Hawaiian Word of the Day: November 18th

By Leilani Poliʻahu

Published November 18, 2022 at 12:00 AM HST

Puʻuwai is Hawaiian for heart. And while it is often used as a center of emotions, that is probably a Western concept. The earliest reference to the heart in that context was in 1853.⁠

Hawaiian Word of the Day

Leilani Poliʻahu

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Hawaiian Word of The Day

Hawaiian Word of the Day: September 29th

Leilani Poliʻahu

Our Hawaiian word for today is ʻAuina lā. ʻAuina means “descending” and lā means “sun.” So the afternoon when the sun is setting is called the ʻauina lā. Aloha ʻauina lā is a good afternoon greeting.
Hawaiian Word of The Day

Hawaiian Word of the Day: September 28th

Leilani Poliʻahu

Piʻi mele, two words that used together mean “musical scale.” Just as we sometimes call the scale do-re-mi in English, in Hawaiian we sometimes call the piʻi mele by the first three notes: pā-kō-lī.