Memes

And if anyone reading this wants to get a better understanding of pronouncing Māori words, it's got some similarity with Japanese. Here's a tip:

a = ah
e = eh
i = ee
o = aw (as in hawk, but not USA's 'hock')
u = oo (as in ew but less of the 'e')
wh = f
The r consonant rolls a bit, so it's like a very soft d sound.

And when vowels are close together they tend to kind of mesh into one, like 'ai' into 'eye.'

So the word whanau (family) is pronounced fah-know, and kaimoana (seafood) is k'eye'-maw-ah-nah. And the Māori word itself is maah-aw-ree, but we'd let you off if you said mow-ree (as in mowing the lawn) because you're at least making an attempt.