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You've all heard the word ipo for sweetheart or lover. Here's another one! Try huapala. Huapala literally means “ripe fruit.” It's another way to say “sweetheart” in Hawaiian. -
A moʻolelo is a story, a tale, a myth, a tradition, or even a record of something happening. All the stories you read in the newspaper or hear on television are moʻolelo, even those regarded as news.
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Peʻe means to hide. Not to be confused with hiding something. Peʻe means to hide oneself, as when we play hide and seek. E peʻe ana au – I'm hiding! -
Pēlā means “in that way.” And pēlā nō means: that's so, that's it, that's how it is, exactly. It's a handy word to know and our Hawaiian word for today. Pēlā nō – that's it. -
Most of us know ipu to be the gourd we see and hear in the hands of many hula dancers and chanters. But it also has other meanings – it can be used to mean any kind of container; even a dish, mug, calabash, pot, cup, urn, bowl, or a utensil. -
Pulu means wet, moist, soaked, saturated. When you got caught in the rain without your umbrella, pulu is the word you should've known. And if you want to soak something, just put the causative prefix ho‘o in front. Since pulu means soaked, then ho‘opulu means “to soak." -
Ikaika means strong, powerful, sturdy, and more. It is a very popular name nowadays, especially for boys whose parents want them to grow up ikaika. Be careful how you pronounce it, and don't insert an ‘okina that doesn't belong. -
Most of us have seen the Hawaiian word ʻōpala, and know it to mean rubbish or garbage, so by adding the causative prefix hoʻo, we can make it mean “to litter.” The new word is hoʻōpala. -
Our Hawaiian word for today is mea maʻa mau, meaning a common thing. Be sure to sound the glottal stop or ʻokina when you say maʻa. -
Our Hawaiian word for today is ʻauhau, it means tax. And yes, it's that time of the year again. As you work on your taxes, remember this Hawaiian word: ʻauhau. -
Our Hawaiian word for today is another borrowed word, ʻApelila is how we say April in Hawaiian. We borrowed ʻApelila from the English language, which borrowed it in turn from Latin. It is the fourth month of the year. -
Poeko means “fluent.” There are not many people who are truly poeko in the Hawaiian language, but the number is increasing. You don't have to be Hawaiian to be poeko in Hawaiian and you don't have to be a native speaker. Many who are poeko have learned Hawaiian as a second language.
