NCEA Level 2 Te Reo Māori key terms

Speech, talk, or a spoken account. In the exam it covers both formal speeches and everyday conversation, and it names the act of speaking itself.

To listen or hear. Listening tasks reward catching key information, tone, and the speaker's purpose rather than translating every word.

To read, or a notice or announcement. Reading tasks use short authentic texts such as notices, letters, and articles, and ask for gist and detail.

Writing, or to write. Writing tasks ask candidates to produce connected text for a purpose and audience, using correct spelling and sentence structures.

Language, voice, or the Māori language itself. Candidates describe how language carries identity and use reo Māori appropriately in formal and informal settings.

The Māori language. The exam assesses understanding and use of reo Māori across listening, speaking, reading, and writing, including pronunciation and idiom.

Custom, protocol, or the correct way of doing things. Understanding tikanga helps candidates interpret texts and respond appropriately in spoken interactions.

The communal meeting place of a hapū or iwi, including the courtyard and buildings. Texts and recordings often describe events held on the marae.

A formal welcome ceremony on a marae, involving speeches, songs, and the hongi. Listening and reading passages frequently describe the order of a pōwhiri.

Formal speech-making, especially the speeches of welcome and reply on a marae. Candidates need to recognise its structure, formal language, and set expressions.

A greeting, tribute, or speech of acknowledgement. A mihi can introduce yourself, thank hosts, or honour someone, and appears in both spoken and written tasks.

A personal statement of identity that names your mountain, river, ancestors, and marae. Candidates often write or deliver a pepeha to introduce themselves.

Genealogy or ancestral lineage. Understanding whakapapa helps candidates follow texts about family and identity and use correct terms for relatives.

A tribe or extended kinship group made up of related hapū. Reading and listening texts often identify people by their iwi.

A sub-tribe or clan within an iwi. The word also means pregnant, so context decides the meaning in a passage.

Extended family or family group. It is a core social unit in texts about home life, events, and community, and appears in many everyday contexts.

The main meeting house on a marae, often named after an ancestor. Descriptions of its carvings and layout appear in reading and listening texts.

A word or vocabulary item. Candidates build kupu knowledge across topics such as school, family, and the environment to support all four skills.

Grammar or sentence structure. Correct use of particles, verb forms, and sentence patterns is assessed in writing and in spoken production.

A piece of writing, document, or text. Writing tasks ask for a tuhinga suited to purpose and audience, such as a letter, report, or narrative.

Written communication or written text. It contrasts with spoken communication and helps candidates distinguish formal written registers from conversational ones.

Aspect, circumstance, or characteristic. It appears in comprehension questions asking about features of a situation or qualities of a person.

A reason, issue, or matter under discussion. Candidates identify the take in a text or speech and explain the speaker's purpose.

A topic, purpose, or guiding principle. Questions often ask for the kaupapa of a text, meaning its main idea or intent.

A question, or to ask. Recognising question forms and their intonation is essential for listening and for interactive speaking tasks.

An answer or reply, or to respond. Candidates give appropriate whakautu in speaking tasks and identify answers within listening and reading texts.

An idiom or colloquial expression whose meaning differs from its literal words. Recognising kīwaha improves comprehension of natural spoken and written Māori.

A proverb or significant saying that carries traditional wisdom. Candidates explain the meaning and relevance of whakataukī in speeches and written texts.

A song or to sing. Waiata follow speeches on the marae and appear in listening tasks where candidates identify meaning and purpose.

The traditional greeting in which noses are pressed together. It follows speeches of welcome and is often described in texts about a pōwhiri.

A visitor or guest, especially those welcomed onto a marae. Texts about pōwhiri distinguish manuhiri from the hosts who welcome them.

The people of the land, the hosts or original inhabitants of a place. The term contrasts with manuhiri in descriptions of formal welcomes.

Guardianship and care for the environment and people. It appears in texts about land, water, and sustainability, and candidates explain its meaning.

Land, or placenta. Context decides the meaning; texts about identity and environment usually refer to land and belonging.

A home, village, or settlement. Reading and listening texts often describe returning to the kāinga or life in a home community.

A school, or red. In texts it usually means school, including kura kaupapa, and context distinguishes it from the colour word.

To play, or a game or sport. It appears in texts about recreation and in speaking tasks where candidates describe leisure activities.

Tomorrow. Time words like this are common in listening tasks where candidates must place events in the correct order.

To explain or clarify, or an explanation. Writing and speaking tasks ask candidates to whakamārama their ideas clearly for a reader or listener.

A thought, idea, or opinion. Candidates express and justify whakaaro in speaking and writing, and identify them in texts.