mōrena koutou
In Māori, "good morning everyone" is said as mōrena koutou.
mōrena koutou is a greeting used specifically in the morning when you are addressing a group of people.
What does it mean word for word?
mōrena is a transliteration of the English word "morning", and koutou means "you (all three or more people)".
Is it said differently in some regions?
The informal greeting Mōrena, whānau is widely used across New Zealand.
How does it change in a sentence?
The word used to address the group changes based on how many people you are greeting: use koe if you are greeting only one person, and replace koutou with kōrua if you are greeting exactly two people.
Did you know?
- While mōrena is common, a traditional Māori way to greet people in the morning is ata mārie, which literally translates to 'peaceful morning'.
- In a formal 'pōwhiri' or welcome ceremony, a greeting to a group would never be as simple as mōrena koutou and would instead involve complex 'whaikōrero' or oratory.
- The word koutou has a distant linguistic relative in the Hawaiian word ʻoukou, which also refers to a group of people.
Examples in context
- E kī ana ia, mōrena koutou.He says, good morning everyone.
- Mōrena koutou, e te whānau.Good morning everyone, family.
Example conversation
Manaia enters a room where Kahu and her friends are sitting.
- ManaiaMōrena koutou!Good morning everyone!
- KahuMōrena, Manaia.Good morning, Manaia.
- ManaiaKei te pēhea koutou?How are you all?
- KahuKei te pai mātou.We are well.
Sources
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries koutou, mōrena, CC BY-SA 4.0.
