An Eastern Polynesian language and the indigenous language of New Zealand — an official language of Aotearoa, undergoing active revitalization after late-20th-century decline.
Where it’s spoken
Maori (te reo Māori) is the indigenous Polynesian language of New Zealand (Aotearoa), brought by Polynesian voyagers around 1300 CE. After mid-20th-century decline due to schooling that punished its use, te reo gained protected official status in 1987. Today it is taught in immersion schools (kura kaupapa Māori) and an active revitalization movement is underway, with about 50,000 fluent speakers.
What it sounds like
Maori has a simple phonology — five vowels with phonemic length, and only ten consonants: h, k, m, n, ng, p, r, t, w, wh. The wh is typically pronounced as a voiceless bilabial fricative similar to “f.” Stress is generally on the first or second syllable. The language is non-tonal.
How it’s written
Maori uses the Latin alphabet of 15 letters. Long vowels are marked by a macron (ā, ē, ī, ō, ū), introduced widely in the 20th century — older texts used a doubled vowel instead. Standard orthography was codified by missionaries in the 19th century.
History
Te reo Māori is closely related to Cook Islands Māori, Tahitian, and Hawaiian. The Treaty of Waitangi (1840), New Zealand’s founding document, exists in both Maori and English versions, with significant interpretive differences.
Find more languages by letter
Maori starts with M and ends with I. Browse other languages along the same letter.
Languages that contain a letter from "Maori":