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Akua has many meanings, but none more common in today's Hawaiian than "god." In Hawaiian, there are many different kinds of gods, and akua can mean goddess, spirit, ghost, devil, image, idol, divine, even a corpse.

Mākaʻi means policeman, also means to police or inspect. Since all of our policemen speak English, you won’t need to ask for one in Hawaiian. But it will impress many of them if you can call them a mākaʻi.

Kaulana means famous, celebrated, renowned, well-known.

Pāʻani means to play, or a sport, game, or amusement. Pāʻani can also mean to joke.

Tom Moore, from the Center for American Progress, explains a bill that passed to limit corporate influence in elections; singer-songwriter Jack Johnson teases the debut of his new documentary film.

John Berry, the new director for the Honolulu Zoo, talks about his past work at the Smithsonian; Hawaiʻi legal experts weigh in on the state's lawyer shortage.

Our Hawaiian word for today is a well-known place name on Kauaʻi, Poʻipū. It is often mispronounced because people see the first three letters as a group and pronounce it as they would "poi." It means crashing, as in wave action.

Akamai, for smart, is one of the first Hawaiian words many people learn. It also means "clever, expert, skillful." If you see someone doing something very clever, it's okay to say Akamai ʻoe or you're very smart.

Kūkulu means to build or construct, or erect as a house. You can also use kūkulu to mean set up, such as a tent, or to found, such as a society.

Our Hawaiian word for today is papa heʻe nalu. Papa can mean a "board or almost any kind of flat surface." Adding heʻe nalu to it makes it a surfboard. Heʻe means "to slide or surf," and nalu means "wave." Put it all together and you get a surfboard.