New Zealand has three official languages: English, te reo Māori, and New Zealand Sign Language (NZSL) — making it the only country in the world to recognise a sign language as official. In everyday life English dominates and is understood by virtually everyone, but Māori words, greetings, and place names are woven so deeply into the national vocabulary that the country has a linguistic identity unlike anywhere else.
English: The Everyday Language
English is spoken by around 95% of New Zealanders and is the language of government, schools, business, and the media. It arrived with British settlers in the nineteenth century and has since developed into a distinctive variety often called Kiwi English. To outsiders the most noticeable feature is the vowel shift: the short "i" sound moves toward "u", so "fish and chips" can sound like "fush and chups", while words such as "pen" and "pin" drift closer together.
Kiwi English is also full of its own slang. "Sweet as" means great or no problem, "chur" is a casual thanks, "jandals" are flip-flops, and the famously ambiguous "yeah, nah" usually means a polite no. What truly sets New Zealand English apart, though, is how many Māori words it has absorbed — speakers use terms like whānau (family), kai (food), and aroha (love or compassion) without a second thought.
Te Reo Māori: The Indigenous Language
Te reo Māori is the language of the Indigenous Māori people and a member of the Polynesian language family, making it a cousin of Cook Islands Māori, Tahitian, and Hawaiian. It became an official language in 1987 and is spoken as an everyday language by roughly 4% of the population, with far more people knowing at least a handful of words and phrases.
The language has a relatively simple sound system built around five vowels and a set of consonants that includes the distinctive "wh" (pronounced like an "f") and "ng" sounds. Long and short vowels change meaning, which is why written Māori uses a macron — the bar over a vowel, as in Māori itself — to mark length. This careful spelling has become standard in official New Zealand writing.
A Remarkable Language Revival
By the mid-twentieth century te reo Māori was in serious danger. Decades of policies that discouraged its use, including punishing children for speaking it at school, pushed the number of fluent speakers into steep decline. The response, beginning in the 1970s and 1980s, has become one of the most studied language revitalisation efforts in the world.
Central to the revival were kōhanga reo, or "language nests" — immersion preschools where young children learn entirely in Māori — followed by Māori-medium primary and secondary schooling. A dedicated broadcaster, Whakaata Māori (Māori Television), transmits programming in te reo, and the annual Māori Language Week (Te Wiki o te Reo Māori) encourages everyone to learn and use the language. The progress is far from finished, but te reo is now more visible and more valued than it has been in generations. You can learn more about the country in our new zealand country guide.
Māori in Daily New Zealand Life
Even visitors who never study the language will encounter Māori everywhere. The country itself is widely known by its Māori name, Aotearoa, often translated as "land of the long white cloud". Countless towns and natural features carry Māori names — Rotorua, Whangārei, Taupō, Whanganui — and government departments frequently use bilingual titles. The national anthem is sung first in Māori and then in English.
Perhaps the most famous export of Māori culture is the haka, a ceremonial posture dance performed with chanted words and powerful movement. The All Blacks rugby team perform a haka before every international match, broadcasting Māori language and tradition to a global audience and turning a few lines of te reo into some of the most recognisable indigenous expression on Earth.
New Zealand Sign Language
New Zealand Sign Language became the third official language in 2006, and the act of recognising it made New Zealand the only nation to give a sign language official status. NZSL is the natural language of the country's Deaf community, used by an estimated 20,000-plus people. It is a complete language with its own grammar and vocabulary, distinct from spoken English, and it includes signs for uniquely New Zealand concepts and Māori terms. Its official status guarantees the right to use NZSL in legal proceedings and encourages access to interpreters in public life.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the main language spoken in New Zealand?
English is the main and most widely spoken language, understood by about 95% of the population and used in government, education, and business across the country.
Is Māori widely spoken in New Zealand?
Te reo Māori is spoken fluently by a minority — roughly 4% of New Zealanders — but its words, greetings, and place names are used by almost everyone, and a successful revival movement continues to grow the number of speakers.
How do you say hello in New Zealand?
The most common greeting borrowed from Māori is kia ora, which means hello as well as conveying good wishes and thanks. Haere mai means welcome.
Why does New Zealand have three official languages?
English reflects the country's colonial history, te reo Māori honours its Indigenous people and the Treaty of Waitangi, and New Zealand Sign Language was recognised in 2006 to support the Deaf community — the first sign language anywhere to gain official status.