Te tohu i te wā o te tau – Writing dates
The most common way of writing dates in te reo Māori follows the date/month/year format. For example, “Te 2 o Hōngongoi, 2020”, which translates to “2 July, 2020”.
Use this method and replace the dates and months accordingly. If you want to add the day of the week as well, use the day/date/month/year format – for example, "Rāhina, te 2 o Hōngongoi, 2020".
The traditional names for the days of the week are being used more often now than the loan words (transliterations for English language names).
Ngā rā o te wiki – Days of the week
| Traditional Māori word | Māori loan word | English word |
|---|---|---|
| Rāhina | Mane | Monday |
| Rātū | Tūrei | Tuesday |
| Rāapa | Wenerei | Wednesday |
| Rāpare | Tāite | Thursday |
| Rāmere | Paraire | Friday |
| Rāhoroi | Rāhoroi | Saturday |
| Rātapu | Rātapu | Sunday |
Ngā marama o te tau – Months of the year
| Traditional Māori word | Māori loan word | English word |
|---|---|---|
| Kohi-tātea | Hānuere | January |
| Hui-tānguru | Pēpuere | February |
| Poutū-te-rangi | Māehe | March |
| Paenga-whāwhā | Āperira | April |
| Haratua | Mei | May |
| Pipiri | Hune | June |
| Hōngongoi | Hūrae | July |
| Here-turi-kōkā | Ākuhata | August |
| Mahuru | Hepetema | September |
| Whiringa-ā-nuku | Oketopa | October |
| Whiringa-ā-rangi | Noema | November |
| Hakihea | Tīhema | December |
He mihi – Opening greetings
There are different ways of greeting someone, depending on the tone of your message and how formal you want to be. Here’s some examples of greetings in te reo Māori.
| Māori | English |
|---|---|
| Kei te rangatira, tēnā koe | Dear Sir/Madam (formal) |
| Kei te rangatira, e (Name), tēnā koe | Dear Sir/Madam, (formal, with name) |
| Tēnā koe, e Timoti | Dear Timoti (Name) |
| Tēnā tātou | Dear everybody |
| Kia ora | Hello/Hi |
| Kia ora, e (Name) | Hello/Hi (Name) |
| Tēnā koe, e hoa | Dear friend (informal) |
| Kei te pēhea koe? | How are you? |
He whakakapi – Signing off
Here are some examples of how to sign off a letter or email in te reo Māori.
| Māori | English |
|---|---|
| Heoi anō tāku mō nāianei | That is all for now |
| Nāku noa, nā (Your name) | Yours sincerely |
| Noho ora mai | Stay well |
| Ngā manaakitanga | Many blessings |
| Ngā mihi | Many thanks |
| Kia pai tō rā | Have a good day |
| Kia pai tō mutunga wiki | Have a good weekend |
| Mauri ora | Farewell |
| Mā te wā | See you soon |
| Ngā mihi o te Kirihimete | Merry Christmas |
| Ngā mihi o te tau hou | Happy New Year |
| Ngā mihi o Te Aranga | Easter Greetings |
Kei wāhi kē atu – Out of office messages
If you’re going to be out of the office you could set up an auto response for your email in te reo Māori – you may want to include the English translation with it as well.
Te reo: Tēnā koe. Kāore au i tōku tari i tēnei wā. Ka hoki mai anō au hei te [date]. Mehemea he uinga kōhukihuki ōu, tēnā koa whakapā atu ki a [Name] mā te karere hiko nei: [email address].
English: Hello. I am away and out of office and will be returning on [date]. If you have any urgent queries while I am away please contact [Name] on: [email address].
Letter structure
If you’re sending a physical letter rather than an email, here’s an example of how you could structure it.
[DATE]
Te 23 o Paenga-whāwhā 2020
[RECIPIENT DETAILS]
Ms Huhana Rongonui (Name)
Toi Rauwharangi (Department)
Te Whare Wānanga o Te Kunenga ki Pūrehuroa (University name)
Pouaka Poutāpeta 756 (PO Box number)
Te Whanganui-a-Tara (City)
[GREETING]
Tēnā koe Huhana,
[LETTER COPY]
I am writing to you…
[SIGN OFF]
Noho ora mai.
Nāku noa, nā
[YOUR DETAILS]
Hemi Hererangi
(Job Title)
Pronunciation
If you'd like some help with te reo Māori pronunciation, check out our pronunciation guide.