# Te Aka Māori Dictionary — user reviews > 97 indexed App Store user reviews of Te Aka Māori Dictionary by TE MURUMARA FOUNDATION, rated 4.50/5 from 10 ratings. - Source: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/te-aka-maori-dictionary/id377136638/reviews - App overview in markdown: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/te-aka-maori-dictionary/id377136638.md - Rating breakdown: 5★ 8 · 4★ 1 · 3★ 0 · 2★ 0 · 1★ 1 ## What do users think of Te Aka Māori Dictionary? Overall sentiment: mixed **Pros** - 👍 Great for learning Te Reo Māori - 👍 Comprehensive vocabulary and grammar - 👍 Useful examples of word usage - 👍 Favourites tab for saving words - 👍 Quiz feature is a great addition - 👍 Bilingual examples enhance knowledge - 👍 Quick response from app team - 👍 Supports offline use (historically) - 👍 Audio pronunciation feature is invaluable - 👍 Smooth and comprehensive app - 👍 Good for travel **Cons** - 🐛 Slow to open/load - 🐛 App resets when switching apps - 🐛 Search is exact, no fuzzy search - 🐛 Too many irrelevant search results - 🐛 No clear indication of most applicable search results - 🐛 Cannot copy and paste from the app - 🐛 No landscape mode for iPad - 🐛 Videos don't work - 🐛 Lacks basic words - 🐛 Outdated compared to website - 🐛 No way to contact developers - 🐛 Offline functionality removed/broken - 🐛 Audio not working offline - 🐛 Family sharing not showing up - 🐛 Payment issues and confusion - 🐛 Not practical for everyday use - 🐛 No history of searches - 🐛 No sentence search - 🐛 No Cook Islands Māori support - 🐛 Place names not included - 🐛 Split view not supported on iPad - 🐛 No voice translation - 🐛 Glitches when offline (no sound) - 🐛 Favourites list not scrollable - 🐛 App crashes - 🐛 App stops working on newer iOS versions - 🐛 Videos don't work - 🐛 Paid app with issues - 🐛 Misleading description (offline) **Commonly reported bugs** - Update broke favorites list - App crashes when searching 'tana' - App will not open - Videos don't work - App resets when switching apps - Favourites list not scrollable - Offline functionality removed/broken - Audio not working offline - App no longer works with newer iOS versions - Startup screen frozen - App freezes frequently - Cannot hear pronunciation - App resets when going to another app - No history of searches - No sound/audio function - App crashes - App closes automatically when in use - App is slow to open - App doesn't restart itself after closing - App doesn't work offline as advertised - Audio icon missing offline - App not recognizing words after upgrade - Page not found errors **Most requested features** - Add fuzzy search/auto-correct - Option to skip startup animation - Include phrases/kiwaha - Quizzes from English to Te Reo Māori - Add Cook Islands Māori - Make recent search list longer - Add a feature to put words/phrases/grammar into custom lists/flashcards - Downloadable voice recordings - Add accompanying images - Add phrases in kupu examples - Add a button to go back to previous search - Widget for word of the day - Add phrases/kiwaha - Add sentence search - Add voice input for searching - Add similar alternatives when spelling is wrong - Word of the day notification - Add pronunciation help - Add voice recordings for pronunciation - Raise search bar for better keyboard compatibility - Support split screen function on iPad - Allow copy and paste from the app - Minimize unnecessary white space and spacers - Add standard iOS cancel entry button to search box - Add English to Te Reo Māori quizzes ## Newest reviews (16 of 97) ### 4/5 — Almost great *2026-07-13* As a learner of te reo, I use this app daily. Usually multiple times a day, in fact. It’s helpful as! Two things could make it excellent and earn that fifth star. 1. When you go into the app, it plays a cute animation of a tūī, and then slides the search box into place. You have to wait two seconds for this to complete before you can search for your kupu. Not a big deal at first, but when you use it hundreds or thousands of times, it gets tedious. I want to look up my word quickly. An on/off setting to show the animation or not would allow everyone to be happy. 2. The search is only exact. If you have the spelling off at all, you get no results. Some sort of fuzzy search result like, “I couldn’t find that word. Did you mean…?” with a few choices close to my errant spelling. I mean, sometimes I’m looking something up exactly because I’m unsure of the spelling! ### 2/5 — Update broke favorites list *2025-03-07* The app is one of the best, especially being able to add words to designated lists. Only now since the last two updates you can no longer click on a word on your list for a definition. Clicking on it just doesn’t do anything anymore. It would also be nice if the quizzes went from English to te reo Māori as well to quiz not only my recognition of te reo Māori words but my recall of the words as well. **Developer response:** Thanks for your feedback and reporting the bug on the Favourites list! We will look into that and fix as soon as possible. ### 4/5 — Ka pai *2025-01-31, version 6.0.6* Great app I use regularly to learn te reo. Nicely designed and usually find what I’m looking for. It would be great to skip the start up animation if possible, the few seconds to load are annoying if you are in and out for a quick reference. ### 2/5 — Not practical *2023-11-02, version 5.2.6* This is not helpful for everyday use when learning te reo. For most searches, far too many results come up, many of which are