MondlyMondly doesn't teach Māori or any other Polynesian language.
Te reo Māori is an official language of New Zealand, and the 2023 Census counted more than 200,000 people who can hold a conversation in it, about 4.3 percent of the country. Free courses and books from Aotearoa are in our best apps to learn Māori.
Bubblegum
For serious learners, Bubblegum is the best app to learn Māori. You learn from Māori you can mostly understand, which is called comprehensible input.
Tell Poppy, your AI tutor, your level and what you like, and she writes your Māori lessons. If a sentence is hard to follow, ask Poppy to explain it.
With Regenerative Review™, words you save show up again in new lessons, so that you can review words in new contexts without having to use flashcards.
- Poppy writes each lesson around your level and the topics you choose.
- Lessons play AI audio while you read.
- Tap a word to see what it means, or ask Poppy to explain a whole line.
- Grammar topics explain how Māori works, such as how a macron marks a long vowel.
- Regenerative Review™ brings saved words back in new lessons, and you can export them to Anki as flashcards.
- Clear, expressive AI voices read every lesson aloud, with a different voice for each speaker.
- Lessons use modern standard spelling, with macrons over the long vowels. Some iwi write long vowels as double letters, so a book from there can look different.
- You can't turn your own Māori books into lessons. However, you can paste a page in the chat, and Poppy will explain it.
- Custom lessons cost us money to make, so you need Bubblegum Pro for unlimited custom lessons. Lessons Poppy wrote for other learners are free for everyone to read.
- Regenerative Review™
Mobile
Ling
Ling is a course app. Its Māori lessons combine audio with game-based challenges, and you can use it on iOS and Android.
- A course with four stages: basics, real content, conversation practice and advanced topics.
- A dialog feature for practicing conversations, and flashcards for new words.
- Flashcards
MobileWeb
Drops
Drops teaches Māori through short sessions that focus on words and phrases. It suits a learner who wants to fill spare minutes with new words.
- Short sessions on words and phrases, so you can fit one into spare minutes.
- Topics include the Māori alphabet, greetings and goodbyes.
Mobile
uTalk
uTalk teaches Māori words and phrases for everyday situations, like greetings, family and food.
- More than 2,500 words and phrases in over 60 categories.
- Māori speakers recorded the audio, and you can record yourself and compare.
MobileWeb
Other Apps We Looked At (3)
- KōreroreroA free app from AUT with eight lessons, each built around an everyday activity. It focuses on speaking, and the first lesson has words you can use right away.
- Ako TahiA free iPhone app with more than 2,500 everyday phrases in themes such as food and sports. Each phrase has audio, and the phrases use the Ngāpuhi dialect from Northland.
- Te Aka Māori DictionaryA Māori-English dictionary on the web and as an app for iPhone, iPad and Android. Consumer NZ calls it perhaps the most crucial resource for learners.
Te Whanake has podcasts that give you the listening and speaking exercises for each chapter of its beginner textbook, Te Kākano, and Toro Mai is a free online course from Massey University that takes about 10 hours.
| App | Free? | What's Free |
|---|---|---|
| Bubblegum | Free version | Custom lessons cost us money to make, so you need Bubblegum Pro for unlimited custom lessons. Lessons Poppy wrote for other learners are free for everyone to read. |
| Ling | Some lessons free | The first two beginner units are free in every language. Ling Pro opens all the lessons, and the yearly plan starts with a 7-day free trial. |
| Drops | Free version | The free version lets you learn for five minutes every 10 hours. Drops Premium gives you unlimited time and all the content, and the yearly plan starts with a 7-day free trial. |
| uTalk | Some lessons free | Every language has free starter words, and getting full marks in the games opens one more topic for free. For the rest, you subscribe or buy a language or topic. |
| Kōrerorero | Free | Its App Store page says it is free with no ads or subscriptions. |
| Ako Tahi | Free | Its App Store page calls it a free app. |
| Te Aka Māori Dictionary | Not stated | The dictionary is on the web, and Consumer NZ says the standalone app has a one-off cost to download. The page does not say what is free. |
Which Māori app should a beginner choose?
If you are serious about learning Māori, start with Bubblegum. Poppy, your AI tutor, writes lessons at your level about things you like. Or start with Kōrerorero, a free app from AUT, if you would like to speak first.
Do I need to learn the macrons?
Yes. A macron marks a long vowel, and it can change what a word means. Lessons in Bubblegum write the macrons, and so should any course you use.
Is Bubblegum free?
Yes. Lessons Poppy wrote for other learners are free for everyone to read. Custom lessons cost us money to make, so you need Bubblegum Pro for unlimited custom lessons.
Sources
- Mondly: its list of 41 languages
- Mondly: App Store listing (41 languages, free lessons, subscription for the rest)
- RNZ: More than 200,000 people can hold a conversation in te reo Māori (2023 Census, 4.3 percent)
- Drops: Learn Māori
- Drops: iPhone App Store listing (languages you can use it in, free trial)
- Drops: Free vs Premium
- uTalk: Learn Māori
- uTalk: iPhone App Store listing (what is free)
- uTalk: Languages you can learn from on uTalk
- Ling: Learn Māori
- Ling: FAQs (what is free)
- Ling: iPhone App Store listing (languages you can use it in)
- Consumer NZ: Learn te reo Māori on your phone or tablet with these apps
- AUT news: New app to learn te reo Māori (Kōrerorero, free, eight lessons)
- Kōrerorero: iPhone App Store listing
- Ako Tahi: iPhone App Store listing
- Te Aka Māori Dictionary: Māori language resources (dictionary app, Te Whanake podcasts, videos and animations)
- Te Whanake: free online resources for learners
- Massey University: Toro Mai (free online te reo Māori course, about 10 hours)
- The Spinoff: Get your macron on (Te Taura Whiri's macron standard, double vowels in Waikato and Tainui)
- Ling: what the paid plan adds
- Drops: what the paid plan adds
- Bubblegum
