Useful Ways To Say “Hello” & “Goodbye” In Māori Language

Many moons ago, musicians from New Zealand called Ka Hao and Rob Ruha released a song together called “35.” The song highlights New Zealand’s State Highway 35 (SH 35) and the Māori people that live along the area. The tune was and still is sooooo catchy that it blew up on this planet and it even was used as a mainstream dance song on TikTok. If you don’t know the song, stream it here:

A fun fact about “35” is that it was released as one of the 27 songs for the 2021 Waiata Anthems Week during Te Wiki o te Reo Māori, a government-sponsored campaign to promote the use of Māori language. Before you learn the lyrics to this sweet song, make sure to get acquainted with the different ways of saying “hello” and “goodbye” in Māori.

Ways to say “Hello” in Māori

• Hello: Kia ora (kee-ah oh-rah)
• Hello (to one person): Tēnā koe (teeh-naah ko-eh)
• Hello (to two people): Tēna kōrua (teeh-naah koo-roo-ah)
• Hello (to three or more people): Tēnā koutou (teeh-naah koh-toh)
• Good morning: Mōrena (mooh-reh-na)
• Good afternoon: Ahiahi mārie (ah-hee-yah-hee maa-ree-yeh)
• Good night: Pō mārie (pooh maa-ree-yeh)

Ways to say “Goodbye” in Māori

• Until next time: Mā te wā (maah teh waah)
• See you again: Ka kite (kah kee-teh)
• See you tomorrow: Hei āpōpō (hi aah-pooh-pooh)
• Goodbye (to someone leaving): Haere rā (hi-reh raah)
• Goodbye (to someone staying): E noho rā (eh no-ho raah)