Te Reo Māori • Flashcard set • Years 4-10 • Ready to print tomorrow

Kupu Flashcards Front

This front sheet gives kaiako a ready-made vocabulary set for rapid retrieval, matching games, and daily classroom reo. Print it with the matching back sheet so students can connect written kupu with meanings and pronunciation support.

Ingoa / Name
Akomanga / Class

Best for

Word walls, pair quizzes, starter routines, table-group sorting, and repeated low-prep vocabulary practice.

Kaiako use

Print the front and back sheets double-sided, then introduce one set at a time rather than all 148 cards in one go.

Ākonga use

Students can sort by theme, match to meanings, practise quick-fire recall, and reuse the cards during oral language routines.

Free vocabulary set, premium adaptation path

This sheet is ready to print as-is. If you want a smaller junior pack, school-specific kupu, or local place and people vocabulary added to the deck, Te Wānanga can rebuild the set without losing the print utility.

  • Create a reduced deck for new learners or a themed deck for one unit.
  • Add local kupu, class routines, or sports and kapa haka language.
  • Save the adapted pack and reopen it later in My Kete or Creation Studio.
Adapt this in Te Wānanga Open Creation Studio Compare paid workflow options

Kaiako planning snapshot

  • Use length: 10-20 minutes as a warm-up, or longer if students are playing matching, memory, or sorting games.
  • Grouping: Pairs and small groups work best; keep one full class model first.
  • Prep: Print front and back sheets double-sided, long-edge flip, and decide which sets to introduce first.
  • Teaching move: Start with one theme at a time so students feel successful quickly.
Rapid retrieval Daily reo

Resources already provided

  • 148 vocabulary card fronts grouped by theme
  • Matching back sheet with meanings and pronunciation
  • Print-ready layout for quick prep
  • Curriculum companion for planning clarity

If tomorrow's lesson needs ready-made te reo vocabulary cards, the grouped deck is already here.

Ngā Whāinga Akoranga / Learning Intentions

  • We are learning to recognise high-frequency kupu across everyday classroom themes.
  • We are learning to connect written te reo with categories and contexts.
  • We are learning to use repeated retrieval to make vocabulary stick.

Paearu Angitu / Success Criteria

  • I can identify the correct kupu for a familiar theme or category.
  • I can match written kupu with the correct back card or spoken meaning.
  • I can reuse some of the kupu in a short classroom task or oral exchange.

Curriculum integration / Te Marautanga alignment

Use the companion page to make the curriculum intent explicit around vocabulary growth, classroom language, and building confidence through repeated oral and visual exposure to te reo Māori.

Te Reo Māori Vocabulary development Classroom language
Open curriculum companion

How to use this deck well

These cards are strongest when they become part of normal classroom life: quick retrieval, matching, speaking prompts, and visible wall language. Repeated short exposure usually beats one long worksheet session. A mātauranga Māori lens matters here because the kupu belong in living social and cultural contexts, not just on a card pile.

Print and use

  • Print double-sided with the matching back sheet and flip on the long edge.
  • Cut by set if you only want one theme at a time.
  • Use the first few sets for juniors before adding months, weather, or colour variations.

Suggested routines

  • Quick sort: students group cards into themes.
  • Memory pairs: front and back sheets become a matching game.
  • Fast recall: hold up a card and ask for meaning or a sentence.

Set A: Core Greetings & Pepeha Words

1
Kia ora
Greeting
2
Mōrena
Greeting
3
Ata mārie
Greeting
4
Tēnā koe
Greeting
5
Kei te pēhea koe?
Question
6
Kei te pai
Response
7
Ko wai tō ingoa?
Question
8
Ko ___ ahau
Introduction

Set B: Pepeha Foundations

9
Nō hea koe?
Question
10
Nō ___ ahau
Introduction
11
Maunga
Pepeha
12
Awa
Pepeha
13
Waka
Pepeha
14
Iwi
Pepeha
15
Hapū
Pepeha
16
Whānau
Pepeha

