Māori pronouns

Keep these points in mind:

Dual pronouns refer to exactly two people

Plural pronouns refer to three or more people

'we' / 'us' can include the listener or exclude the listener

Gender is not specified

One form per pronoun (not 'I' / 'me', just 'ahau')'

There are a variety of ways to look at pronouns. You will definitely find other methods and formats online and in books, but at different times - when trying to fix them in my head - I found the following helpful.

A plain list

Māori
English
No. of people
ahau
au
I / me
1 person
koe
you
1 person
ia
she / her, he / him
1 person
tāua
we / us
2 people
māua
we / us
2 people
kōrua
you
2 people
rāua
they / them
2 people
tātou
we / us
3+ people
mātou
we / us
3+ people
koutou
you
3+ people
rātou
they / them
3+ people

An 'expanded' list

Here is a bit more information on the dual and plural pronouns, to help make sense of who each refers to:

Māori
English
People
Includes
the
listener
ahau
au
I / me
1
-
koe
you
1
yes
ia

she / her,

he / him

1
-
tāua

we / us,

us two,

both of us

2
yes
māua

we / us

(but not you),

us two

(but not you),

me and her,

me and him

2
-
kōrua

you,

you two

2
yes
rāua

they / them,

those two

2
-
tātou

we / us,

all of us

3+
yes
mātou

we / us

(but not you),

me and them,

the rest of us,

ll of us

(but not you),

3+
-
koutou

you,

you all,

all of you

3+
yes
rātou
they / them
3+
-

A structured table

If you prefer a more structured table, read down the columns (au, koe, ia, tāua, māua...) to see who is being referred to and how many people are included. Read across the rows (tāua, tātou, au, māua...) to compare which people are included or excluded in each pronoun.

Person
Singular
Dual
Plural

1st

inclusive

tāua
tātou
we / us
we / us

1st

exclusive

au ahau
māua
mātou
I / me
we / us
we / us
2nd
koe
kōrua
koutou
you
you
you
3rd
ia
rāua
rātou
he / she him / her
they /
them
they /
them