Hawaiian Word of The Day

Pekelala is another Hawaiian word borrowed from English, and it means federal. If you listen to the news of the day discussed in Hawaiian, you often hear pekelala, because so much of what is in the news relates to the U.S. federal government.

Pō means: night, darkness, obscurity, the realm of the gods. The Hawaiian day begins at nightfall, so instead of using the word for the days of the week, as is done in English, we use pō for nights, and then modify it to make the nights of the week. For example pō akihi or pō alua.

Pīkake is our name for the fragrant jasmine flower, and it is also the Hawaiian word for peacock.

Our Hawaiian Word of the Day is another frequently mispronounced Hawaiian place name: Keʻeaumoku. That well-driven street was probably named for a governor of Maui who bore the same name as his father, and ally, and father-in-law of Kamehameha the First.

If you've ever walked the beach looking for a glass ball, you'll enjoy today's word of the day: pōpō aniani which means glass ball. Pōpō means “ball,” and aniani means “glass.”

Waikīkī means “spouting water” and was reportedly named for the swamps later drained to from the Ala Wai canal.

Lānaʻi is another major island name that is often mispronounced. People tend to confuse it with the word for a porch or a stiff back chair or a variety of sweet potato.

Molokaʻi is often called the “friendly island.” And although it's well known in song and chant, it is not known for sure what the name means.

ʻĀkau means "north" when used as a direction. But is more commonly used to mean "right," as opposed to left.

Kalaupapa a beautiful place on Molokaʻi that is often in the news. It means “the flat plain” and is another one of those often mispronounced Hawaiian place names.