April 13th: Puni

By Leilani Poliʻahu

Published April 13, 2026 at 12:00 AM HST

Our Hawaiian word for today is puni meaning surrounded, controlled, overcome. Now that you know how to use the ho‘o prefix, you know that ho‘opuni can mean to surround, enclose, get control of: ho‘opuni.

Hawaiian Word of the Day

Leilani Poliʻahu

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Hawaiian Word of The Day

April 10th: Pēlā

Leilani Poliʻahu

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.
Hawaiian Word of The Day

April 9th: Ipu

Leilani Poliʻahu

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.