New Zealand Place Names & Restaurants Using Maori Words to recognize and remember

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Pronunciation

Wh is pronounced f

Word Order

In the Maori language, adjectives follow nouns, the same as in French (moulin rouge, red mill), Italian and Spanish (casa mia is my house).

Double Words

Rotorua  →  roto  "lake" +  rua  "two" = "two lakes" 

Common Words

Te is the, singular. Think of it as the word the shortened with the letter h missing. 

Maori - English

iti - small (think of bitty and little, itty-bitty)

kia ora - hello, thanks, 

kiri - bell, bark (of a tree), skin

komiti - committee

maunga - mountain

miti - meat

motu - island

motuka - motorcar

nau - come / ship

Nau mai / (and or) haere mai - welcome / welcome to (seen on signposts as you enter a region or city)

Nui - big (think of e-normous)

panana - banana

pea - pear

pune - spoon

Rotorua (place name) - literally lake two = two lakes

two

te - the (as in Kiri Te Kanawa the opera singer, New Zealand soprano, sang at British royal wedding) te reo - the language i.e. Maori

Te Arai - The River (the name of a wine from chenin blanc grape, made by Millton Vineyard 7 Winery, Gisborne, North Island, New Zealand

Tereina - train

wai - water (in landscape), drinking water

Wahine - woman/ wife / ladies (toilet)

Waiheke - water cascading /trickling /ebbing

Wai hirere - waterfall

Waitangi - weeping waters (waters weeping) place of Waitangi treaty

whanga - harbour, bay

English - Maori

big - nui

hello - how are you - kia ora

island - motu

lake - in the lake

small - iti

the - te (singular)

two - two

 

 http://www.nzhistory.net.nz/culture/maori-language-week/100-maori-words

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Māori_words_and_phrases

http://www.maoridictionary.co.nz/

https://languagedrops.com/word/en/english/m%C4%81ori/topics/drinks/

Mount Manganui, A Conical Extinct Volcano To Photograph Or Climb, At Tauranga, New Zealand

 Tauranga (pronounce each vowel separately) is Maori language for haven or safe resting place. The drive up is exciting and photogenic as you get nearer and nearer, glimpsing the landmark Mount Manganui through New Zealand's distinctive dark green triangular trees and palm trees.

Mount - Enormous!

Manganui, or Maunganui, means big mountain in the Maori language. Maunga is Mount or Mountain. Nui is tall or large. 

Maori Word Order

So the adjective comes second, like most languages apart from English. (French except common words like grand and petit, moulin rouge being red mill, BANGS, beauty, age, number, goodness and size come first, other adjectives are second after the noun. Spanish casa mia, my house.)

Mount Manganui. Photo by Angela Lansbury. Copyright.

Photo by Angela Lansbury. Copyright.

The East coast seaside city of Tauranga is remembered by its conical extinct volcano Mount Manganui. You are supposed to be able to climb up it in about 40 minutes. Wear sneakers or solid walking shoes and carry sunblock and water and wear a hat and sunglasses.

Beside it is the sandy beach where your feet sink into the sand. Remember to bring clogs or washable shoes to get rid of the sand. When I was there in late January/early February the sand at lunch time was not too hot to walk on. 

Signs tell you about when it is safe or not safe to go into the water between flags. Also note, no dogs on the beach - on penalty of heavy fines. Jolly good, good news, for those of us walking about without shoes - no risk of dog mess.

If you just want a coffee and a scone and lunch outdoors, people watching, lots of choice. We chose the Coffee Club.

For an ice cream cone, two shops along, you can see a conical waffle cone being made.