How to learn te reo Māori words, a little every day

The Māori alphabet has fifteen letters: the vowels a e i o u and the consonants h k m n p r t w ng wh. Ng and wh are digraphs: each represents one consonant sound. The wh often sounds close to an English “f”, though pronunciation varies between iwi and regions.

A macron marks a long vowel, and a long or short vowel can change the meaning of a word, so learn each word with its macrons from the start. In Kupu Huna, the letter feedback treats ā and a as different letters, and its keyboard has a key for each.

Try setting aside a few minutes each day. The Puna Kupu home page shows a kupu o te rā, a word of the day, with its English meaning. Say it aloud, then look for it again later in the day. Every so often, read the month’s words together on one page, where they are grouped under the month’s theme.

Recognising a word when you see it is easier than bringing it to mind yourself. The games ask for both. Kupu Huna makes you spell a word letter by letter. Mekameka Kupu asks you to think of a word starting with a given letter before the timer runs out. Ngā Tūhono asks how words relate to each other, and Pātai o te Marama checks that you remember what the month’s words mean.

Word games build vocabulary, but they do not teach sentence structure, conversation or the tikanga that goes with the language. Use new words in everyday moments with your whānau, friends or classmates, and if you can, join a class, work with a kaiako (teacher) or find a group that meets to speak te reo Māori together. Puna Kupu works best alongside that kind of learning, not instead of it.

Puna Kupu is for learners of all ages and is built with children’s privacy in mind. You can play without an account or an email address, there is no public chat, and your account details are not shown to other players. If you are a young learner, ask a trusted adult before creating an account.