Hawaiian Word of the Day: March 9th

By Leilani Poliʻahu

Published March 9, 2023 at 12:00 AM HST

Leʻa means: joy, pleasure, happiness, merry, and many more wonderful feelings. Yes, it is the same leʻa we use in the name of the double hull sailing canoe Hōkūleʻa. Hōkūleʻa translates to mean “star of gladness.”

Hawaiian Word of the Day

Leilani Poliʻahu

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Our Hawaiian word for today is kī hōʻalu. Kī is the Hawaiian word for “key” and hōʻalu means “to slacken or loosen.” It is the popular Hawaiian term for what in English we call “slack key.”
Hawaiian Word of The Day

Hawaiian Word of the Day: May 9th

Leilani Poliʻahu

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.