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Hawaiian Word of The Day

Hawaiian Word of the Day

March 25th: Pulelehua

By Leilani Poliʻahu

Published March 25, 2026 at 12:00 AM HST

Pulelehua is the Hawaiian word for butterfly. There are so many beautiful butterflies in Hawaiʻi, it's good to know what to call them.

Pulelehua is the Hawaiian word for butterfly. There are so many beautiful butterflies in Hawaiʻi, it's good to know what to call them.

Hawaiian Word of the Day

Leilani Poliʻahu

See stories by Leilani Poliʻahu

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Hawaiian Word of The Day

March 24th: Kāpiki

Leilani Poliʻahu

Our Hawaiian word for today is something we all like to eat, often with kālua pig. Kāpiki means cabbage. The next time you order kālua pig and cabbage, call it kāpiki.
Hawaiian Word of The Day

March 23rd: Puana

Leilani Poliʻahu

For the caller who wanted to know what puana meant, as in the line so commonly used in the last verse of a song. In that case, puana means the attack or beginning of a song. Haʻina ʻia mai ana ka puana just means to start to tell the summary — refrain of the song.