✦ TE REO MĀORI ✦
🎨 Tae
Colour words in te reo Māori, with interactive practice, examples, and everyday phrases.
Interactive Colour Picker
Tap a colour to see the Māori word, pronunciation guide, example sentence, and common object phrases.
Te reo Māori
Choose a colour Nothing selected yet Tap a colour tile below to begin.You can use this section to practise recognising and saying colour words.
Tae — Colours
These are the core colour words learners are most likely to use in everyday sentences.
wheroredfeh-roh
kikorangibluekee-koh-rah-nghee
kākārikigreenkaa-kaa-ree-kee
kōwhaiyellowkoh-fai
pangoblackpah-ngoh
māwhitemaa
parauribrownpah-row-ree
karakaorange colourkah-rah-kah
hinagreyhee-nah
māwheropinkmaa-feh-roh
papurapurplepah-poo-rah
hiriwasilverhee-ree-wah
kōuragoldkoh-oo-rah
kirīmicreamkee-ree-mee
uriuridarkoo-ree-oo-ree
kanapabright / shiningkah-nah-pah
How to Use Colours in Sentences
Pattern 1 — “The object is colour”
He + colour + te/ngā + object.
He whero te motokā. — The car is red.
He kikorangi te rangi. — The sky is blue.
He kākāriki ngā rākau. — The trees are green.
Pattern 2 — “What colour is it?”
He aha te tae? means “What is the colour?”
He aha te tae o te whare?
He mā te tae.
He parauri te tae o te kurī.
Everyday Colour Examples
He whero te pōtae.The hat is red.
He kōwhai te putiputi.The flower is yellow.
He kikorangi te moana.The ocean is blue.
He kākāriki te rau.The leaf is green.
He pango te ngeru.The cat is black.
He mā te kapua.The cloud is white.
He karaka te pōro.The ball is orange.
He māwhero te koti.The coat is pink.
Colour Families and Describing Shade
| English idea | Te reo Māori | Example |
|---|---|---|
| light / pale | mā / koma | He kikorangi koma te rangi. — The sky is pale blue. |
| dark | uriuri | He kākāriki uriuri te ngahere. — The forest is dark green. |
| bright / shining | kanapa | He kōwhai kanapa te putiputi. — The flower is bright yellow. |
| many colours | tae maha | He tae maha kei te pikitia. — There are many colours in the picture. |
| colourful | karakara | He kākahu karakara. — Colourful clothes. |
Practice Quiz
How do you say red?
Show answer
whero
What does kikorangi mean?
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blue
How do you say “The sky is blue”?
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He kikorangi te rangi.
What does māwhero mean?
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pink
How do you ask “What colour is it?”
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He aha te tae?
What does pango mean?
Show answer
black
Common Colour Phrases
taecolourtie-eh
he aha te tae?what colour?heh ah-hah teh tie-eh
tae mahamany colourstie-eh mah-hah
karakaracolourfulkah-rah-kah-rah
kāore he taeno colourkaa-oh-reh heh tie-eh
he tae paia nice colourheh tie-eh pie