Hawaiian Word of the Day: August 4th

By Leilani Poliʻahu

Published August 4, 2023 at 12:00 AM HST

Kahakai means beach, sea shore, sea coast, seaside, or strand. Ke kahakai o waikīkī is Waikīkī Beach, but it works just as well as a generic term: e hele kākou i kahakai – let's go to the beach.

Hawaiian Word of the Day

Leilani Poliʻahu

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We so often see kuʻuipo on Hawaiian jewelry that we tend to overlook another beautiful Hawaiian word for sweetheart. It is huapala. Literally, it means “ripe fruit”— a fruit that is ready for picking, and that's how Hawaiians call their sweetheart.
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Another Hawaiian place name that is often mispronounced is Waiāhole. It is a compound name from wai for “water,” and āhole for a type of fish.