Te Reo With Mnemonics: Buildings Words

Hospital – hōhipera

Some prostitutes get shot outside a hospital and come inside to get medical care. The hospital is a whore helper.

School – kura

A courier rider rides through town, and eventually rides into a school to drop off a package. He’s the school courier.

Church – whare karakia

A ferry sails past with a church on top of it. Suddenly there is a big crack that splits the ferry in half, right up through the centre of the church all the way to the spire. The church is a ferry crack.

Airport – papa rererangi

A family is sitting at an airport. A young man gets off his phone and says to his father “Papa, Rory rang”.

Library – whare pukapuka

A ferry sails past with a library on top of it. Inside the library, two cars full of cow manure drive through looking for books. The library is a ferry poo car poo car.

Town Hall – hōro

Outside of a town hall, a number of prostitutes stand in a line. The town hall is now a whore row.

The Māori word for ‘school’ – kura – shares ‘k’, ‘u’, ‘r’ sounds at the beginning with the English word ‘courier’

Railway Station – teihana rerewē

Outside of a railway station, a man sits balancing a pile of tea bags in one hand and a tea kettle in another. The railway station is a teahand railway.

Fire Station – whare tinei ahi

A ferry sails past with a fire station on top of it. Two firemen have one eye normal and one eye made of tin. The fire station is a top a ferry tinny eye.

Port – tumu herenga waka

On top of a cargo ship, two cows are listening to a noise below. Down below at the port, a man is using a weed whacker to keep some vegetation at bay. At the port is two moos hearing a whacker.

Post Office – poutāpeta

The Post Office is flooded, but a petal falls off a giant flower and lands on the water like a boat. The postman uses it to paddle out of the Post Office. He is a boater petal.

Museum – whare tongarewa

On top of a ferry, there is a museum. An electrician wearing a Tongan rugby jersey enters the musuem and pulls out some wires to rewire then. The museum is undergoing a ferry tongan rewire.

Tower – pūwhara

Atop a stone tower, a man stands with his son. The man points to an object and asks “What’s that?” His son looks through some binoculars and says “It’s a poo, father.”

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The above is an excerpt from the upcoming Learn Maori Vocabulary With Mnemonics, by Jeff Ngatai, due to be published by VJM Publishing in the summer of 2018/19.

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