Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

whanau

/ˈfaːnaʉ/

Word Rarity Very rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 1.53 in modern English

Syllables: whanau
IPA: /ˈfaːnaʉ/

12

Scrabble Score

6

Letters

1

Syllables

5

Unique Chars

Meaning

noun

An extended family.

New Zealand usage; Uncountable

Etymology

From Māori whānau (“extended family; genus”).

Word Breakdown

Root: whānau

Usage

Inflected Forms

whanaus (plural) whaanau (alternative)

Questions

How do you pronounce whanau?: The recorded pronunciation is /ˈfaːnaʉ/.
What does whanau mean?: An extended family.
Where does whanau come from?: From Māori whānau (“extended family; genus”).

How to pronounce whanau

Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “whanau”.
Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling (/ˈfaːnaʉ/) so you know which sounds to aim for.
Play the audio — Click Play to hear reference audio for “whanau”.
Repeat and practice — Say “whanau” aloud, matching stress and vowels until it feels natural.