Māori Language Week whakataukī
For Māori Language Week 2026 we shared whakataukī each day of the week. Our theme for Te Wiki o te Reo Māori 2026 was Aroha tetahi ki tētahi – Show compassion to each other.
He aroha whakatō, he aroha puta mai
If kindness is sown, then kindness you shall receive.
A simple statement to remind us that aroha is a seed that is planted into our thoughts, words, and actions. When love is planted, it returns again as a harvest (or fruit) for everyone.
Plant love and compassion in our thoughts, in our words and in our actions to benefit one and all.
Mā wai rā e taurima te marae i waho nei, mā te tika, mā te pono, me te aroha.
Literally “Through what activity or person will we entertain/provide hospitality on the marae outside? Through fair and just action, through sincerity and compassion!
Who or what will keep our community, our university, our family cared for? By doing what's right, by being honest and by caring for one another.
Mā te tuakana ka tōtika te teina, mā te teina ka tōtika te tuakana.
This whakataukī express a reciprocal energy of ‘learning and growing together’, ‘respecting each other’s talents’. It has a deeper meaning in encouraging us to make each other better by respecting, listening and supporting each other, supporting our theme of this week ‘aroha tētahi ki tētahi’.
Ōku kainga waewae.
A beautiful whakataukī equivalent the phrase ‘déjà vu’ when one gets that sudden, strange feeling that they’ve have already lived through or experienced a current situation, even though it is happening for the first time. In the context of Aotearoa, it refers to her the places one has been, the land one has walked. Literally meaning the land my feet have consumed.
Aroha tētahi ki tētahi.
“Aroha tētahi ki tētahi!” to care for one another. Small acts of kindness create strong people, strong relationships and strong connections. A smile, a helping hand or taking time to listen can make a real difference in someone's life.
When we show aroha to others, we strengthen the bonds that connect us. Communities thrive when people care for one another and everyone feels valued and included.
Whakataukī aroha – proverbs about love
Inspiring whakataukī
For Māori Language Week in 2012, we put 25 inspiring whakataukī into fortune cookies and distributed them to coffee shops on our Manawatū (Palmerston North) campus. Here’s a list of the whakataukī we used, along with the translations given.
More whakataukī
Tini whetū ki te rangi ko Rangitāne nui ki te whenua – As there are a myriad of stars in the heavens, the Rangitāne people are numerous on the land
He pepeha rongonui i kōrerotia ai i te wā he tinimano tāngata o Rangitāne e tūkaha ana i ngā papa kāinga huri noa i ngā rohe o Heretaunga, o Manawatū nei Te Wairarapa me Te Upoko o te Ika tae atu ki Wairau.
This is well known proverb pepeha reflecting a time when the Rangitāne people were numerous and powerful and had many settlements throughout Hawke’s Bay, Manawatū, Wairarapa, Wellington and in the Wairau district.
Itiiti rearea, teitei kahikatea ka taea – Although the rearea is small it can ascend the lofty heights of the Kahikatea tree
He manu iti te rearea i mātakitaki ai ngā tūpuna i te manu nei e kimi kai ana i te ngahere ka kitea pea tana rere. Pēnei ana tana rere, ka topa whakarunga, ā, ka paku heke iho ka topaki, ka tiu whakarunga anō ka paku heke iho anō kātahi ka topaki anō. I te wā i a rātou mā i kite rātou i tēnei manu e whakapau kaha ana kia tau ia ki te kōmata o te rākau, arā, ki te tāpuhipuhi, ki te tāuru o ngā kahikatea. Nā konā i whakaritea tēnei whakataukī hei akiaki i te tangata i runga anō i te huatau “ka taea e te rearea tōna matanā te tutuki, ka taea hoki e te tangata”.
The rearea is a small bird who’s actions of seeking food was observed by the ancestors. The rearea would fly upwards hover for a moment sometimes floating down a bit then fly upwards again continuing this process until it reached the top of the kahikatea tree (white Pine - Podocarpus dacrydioides) which were in early times 50 metres or more in height. Once the rearea reached the canopy it fed off the fruit. This whakataukī is used to encourage each other with the thought, that if a small bird can expend its energy to obtain food and achieve its goal then surely we can also with a lot of effort achieve our goals.
E koekoe te kōkō, e ketekete te kākā, e kūkū te kererū – The parson bird chatters, the parrot gabbles, the wood pigeon coos
Kei tēnā manu, kei tēnā manu tōna tangi ake. I tino mōhio ngā tūpuna Māori ki tēnei tūāhuatanga. I whakaritea e rātou tēnei tūāhuatanga o ngā manu ki te tangata e whakaaraara ai i a rātou anō ki te motuhaketanga o tēnā tangata, o tēnā tangata kia whakatairanga ake i ia pūmanawa o ia tangata. I mōhio hoki rātou mā te kāinga katoa te tamaiti e whakatipu. Hei tā rātou anō ahakoa te momo tangata; tangata wairangi, tangata pōrangi, tangata hārangi, tangata kaha, tangata koi, tangata aha, tangata aha he taonga tonu ia.
The early ancestors recognised that, like humans, every bird has its own unique characteristics, like the individual cry they make. The native birds of Aotearoa have distinct calls and in some cases are named after those calls. This whakataukī alludes to the idea that like the native bird species we as humans also have individualistic traits. The literal lesson given by this proverb is two-fold:
a) it takes all sorts to make a world
b) variety is the spice of life.
He tohe puruhi – A persistent flea
He huahuatau tēnei tū kupu e whakataurite ana ki tētahi momo tangata e aronui ana ki tētahi kaupapa hei whakatutuki, ki tētahi momo tangata rānei e noho hongehongeā ana, e whakatoi ana, ka mutu ka kaha te pōrahu. Māhau tonu te whakaaro mō āhea mahia ai me te mōhio hoki ki tētahi tangata pēnei.
This is a metaphoric saying alluding to either someone who continues to focus on a particular issue to get it resolved or to someone who persists in adopting an annoying stance and keeps coming at you. You decide how to use this and may already know someone who fits this description perfectly.
Hei te tau tītoki – The year the tītoki tree blooms
Ka kitea i tēnei whakataukī te mātauranga nui o ngā tūpuna ki te taiao, ināhoki ki te rākau tītoki, tēnā ka puāwai anake i te wā ka pai katoa te āhuarangi. He mea mātakitaki nā ngā tūpuna me te aha ka meatia te kupu nei hei poroaki tangata.
This proverb illustrates the ancestors intimate knowledge of the environment, specifically in this instance the Tītoki tree (Alectryon excelsus) which only bloomed when the climate was right. The ancestors observed this phenonium and thus used the phrase as a farewell (poroaki) to mean, “I’ll see you again when the time is right!”, “Hei te tau tītoki!”
Pronunciation
If you'd like some help with te reo Māori pronunciation, check out our pronunciation guide.