September 4th: Haʻahaʻa

By Leilani Poliʻahu

Published September 4, 2026 at 12:00 AM HST

Haʻahaʻa means “lowly, humble, unpretentious, modest, and unassuming.” Remember it as a good way to sign off a letter – me haʻahaʻa – with humility.

Hawaiian Word of the Day

Leilani Poliʻahu

See stories by Leilani Poliʻahu

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Hawaiian Word of The Day

September 3rd: Aupuni

Leilani Poliʻahu

Aupuni means “government,” and can be modified to tell what kind of government we are talking about. For example, aupuni peke lala is the federal government, and aupuni koloniala is the colonial government.
Hawaiian Word of The Day

September 2nd: Hikina

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Since we don’t often use north, south, east, and west in giving directions in Hawaiʻi, hikina might be a new word to you. It means “east.”