October 20th: Hapa nui

By Leilani Poliʻahu

Published October 20, 2026 at 12:00 AM HST

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

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