Set C: Classroom Kupu

17
Whakarongo mai
Classroom
18
Titiro mai
Classroom
19
Tū mai
Classroom
20
Noho
Classroom
21
Tuhia
Classroom
22
Pānui
Classroom
23
Pātai
Classroom
24
Whakautu
Classroom

Set D: Everyday Actions

25
Haere
Action
26
Haere mai
Action
27
Kai
Action
28
Inu
Action
29
Mahi
Action
30
Ako
Action
31
Tākaro
Action
32
Hīkoi
Action

Set E: Time & Place

33
Ināianei
Time
34
Āpōpō
Time
35
Inanahi
Time
36
Ata
Time
37
Ahiahi
Time
38
Pō
Time
39
Rā
Time
40
Tau
Time

Set F: Whānau Kupu

41
Māmā
Whānau
42
Pāpā
Whānau
43
Matua
Whānau
44
Tamariki
Whānau
45
Mokopuna
Whānau
46
Koro
Whānau
47
Kuia
Whānau
48
Hoa
Whānau

Set G: Pronouns & Pointing Words

49
Ko au
Pronoun
50
Ko koe
Pronoun
51
Ko ia
Pronoun
52
Mātou
Pronoun
53
Tātou
Pronoun
54
Koutou
Pronoun
55
Rātou
Pronoun
56
Tēnei
Pronoun

Set H: Numbers 1-8

57
Tahi
Number
58
Rua
Number
59
Toru
Number
60
Whā
Number
61
Rima
Number
62
Ono
Number
63
Whitu
Number
64
Waru
Number

Set I: Days of the Week

65
Rāhina
Time
66
Rātū
Time
67
Rāapa
Time
68
Rāpare
Time
69
Rāmere
Time
70
Rāhoroi
Time
71
Rātapu
Time
72
Wiki
Time

Set J: Marama (Months 1-8)

73
Kohitātea
Month
74
Huitanguru
Month
75
Poutū-te-rangi
Month
76
Paenga-whāwhā
Month
77
Haratua
Month
78
Pipiri
Month
79
Hōngongoi
Month
80
Hereturikōkā
Month

Set K: Marama (Months 9-12) + Seasons

81
Mahuru
Month
82
Whiringa-ā-nuku
Month
83
Whiringa-ā-rangi
Month
84
Hakihea
Month
85
Raumati
Season
86
Ngahuru
Season
87
Takurua
Season
88
Kōanga
Season

Set L: Weather

89
Rangi
Weather
90
Āhua ātaahua
Weather
91
Wera
Weather
92
Mātao
Weather
93
Hau
Weather
94
Ua
Weather
95
Kapua
Weather
96
Uira
Weather

Set M: Emotions

97
Hari
Feeling
98
Pōuri
Feeling
99
Riri
Feeling
100
Māharahara
Feeling
101
Mataku
Feeling
102
Hiamoe
Feeling
103
Hiakai
Feeling
104
Hiainu
Feeling

Set N: Classroom Objects

105
Pukapuka
Classroom
106
Rorohiko
Classroom
107
Pene
Classroom
108
Rapa
Classroom
109
Tūru
Classroom
110
Tēpu
Classroom
111
Pūrere
Classroom
112
Pēke
Classroom

Set O: Colours

113
Whero
Colour
114
Kikorangi
Colour
115
Kākāriki
Colour
116
Kōwhai
Colour
117
Parauri
Colour
118
Mā
Colour
119
Waiporoporo
Colour
120
Pango
Colour

Set P: Numbers 9-16

121
Iwa
Number
122
Tekau
Number
123
Tekau mā tahi
Number
124
Tekau mā rua
Number
125
Tekau mā toru
Number
126
Tekau mā whā
Number
127
Tekau mā rima
Number
128
Tekau mā ono
Number

