Hawaiian Word of the Day: January 28th

By Leilani Poliʻahu

Published January 28, 2025 at 12:00 AM HST

We all know that waiwai is rich and riches, and we hear it so often. But how do we say poor in Hawaiian? ʻIlihune and that's our Hawaiian word for today. And it means just that, poor, impoverished.

Hawaiian Word of the Day

Leilani Poliʻahu

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Most of us are familiar with many Hawaiian terms for family members, but don't often use hoahānau, a good Hawaiian word for those born of the same generation. It combines hoa for “companion, friend, partner, or mate,” with hānau for “birth.” Hoahānau can be used for cousin, and comes in pretty handy in Hawaiʻi where we have large families—a nui na hoahānau.