tea or coffee break
Snowed under: Has too much work.
Sticks: Remote or rural area.
Stoked : Very excited.
Sweet as : Great.
Tinnie : Can of beer.
Togs : Swimming costume.
Tucker : Food.
Turn to custard: Collapse of plans,ideas,schemes etc.
Varsity : University.
Wicked : Fine, Excellent.


There are many others but these are some of the more popular ones used.

Hope this helps

Dave and Caroline

[wiki]

Munted also means very drunk or very hungover

And the one that all my UK friends still laugh about is that I call good looking guys "spunks". (and it can be a term for a good-looking woman too)

I'm not sure about the rest of the world, but in the UK spunk is another word for semen.

That one has got me in sooooo much trouble over the years

[stu70]

Munted also means very drunk or very hungover

And the one that all my UK friends still laugh about is that I call good looking guys "spunks". (and it can be a term for a good-looking woman too)

I'm not sure about the rest of the world, but in the UK spunk is another word for semen.

That one has got me in sooooo much trouble over the years

No kidding it has got you in trouble As a matter of fact, I would go so far as to say the two terms are probably interrelated (for a male) so you weren't that off the mark

[kanatakiwi]

Pronounciations for stu... well my attempts at:
Emphasized syllable is in bold.

Aotearoa : Ow-tee-a-row-a
Haere mai : Hi-ray my
Haere ra : Goodbye
Hangi : Hang-ee. (note this A is somewhere between hang and hung)
Hapu : Hah-poo
Hongi : Hong-ee
Hui : Hoo-ee.
Iwi : ee-wee
Kai : Ki ( rhymes with high)
Kaiako : Ki (as in kite) -ah - ko
Ka pai : Kah-pie
Kawa : Kah-wah
Kia ora : Kee-a or-a
Kura : as its written
Mana : as its wrtiten but again, the a is soft half way between a and u. its closer to Munna that Manna.
Marae : Muh-rye. roll your r a bit
Me :
Mihimihi : mih-ee
Pakeha : Pack-ee-ha.
Rangatira : Rang-a-tear-a.
Reo : Ree-oh.
Tamariki : Tam-a-ree-kee
Tangata whenua : that A again. its closer to tounge-at-a fen-u-wa
Tangi : close to Tounge-ee
Tapu : Ta-poo the origin of the word Taboo
Tena Koe : Teh-nah Kway
Te Reo : te Ree-oh.
Tiriti : Tir-ee-tee
Waka : wah-ka
Wananga : wah-nang-a
Whanau : fan-ow
Whare : fah-ray.
Whenua : Fen-oo-a


good luck, others might be able to give more assistance on this.
kanata kiwi

[holland]

What a fab post!

Thanks

J

[wiki]

And further to crook - some people will claim to be "crook as a dog" which is more unwell than just "crook" ... and comes from the shape of the dog's leg, rather than it's propensity to be ill.

NZ vocab is a strange and wonderful place and the slang bit of this thread has reminded me of so many words that I have had to consciously avoid for the past 10 years.

And apparently my kiwi accent is getting stronger the closer we get to flying out - OH is beginning to worry she won't understand me pretty soon!

[H & Rick]

Pronunciation is really good fun, but be careful you don't get it wrong........

The word Te - if it is said with no stress on the vowel it means the, if you say it with stress on the vowel it means fart

Also watch out for the words containing a macron, as you need to make sure lengthen the vowel.

I've got a really great book that is very basic but really good.

[swissmissdesigner]

Po Marie= good night!