The word for friend is hoa. This is our first noun.
This is not pronounced hoe-a. The letter o in Māori is pronounced like "oar" rather than "oh". So hoa is pronounced like "hoar-a". It doesn't ryhme with boa (the snake).
When you meet someone you know, you can say:
Kia ora e hoa!
Hello friend!
The word e is our first particle! We will meet many of these as we learn te reo Māori as the language is full of them and they are very important. This particle, e is a partice of address. This means that it used in some situations when we are talking to someone, in this case, your friend. In old fashioned English people someone used "o" in the same way: "Greetings o great one!"
Note that the e particle is pronounced like the "e" in "bet" and not like the "ee" in "bee".
One of the tricky things about particles is that they are often used in different situations to mean different things. The particle e, for example has lots of used. Another common usage is to make a word into a command:
E tū!
Stand up!E noho!
Sit down!
But e as a particle of address can be used when talking to other people:
E koro.
Sir (respectful form of address to older or senior man).E kui.
Ma’am/Lady (address to older lady or grandmother).E whaea.
Address to an adult lady.E tama.
Young man (used to a youth or boy).E hine.
Miss (address to a young lady or girl).E kō.
Address to girl such as daughter or niece.
E kare. = Address to girl or boy.