Set Q: Numbers 17-20 + Classroom Phrases

129
Tekau mā whitu
Number
130
Tekau mā waru
Number
131
Tekau mā iwa
Number
132
Rua tekau
Number
133
Whakatūwhera
Classroom
134
Katia
Classroom
135
Whakamahia
Classroom
136
Āwhina mai
Classroom

Set R: Colours (Natural + Non-natural)

137
Kikorangi
Colour
138
Kahurangi
Colour
139
Whero
Colour
140
Kōkōwai
Colour
141
Pango
Colour
142
Pōuri
Colour
143
Mā
Colour
144
Kōtuku
Colour
145
Karaka
Colour
146
Hina
Colour
147
Māwhero
Colour
148
Ōrangihina
Colour

Where this fits next

Use this deck to seed classroom vocabulary, then move into greetings, role-play, or pronunciation practice. If you want a class-specific deck, adapt it in Te Wānanga or Creation Studio.

Create a class-specific version Open matching back sheet

Hononga Marautanga · Curriculum Alignment

Social Sciences — Tikanga ā-Iwi

Level 3–4: Understand how Māori cultural practices, values, and whakapapa shape identity and community; recognise the significance of te Tiriti o Waitangi and the contribution of Māori culture to Aotearoa New Zealand's national identity.

Te Reo Māori — Language and Culture

Level 3–4: Use te reo Māori to express cultural concepts, identity, and relationships with accuracy and respect; understand the significance of Māori language as a taonga and its role in sustaining mātauranga Māori.

Aronga Mātauranga Māori

This resource engages directly with te ao Māori as its subject — the values, practices, language, and worldview that have sustained Māori communities across centuries of challenge and change. Mātauranga Māori is not a supplement to this learning: it is the source. Students approaching this material are invited to engage with it not as outside observers studying a foreign culture, but as people in relationship with a living knowledge tradition that shapes the place they live, the language they may speak, and the obligations they carry as tāngata o Aotearoa — people of this land. That relationship calls for care, curiosity, and respect for knowledge-holders who carry what no textbook can fully contain.

Tuhia ōu whakaaro · Write Your Thoughts

Reflect on what you have learned today. What was the most important idea? What question do you still have?

Ngā Rauemi Tautoko · Support Materials

This handout is designed to be used alongside the broader unit resources available at Te Kete Ako handouts library. Related resources from the same unit are linked in the unit planner. All resources are provided — no additional preparation is required to use this handout in your classroom.

📋 Teacher Planning Snapshot

Ngā Whāinga Ako — Learning Intentions

Students will engage with this resource to deepen understanding of Te Ao Māori — exploring whakapapa, tikanga, and cultural identity as living systems that shape who we are in Aotearoa New Zealand.

Ngā Paearu Angitū — Success Criteria

  • ✅ Students can explain key concepts from this resource using their own words.
  • ✅ Students can connect tikanga Māori and whakapapa to real-world examples in Aotearoa.

Differentiation & Inclusion

Scaffold support: Provide sentence starters, visual glossaries, or graphic organisers to give entry-level access for students who need additional support. Offer extension tasks that deepen cultural inquiry — for example, exploring local hapū histories or interviewing a kaumātua.

ELL / ESOL: Pre-teach key kupu Māori (whakapapa, tikanga, mana, mauri) with bilingual glossaries where available. Allow students to respond in their home language as a bridge to English expression.

Inclusion: Use accessible formats — clear headings, adequate whitespace, chunked tasks. Neurodiverse learners benefit from structured choice in how they demonstrate understanding (oral, visual, written). Acknowledge that students may hold personal connections to the cultural content.

Mātauranga Māori lens: This unit centres Te Ao Māori as a living knowledge system. Whakapapa is not merely genealogy but a relational framework linking people, place, and time. Tikanga grounds behaviour in kaupapa Māori principles. Approach content with aroha and manaakitanga.

Prior knowledge: No specialist prior knowledge required for entry-level engagement. Best used after relevant lesson sequences, or as a standalone introduction to cultural identity.

Curriculum alignment