This amazing iPhone hack will make it so much easier for you to learn te reo Māori

It's Māori Language Week and we've come bearing the greatest gifts of all! Knowledge!

Introducing this legendary iPhone hack, which will make learning te reo words extremely simple, and encourage you to use it more in everyday life (insert pakipaki emoji here).

Like most great hacks this was brought to our attention on TikTok, thanks to Josh Kirkley

All the hack involves you swapping out words within your phone and allowing the phone to autocorrect to the appropriate te reo term. Very simple! 

@joshkirkley

Kia ora e te iti! This has helped me so much and I really encourage you all to learn new kupu this week! #nz #aotearoa #maori #tereo #māorilanguage #māori #newzealand

♬ original sound - Josh Kirkley

Here are the steps on how to swap out your words:

  1. Head into your Settings.
  2. Click General.
  3. Click on Keyboard.
  4. Click Text Replacement.
  5. Click on the + button (top right).
  6. In the 'Phrase' line, add the te reo word or phrase of your choice.
  7. In the Shortcut line, add the English word.

So now, whenever you type the English word, it'll autocorrect to the te reo version of the word! Legendary, right. 

We've taken the liberty of curating a list of a few simple words/phrases to give you a head start!

Shortcut

Phrase

Food

Kai

Good Morning

Mōrena

Meeting

Hui

Chat

Kōrero

Work

Mahi

Computer

Rorohiko

Happy

Harikoa

Sad

Pouri

Angry

Hōha

Coffee

Kawhe

Tea

Milk

Miraka

Sugar

Huka

Breakfast

Parakuihi

Lunch/Dinner/Meal

Tina

Walk

Hīkoi

Run

Oma

Excercise

Hei mahi

Friends

Takatāpui

And as Josh pointed out, if you're talking to somewhat who doesn't quite understand what you mean, what a great time to explain! It really is a win-win.

So why not give it a crack for the week (or forever), and add it to the list as you go! You never know when it could come up in a pub quiz. Your takatāpuhi will love you for it. 

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