The use of Māori words borrowed into New Zealand English (known as loanwords) is one of its most defining characteristics, and it has been shown that between 1850 and 2000 the incidence of Māori loanwords increased in such contexts as newspapers, the New Zealand School Journal, and the New Zealand debating chamber. John Macalister of Victoria University of Wellington has also tracked the New Zealand public’s knowledge of these loanwords, most recently estimating that New Zealanders generally know between 70 and 80 Māori loanwords.
A study done by Nicola Daly and Daryl Macdonald showed a rate of about 13 Māori loanwords per thousand in a set of nearly 500 New Zealand children’s picture books published between 1995 and 2005.
In the NZPBC, the rate of loanwords is 45 per thousand. Five of the 22 books use no loanwords at all, and in the remaining 15 books, there is a range of between 5 loanwords (The House that Grew), and 154 loanwords (The Whale Rider).
Below is an alphabetical list of loanwords in the NZPBC.
New Zealand Picture Book Collection: ALPHABETICAL LIST OF LOAN WORDS AND TYPES
| Letter | Māori Loanword | Meaning |
| A | Āe | ‘yes’ |
| Aotearoa | ‘New Zealand’ | |
| Apirana | Name | |
| E | e | particle – used before a verb or noun |
| e noho ra | ‘farewell’ | |
| e tu | ‘stand up’ | |
| H | haere ra | ‘farewell’ |
| haka | Ceremonial dance | |
| hapū | ‘pregnant’ | |
| Haumiatiketike | Name | |
| Hawaiki | Name (country) | |
| Hemi | Name | |
| Hinauri | Name | |
| Hinemoa | Name | |
| Hinewhata | Name | |
| Hirini | Name | |
| Hoani | Name | |
| hoha | To be ‘fed up with’ | |
| hui | ‘gathering’ | |
| Hu-hu | Name | |
| Hu-hu-tu | Name | |
| K | Kae | Name |
| Kahu | Name | |
| kai | ‘food’ | |
| Kaiangaroa | Name (mountain) | |
| kaimoana | ‘food from the sea’ | |
| kakapo | ‘ground parrot’ | |
| karakia | ‘prayer’ | |
| kauri | tree name | |
| kawau | ‘black shag’ | |
| Kimi | Name | |
| kiore | ‘rat’ | |
| kiwi | ‘kiwi’ | |
| koekoea | ‘long tailed cuckoo’ | |
| koretake | ‘useless/no good’ | |
| Koro | ‘elderly man/grandfather’ | |
| koroua | ‘elderly man’ | |
| kotuku | ‘white heron’ | |
| kowhaiwhai | decorative patterns | |
| kuia | ‘elderly woman/grandmother’ | |
| kumara | ‘sweet potato’ | |
| M | Maka | Name |
| mana | ‘authority/pride’ | |
| Manganui-a-te-ao | Name | |
| manuhiri | ‘visitor/guest’ | |
| manuka | tree name | |
| Māori | Native New Zealander | |
| marae | ‘meeting house’ | |
| matai | tree name | |
| Maui | Name | |
| meke | native dance: ‘to strike with the fist’ | |
| Mere | Name | |
| Miria | Name | |
| moko | ‘facial tattoo’ | |
| Mokoia | Name (island) | |
| N | Nani | Name |
| “Nga mihi nui o te wa” | ‘acknowledgements of this great time’ (Christmas) | |
| Ngai Tahu | South Island tribe | |
| Ngaio | Name | |
| Ngaruhoe | Name (mountain) | |
| O | Ōwhata | Name |
| P | Paikea | Name |
| Paka | Name (nickname) | |
| Papa | Name (grandfather) | |
| Papatuanuku | Name (earth mother) | |
| paua | Shellfish | |
| Pihanga | Name (mountain) | |
| pipi | Shellfish | |
| piupiu | flax skirt | |
| poi | ball on a string – used for female māori dancing | |
| Porourangi | Name | |
| Pounamu | ‘greenstone’ | |
| pukeko | ‘purple swamp hen’ | |
| puku | ‘tummy/stomach’ | |
| purenga | ‘naming ceremony’ | |
| Putauaki | Name (mountain) | |
| R | Ranginui | Name (sky father) |
| Rawiri | Name | |
| Rehua | Name | |
| rimu | tree name | |
| Roimata | Name | |
| Rongomātāne | Name | |
| Ropata | Name | |
| Rotorua | Name (town) | |
| Rowi | Name | |
| Ruapehu | Name (mountain) | |
| ruru | ‘morepork/ native owl’ | |
| T | tahi | ‘one’ |
| taiko | ‘black petrel’ | |
| Tama | Name (meaning ‘boy’) | |
| Tane | Name (meaning ‘man’) | |
| Tanemahuta | Name (god of the forest) | |
| Tangaroa | Name (god of the sea) | |
| Taniwha | ‘water spirit/monster’ | |
| Taranaki | Name (mountain) | |
| Tau | Name | |
| taua | ‘united as one’ | |
| Tauhara | Name (mountain) | |
| Taupo | Name (town) | |
| Tāwhirimātea | Name (god of the wind) | |
| “Tei!” | bird call | |
| Te-ika-a-Maui | ‘the fish of Maui’ (North Island) | |
| tieke | ‘saddleback’ | |
| Tinirau | Name | |
| tītī | ‘muttonbird’ | |
| tiwakawaka | ‘fantail’ | |
| tohunga | ‘expert/skilled person’ | |
| Tokoeka | South Island brown kiwi | |
| Tongariro | Name (mountain) | |
| Tūhuruhuru | Name | |
| Tui | ‘parson bird’ | |
| Tūmatauenga | Name (god of war) | |
| tuna | ‘eel’ | |
| tūpuna | ‘ancestors’ | |
| Tūtānekai | Name | |
| Tūtūnui | Name | |
| U | urupā | ‘burial ground’ |
| utu | ‘to avenge’ | |
| W | waiata | ‘song’ |
| Waitoremi | Name | |
| Waka | ‘canoe’ | |
| Wanganui | Name (town) | |
| weka | ‘wood hen’ | |
| weta | large insect | |
| whānau | ‘extended family group’ | |
| Whangara | Name (town) | |
| Whangarei | Name (town) | |
| wharekai | ‘eating house’ | |