Phrase Drills - Proverbs - Whakatauki
Free Māori Language Lessons providing the basics in Te Reo Māori
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We have added a section of Māori proverbs or whakatauki that you can learn and use.
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Ka mate kāinga tahi ka ora kāinga rua.
(When one home fails, have another to go to. Have two strings to your bow.)
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E mua kaikai, e muri kai huare.
(Early arrivals have the pick, but late comers may only get spittal)
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Toitū he kāinga, whatu ngarongaro he tangata.
(While the land remains the inhabitants are gone)
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He kōtuku rerenga tahi.
(The white heron that makes one flight only (Said of a chief).)
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Waiho ma te tangata e mihi, kia tau ai.
(It would be better to let others praise.)
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Ka pū te ruha, ka hao te rangatahi.
(The old net is cast aside, while the new net goes a-catching.)
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He iti hoki te mokoroa nāna i kakati te kahikatea.
(The mokoroa (grub) may be small, but it cuts through the Kahikatea (whitepine).)
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Ngaro atu he tētēkura, whakaeke mai he tētēkura.
(When one chief disappears another is ready to appear. No one is indispensable.)
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Moe ana te mata hī tuna, ara ana te kitaua.
( Eel catchers may sleep but sentries do not.)
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Mauri mahi, mauri ora; mauri noho, mauri mate.
(Industry begets prosperity (security); idleness begets poverty (insecurity).)
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He urunga tangata he urunga pāhekeheke, he urunga oneone, mau tonu.
(To rest on human support is unreliable, to rest on terra-firma is sure.)
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He wāhine, he whenua, ka ngaro te tangata.
(For a woman and land, men perish.)
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Tama tu, tama ora; tama noho, tama mate kai.
(He who stands lives; he who sits, perishes.)
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He aha te kai ō te rangatira? He Kōrero, he kōrero, he kōrero.
(What is the food of the leader. It is knowledge. It is communication.)
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Kia mate ururoa, kei mate wheke.
(Fight like a shark, don't give in like an octopus.)
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Ahakoa iti, he pounamu.
(Although it is small, it is of greenstone.)
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E kore te pātiki e hoki ki tōna puehu.
(The flounder does not go back to the mud it has stirred.)
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Toku toa, he toa rangatira
(My bravery is inherited from the chief who were my forebears)
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He au kei uta e taea te karo, he au kei te moana e kore e taea.
(You may dodge smoke (au) on land, but you cannot dodge current at sea.)
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He maroro kokati ihu waka.
(The flying-fish that cuts across the bow of the canoe. - Considered a bad omen.)
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Hōhonu kaki, pāpaku nana.
(Deep at eating but shallow at work.)
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He ihu kurī, he tangata haere.
(As a dog follows a scent, a wayfarer looks for an open door.)
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Waikato taniwha rau: he piko, he taniwha, he piko he taniwha.
((Waikato) Waikato of a hundred taniwha every bend there is a taniwha.)
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He manako te koura i kore ai.
(Crayfish are scarce when they are expected. Don't count your chickens before they hatch.)
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