hongi

[hong-ee]

noun

New Zealand.

1. a Maori greeting in which noses are pressed together.

hongi

/ ˈhɒŋiː /

noun

1. a form of salutation expressed by touching noses

Word History and Origins

Origin of hongi¹

Borrowed into English from Maori around 1840–45

Word History and Origins

Origin of hongi¹

Māori

Example Sentences

He greeted his New Zealand counterpart Jacinda Ardern with a traditional Maori hongi, in which the pair pressed noses together.

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“If you don’t need to travel overseas, then don’t. Enjoy your own backyard for a time. Stop handshakes, hugs and hongi,” Ardern told reporters on Monday, asking them to demonstrate the east coast wave, after she did so herself, followed by her sign language interpreter, Alan Wendt.

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The ministry of health said it had placed no restrictions on hongi and was leaving it up to iwi to make their own decisions around the issue.

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A Māori tribe in New Zealand’s capital city has banned the traditional hongi at gatherings this week as more cases of coronavirus emerge.

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A hongi is a traditional form of greeting in which two people press their noses to each other and inhale one another’s breath.

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