pō mārie
/ˈpoː ˈmaːrie/
The Maori phrase for goodnight is pō mārie.
pō mārie is a greeting used to wish someone a peaceful night before they go to sleep.
What does it mean word for word?
The phrase is composed of pō meaning night and mārie meaning peaceful or calm.
How do you pronounce it?
/ˈpoː ˈmaːrie/
Did you know?
- The term mārie is a relative of the Malay word selamat, which is also used to form greetings.
- In traditional Maori culture, the concept of pō is deeply tied to the lunar cycle, where time is tracked through the shifting phases of the moon from the new moon to the 30th night.
Examples in context
- Pō mārie ki a koe.Goodnight to you.
- Pō mārie katoa.Goodnight to everyone.
Example conversation
Maia and Tane are finishing a conversation before bed.
- MaiaKua reri ahau hei moe.I am ready to sleep.
- TanePō mārie, Maia.Goodnight, Maia.
- MaiaPō mārie ki a koe, Tane.Goodnight to you, Tane.
- TaneKa kite anō i te ata.See you again in the morning.
Sources
- Pronunciation: Wiktionary entry pō mārie, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries mārie, pō, pō mārie, CC BY-SA 4.0.
