Hiapo means first born. It is used often in Hawaiian to describe the eldest child, the first born. Like many cultures, there is a special significance attached to being the first born, or hiapo, in a Hawaiian family.
Hawaiian Word of the Day: December 22nd
![Our Hawaiian word of the day for December 22 is hiapo. Hiapo means first born.](https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/b9403a5/2147483647/strip/true/crop/901x751+0+0/resize/880x733!/quality/90/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fd6%2F89%2F949e46824b42bf366718f37f50d2%2Fdecember-22.png)