How Do You Use Te Aka Māori Dictionary to Look Up Māori and English Words?

Updated

Open Te Aka Māori Dictionary at maoridictionary.co.nz, type a Māori or English word into the search field, and submit it to see bilingual entries with definitions and usage examples. The online version is a Māori-English and English-Māori dictionary and index, so it works in both directions. It is built for quick reference; the site itself recommends also owning the hard copy for classroom use and for times when you are offline.

Step by step: completing a lookup

  1. Go to the site. The homepage is the online version of Te Aka Māori-English, English-Māori Dictionary and Index.
  2. Enter your word. Type either a Māori word or an English word. You do not need to choose a direction first; the dictionary covers both.
  3. Submit the search and read the entry. Expect a definition plus examples of usage. For grammatical items, the dictionary provides comprehensive explanations with usage examples.
  4. Check what kind of entry you landed on. Te Aka mixes a traditional dictionary with encyclopaedic entries, so a result may describe a plant, animal, star, planet, important Māori person, ancestor, tribal group, canoe, place name, institution, or a key cultural concept rather than a simple translation pair.
  5. Narrow or widen with filters. The site offers filters for Idioms, Phrases, Proverbs, Loan words, and Historical loan words. Apply one when a plain search returns too much, or when you specifically want idiomatic or proverbial material.
  6. Verify your result against the example sentences and, for grammar entries, the usage explanations. If the sense does not match your context, search again with a different word.

What the entries contain

Entry type What you get When it helps
Standard word Māori-English or English-Māori definition with examples Everyday translation and vocabulary building
Grammar item Full explanation plus usage examples Understanding how a word functions, not just what it means
Idiom, phrase, proverb Meaning with examples, reachable via filters Reading natural or formal Māori text
Loan word / historical loan word Entries flagged as borrowings, filterable Tracing word origins and older vocabulary
Encyclopaedic entry Names of plants and animals (especially native and endemic species), stars, planets, heavenly bodies, important Māori people, key ancestors, tribal groups, ancestral canoes, institutions, countries, places, proper names, and explanations of key cultural concepts Reading about the world in Māori, not just translating

When a search does not work

  • Spelling and macrons. Māori distinguishes vowel length, so try the word with and without macrons (for example, with and without a long vowel marked) and with alternative spellings.
  • Try the root. If a compound or inflected form returns nothing useful, search the base word.
  • Switch language. If the Māori term is unknown to you, search the English concept instead and read the Māori options offered.
  • Use the filters deliberately. If a common word floods results, restrict to phrases or proverbs to see how it is used in set expressions.

Online, print, app, or photo

  • Online dictionary: fastest for a single lookup; the site describes it as aimed at quick access.
  • The book: Te Aka Māori-English, English-Māori Dictionary and Index by John C Moorfield, a selection of modern and everyday language for learners. The site recommends buying the hard copy for class and offline use.
  • The app: Te Aka is available as an iOS and Android app, useful when you are away from a browser.
  • Kupu: a separate iOS and Android app from the same site. You photograph an object with your phone and it offers Māori translation options — handy for building vocabulary from your surroundings rather than looking up a word you already know.

Choose the online dictionary or app for a known word, the book for structured study and offline reliability, and Kupu when you want to discover new words from objects around you.