A word game for everyone learning te reo — from your very first words to the language of our tūpuna.
TaiKupu turns learning kupu into a sixty-second climb. Start at the bottom with the everyday words, and the more you recognise, the higher you rise. Thousands of people are already on the maunga, beginners and fluent speakers alike. This is your way on.
A kupu appears, you pick its meaning. Get it right and you climb. The quicker you are, the more you score.
Every right answer lifts you — and the higher you go, the bigger the leaps. The words get rarer as you rise.
In the final ten seconds you're pulled into the ancient world — the oldest words, where every point counts double.
Ten one-year Māori Minute memberships are up for grabs. Post your best score to the leaderboard and you're in the running.
The higher level reached wins; any remaining tie is settled by random draw.
Half the prizes go to skill, half to luck. The top five climbers each win a one-year Māori Minute membership — and five more memberships are drawn at random from everyone who plays. So whether it's your first kupu or your thousandth, you've got a real shot. Just enter and climb.
The competition gives you a slice of TaiKupu. The full app launches 1 July 2026 — with the whole climb, the full dictionary, and your own flashcard kete.
The full climb — from your first words all the way to the rarest reo of the tūpuna.
Every word, searchable, with example sentences you can actually use.
Practise at your own pace, build your own decks, and make the words stick.
Play it like any other app — straight from your home screen, even offline. Takes two taps.
The Te Wero trial is your sample of TaiKupu. The full app — every level, the full dictionary, your own flashcard kete — launches on 1 July. TaiKupu comes free with every Māori Minute membership. Join now and you're ready from day one.