ʻAnakē is another term we borrowed from English, and it means aunty. We have so many aunties in Hawaiʻi, ʻanakē should come in handy.

In Hawaiʻi, where everyone it seems is our uncle or aunty, the word ʻanakala comes in pretty handy. It is a borrowed word from the English language meaning “uncle.”

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.

Another popular place name that is often mispronounced is Maʻalaea, a bay, village, and small boat harbor on Maui. It is probably a contraction from maka ʻalaea which relates to the yellow, or red color of the earth's beginning.

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.”

Wai means “water.” Wai is a very important thing to Hawaiians, and for that reason is included in many names—both place names, such as Waimānalo, Waikīkī, and Waiehu, and in many family and given names. Wai can be used for any type of liquid except sea water.