irrelevant. There’s nothing to indicate which is likely to be the most applicable. For example, a search for “dirty” brings up 19 results. Search results sometimes don’t include the most obvious word. For example, a search for “cook” does not bring up “tunu”. This App seems designed for academics and not for those trying to learn the language and to use it in their lives. A Google search is usually more helpful. Also there’s no ability to easily go back to your previous search. You either need to type it in again or exit and then re enter the App to see it in your recent search history. ### 3/5 — family sharing *2023-04-17, version 5.2.1* the app is not showing up in family sharing?? ### 4/5 — Great for those just starting their Reo journey *2023-02-06, version 5.2.0* I’m a Te Reo Māori beginner and this app is so helpful. I’m building my vocabulary and when I don’t know a kupu I quickly look it up on Te Aka. Here’s a few tips for the developers to make the app even better. 1. Please make the recent search list longer. 2. Adding phrases/kiwaha would also be a great feature. 3. Theres a mistake with ‘Kēmu ātea’ the pronunciation is incorrect. It doesn’t match the word being searched for. I think she is saying ‘Takaro a tāta’? Or something simialr, instead of ‘Kēmu ātea’ Ngā mihi ### 4/5 — Could be a better learning tool, otirā he tino rauemi matihiko *2022-09-08, version 5.1.5* Will be even better when you can search for phrases in the kupu examples. A pātene that lets you go back to the previous search would help. ### 2/5 — Place names *2022-06-01, version 5.1.4* I wanted this dictionary to know the meaning of place names around New Zealand. The first 4 places to visit aren’t included. ### 4/5 — He rawe! Fantastic resource. *2022-05-01, version 5.1.4* I use this many times a day - it is very useful and dependable. Suggestion for developers- i can’t copy and paste from the app on my phone. It could be great to just be able to tap on the word or the description and have it instantly copy. That would make it a 5 star experience:) Ngā mihi nui ki a koutou. ### 4/5 — Could it be more compact please *2022-01-10, version 5.1.3* Because there are often many meanings listed for a word it would be helpful if unnecessary white space and spacers were minimised or eliminated. Also it would be helpful if there was a standard iOS cancel entry button at the end of the search box instead of having to select/backspace the last entry away. But thank you for a useful app ### 3/5 — Split view *2022-01-04, version 5.1.3* This would be so much better for ipad users if it supported the split screen function ### 4/5 — Widget *2021-11-11, version 5.1.3* Really good app!! But what would be awesome is if it had like a widget for you phone where it gives you a work of the day.I’m working on being trilingual. (Maori, Spanish and english) I’m fluent and Spanish and english and want to learn my reo one helpful way would be if there were a work of the day that you could use throughout the day. Great way to learn vocab!!! ### 3/5 — 3 bc….. *2021-10-20* I rated this app a three because I tried installing the app bc my mum did it and I wanted to join her journey ### 4/5 — Frustrated *2021-10-05, version 5.0.8* An awesome resource. The old version and now the new, both a trusty go to. However, there is no way to contact us, provide feed back, make suggestions, reference why could be an improvement or mistake. Seems very closed and exclusive. Even “app support” on the App Store does not go anywhere helpful. ### 2/5 — Dissappointed *2021-09-07, version 5.0.3* I love the mbl ph app but am dissapointed that I cannot use the dictionary unless I am connected to the internet. Prior to the update and on the older version I was able to use the dictionary off line, but the audio/pronounciation function was unavailable. If I am talking out of line plz direct me on how to use the newer version while being off line ### 2/5 — No landscape *2021-09-01, version 5.0.3* This was fine the way it was, but since the update you can no longer use offline, and cannot use in landscape for Ipad. ## Most critical reviews (10 lowest-rated) ### 1/5 — Frustrated *2026-08-02, version 6.0.8* I have found the app hard to navigate when you put in a word in the search engine and it comes up with not being able to find the word try checking spelling or add other word to help the search. Im learning te reo so that can be a challenge. This has happened with more words than words that have been helpful that i search. Also when downloading the app on phone to laptop ther are 2 different prices. If you have it on your phone you cant transfer it to your laptop to use. You have to pay for both apps. One more thing when downloading the app it does not give you clear information that this is a weekly subscription or a one off. For the life of me i cant find where you unsubscribe like other subacriptions. There is not contacting email to sort out errors. ### 1/5 — Cook Islands Māori *2023-12-03* I bought this with the hope that it would be useful for my trips to Rarotonga. It would be very!! helpful if you could include in a future version also Cook Islands Māori. ### 1/5 — Payment’s… *2022-08-31, version 5.1.4* I’m not to sure why I have 3 payments going to use when it only said $6.99 then I’m charged the next day $1.69 & $11.49 Why am I charged so much for for this App..?? $20.17 in total I do have screen shots.. 