Learn Te Reo Māori Through Topics You Care About

LingoBear creates short Māori passages on topics you choose. Tap any word for an instant English translation and build your vocabulary as you read. Eastern Polynesian language of New Zealand, official since 1987, Latin script with macrons for long vowels (ā ē ī ō ū), VSO word order, ~185,000 speakers.

Tap any word for instant translation

Every word in your Māori reading passage is clickable. Get English translations and grammar help — useful for the verbal particles that mark tense and aspect.

Read about topics you choose

Type any topic and LingoBear generates a fresh Māori reading passage — from kapa haka performances to environmental kaitiakitanga.

What is Te Reo Māori and where is it spoken?

Te Reo Māori is an Eastern Polynesian language of New Zealand, an official language since the 1987 Māori Language Act and now under active revitalisation. Around 185,000 people identify as speakers, with growing numbers from kōhanga reo immersion preschools to kura kaupapa schools. It is closely related to Cook Islands Māori, Hawaiian, Tahitian and Rapa Nui.

What grammar features does Te Reo Māori have?

Māori uses VSO word order, distinguishes inclusive and exclusive 'we' (tātou vs mātou), and has only 15 phonemes: five vowels and ten consonants. Verbs are marked for tense and aspect by particles (i for past, ka for non-past, e ... ana for progressive). Macrons (tohutō) over vowels mark length: tau 'year' vs tāu 'yours'. LingoBear lets you see these in real text.