June 9th: Piha

By Leilani Poliʻahu

Published June 9, 2026 at 12:00 AM HST

Piha means full, complete, filled, loaded. Piha ka ʻōpū simply means the stomach is full. Piha can also mean full-blooded, as in Hawaiʻi piha, pure Hawaiian.

Hawaiian Word of the Day

Leilani Poliʻahu

See stories by Leilani Poliʻahu

Listen to Homeroom Hawaiʻi

Homeroom Hawai‘i is the story of a school year — in real time. Sponsored by HawaiiUSA Federal Credit Union.

Get the Podcast

Kanikapila Vintage

Dig into the Hawaiʻi Public Radio archives with Derrick Malama and listen to the very best of Hawaiian music. Revisit sessions with Eddie Kamae and Keola Beamer, Raiatea Helm and Amy Hanaialiʻi, and more. Sponsored by Manuhealiʻi.

Listen to the podcast

More Episodes

Hawaiian Word of The Day

October 20th: Hapa nui

Leilani Poliʻahu

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.
Hawaiian Word of The Day

October 19th: Maʻalaea

Leilani Poliʻahu

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.