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Maʻa mau is two words that mean common, usual, customary. Chinese food is the meaʻai maʻa mau for a lot of people in Hawaiʻi. He mea maʻa mau—a common thing. -
Kiʻi means “picture, a photo, a doll, statue, any image.” It also means “to fetch something” and both are commonly used. Such as E kiʻi ʻoe ke kiʻi—fetch the picture.
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Ame, two little words used together, means "and." You will often hear ame when speakers link nouns such as mele kalikimaka ame hauʻoli makahiki hou. -
As most of you know, hapa means “half,” and nui means “larger.” So hapanui, the “larger half,” means majority. Non-Hawaiians account for more than half of the people of Hawaiʻi, so they are the hapa nui. -
Nānā means “to look at, observe, see, inspect, pay attention to.” Nānā i ke kumu — look to the source — it's good advice! -
We often hear aliʻi in conjunction with pageants and other places where our chiefs are portrayed. Yes, aliʻi means chief, chiefess, officer, ruler, monarch, king, queen. And aliʻi nui then is the “High Chief.” Nowadays we often hear mōʻī for king, but he was an aliʻi nui in the old days. -
Hemahema means “unprepared, awkward, clumsy, unskilled, inefficient.” We can think of a lot of people who are hemahema; it's much better to be mākaukau – prepared. -
Pahu and hau combine to give us the Hawaiian word for ice box or refrigerator. Pahu is a box, chest, cabinet, or similar container, and hau means cool, iced, ice, frost, dew, snow. Put them together and you have an ice box: pahu hau. -
If you listen to the weather forecasts, you will often hear the name ʻAlenuihāhā, our Hawaiian word for today. It is the name of the channel between Hawaiʻi and Maui, and is often mispronounced. It means “great billows smashing.” -
Puaʻa means “pig, swine, hog, pork.” And although it is a commonly used Hawaiian word, even in English conversation, it is often mispronounced. Say puaʻa as in kamapuaʻa. Puʻa is also another pronunciation you might hear, especially among native speakers. -
Waiwai means goods, property, assets, valuables, value, worth, wealth. We most often hear waiwai to mean rich, wealth, or value, as in the popular song “Iesū me ke kanaka waiwai,” – Jesus and the Rich Man – written by Johnny Almeida. -
Most of you will remember that ʻaʻole means no. And many people are confused when they hear ʻaʻohe. No, it's not a mispronunciation. ʻAʻohe means no, too, but it is generally used to mean none.