29/08/2022 - $6.99 30/08/2022 - $1.69 30/08/2022 - $11.49 If this what happens when I buy this app maybe use need to say that at the start.. ### 1/5 — Refund Urgently *2022-07-25, version 5.1.4* How do I get a refund? I fully expected something I could flick through yet all I can do is search ### 1/5 — What did I pay for? *2021-08-29, version 5.0.3* I paid for the offline version of this and it’s no longer available. Other than the fact the app doesn’t restart itself every time you leave it I’m unimpressed with the new version and of course it can’t be used offline anymore. ### 1/5 — Can’t use it offline *2021-08-20, version 5.0.3* I use to use this app offline (no wifi, no data usage), but I’m not able to do that anymore. I could use this app anywhere at anytime, it’s hugely inconvenient that this has changed. Can this function be restored please? ### 1/5 — New version down grade *2021-08-18, version 5.0.3* I have been using the app for two and a half years, it was perfect . However since the 5.0 update the offline ability has been removed. I purchased this app to use off line. I am annoyed this app has been down graded by the developers and will not use this app in its current down-graded state. ### 1/5 — Don’t buy this app *2021-06-25, version 4.4* I love the website but hate the app. It really needs an update. I always have a browser window open with the dictionary on it so whenever I need to look up a word it’s ready to go. Using the website you can flick back and forward between what you are doing and using the dictionary. If you try to do this with the app your word you’ve just looked up disappear. Very annoying! The app also looks outdated compare to the website. ### 1/5 — App will not open... *2021-04-04, version 4.4* I used to love this app, and used it often. However, it stopped opening on my phone. I’m running iOS 14.2 on iPhone XR. Forgive me writing here - there’s no option to contact on the site. ### 1/5 — Not impressed *2021-02-28, version 4.4* I have just downloaded this app and the first two things I have searched it could not find a match for. Very disappointing. I have checked it was spelled right, and they are not uncommon words as when I googled them there were lots of results. No use having a dictionary of half the words aren’t in there. ## Most praised reviews (10 highest-rated) ### 5/5 — User friendly *2025-12-18, version 6.0.8* I use this app every day. Love that I can save new kupu as I grow my vocab. The quiz is a great addition. ### 5/5 — Amazing *2025-09-18, version 6.0.8* Exactly what it says it is a māori dictionary you guys saying “there’s too many options when you type a word in” that’s the point… it’s a dictionary !! overall amazing supporting the kaupapa for te wiki o te reo māori super helpful !! Amazing quality love that you can save favourite words so I can have a kupu o Te Rā everyday ### 5/5 — Love the favourites tab and quiz function *2025-08-16, version 6.0.8* After a year of the quiz feature being availiable, ive just noticed it today. Great addition to the app. ### 5/5 — Bilingual examples *2025-04-17, version 6.0.8* Great for extending my knowledge of te reo Maori from the bilingual examples ### 5/5 — Quick response from the app team and great dictionary *2025-03-13* The app is one of the best - particularly being able to add words to designated lists for future review and keeping a log of learned vocabulary. It’s simply impressive. **Developer response:** Thanks for your feedback and reporting the bug on the Favourites list! ### 5/5 — Quick response from app team and great dictionary *2025-03-09* The app is one of the best - particularly being able to add words to designated lists for future review and keeping a log of learned vocabulary. **Developer response:** Thanks for your feedback and reporting the bug on the Favourites list! We will look into that and fix as soon as possible. ### 5/5 — Very useful, easy to use *2023-09-17, version 5.2.3* I've learnt so many words and the grammar explanations are very helpful. The favourites system is very good, and one thing I think would fit in well would be the addition of a feature that allows you to put words/phrases/grammar into lists. The lists could be given custom names by the user and then use them as flash card decks. If this fits the direction the creators of this app are going for, I know I'd make good use of this kind of feature. For a set like this, being able to download the voice recordings of how it's pronounced and accompanying images would be helpful. ### 5/5 — Tēnā koutou *2023-01-26* I speak o le faasāmoa right now. Trying to learn Te Reo Māori. ### 5/5 — Tāu kē! *2022-02-23, version 5.1.3* Handy app to have! I find no issues with this app and would like to acknowledge the fact that the developers continue to listen to the feedback of customers. The developers have allowed the app to open and close where you finished off, they provided alphabetical order for the favourites list and they provided the use for the app to be used offline. My most liked feature about the app is the ‘favourites’ button. I use this app on both my iPad and iPhone. ### 5/5 — Suggestion *2021-08-26, version 5.0.3* I love this app and use it all the time. I love the new feature that you can save words to a favourites list too, but I wish they could be sorted by alphabetical order - that would make the list so much more useful. --- *Data collected daily from the US App Store and indexed by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/). User reviews are verbatim App Store reviews. Ratings, prices and chart positions refresh continuously; this snapshot is from 2026-09-02.*