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Yesterday we told you about mauka, a direction meaning “at the upland.” Today's Hawaiian Word of the Day is makai, meaning “at the sea” the opposite direction of mauka. It is actually two words: ma meaning “at” and kai meaning “sea.” -
One of the first words new residents in Hawaiʻi learn is mauka, meaning inland or upland. It is one of the most commonly used Hawaiian terms, since we don't give directions as many other folks do. It is actually two words: ma meaning “at,” and uka for “upland.”
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Our Hawaiian Word for today is a beautiful Oʻahu place name, Kaʻaʻawa. It is often used as an example of a Hawaiian word with so many vowels in a row. But if you spell and pronounce it correctly, you will note that every vowel is separated by a consonant sound, the glottal stop or ʻokina. And it means the wrasse fish. -
Oʻahu is the name of the third largest island in the Hawaiian archipelago. Although it is often disputed, many say it means “the gathering place.” The main thing is to pronounce it correctly. -
ʻOno is another of those very frequently used Hawaiian words understood by most people, even those who do not speak the language. ʻOno means delicious. Be sure to start it with that glottal stop, because ono without the glottal stop, is the popular and tasty fish known in English as the wahoo. -
Makau means fishhook, something we see every day in Hawaiʻi, even if you don't go near the water. The beautiful fishhooks carved from bone and used as a decoration around the necks of so many men and women in Hawaiʻi today are correctly called makau. -
Makaʻu means fear, frightened, afraid, cowardly, timid, unsafe or dangerous. Makaʻu ʻo ia ia'u — “he is afraid of me,” or mai makaʻu — “don't fear.” -
Hema means left or left side. When you watch a marching group pass by, you will often hear, “hema, hema, hema, ʻākau hema,” or “left, left, left, right, left.” It also means “south,” as in Kona hema – south Kona. -
Hale is a word we all use in Hawaiʻi whether we speak Hawaiian or not. And hale, meaning house or building, is our Hawaiian Word of the Day. There are many kinds of hale from the hale ʻaina, or restaurant, to the hale pule, or church. -
Kahakai means beach, sea shore, sea coast, seaside, or strand. Ke kahakai o waikīkī is Waikīkī Beach, but it works just as well as a generic term: e hele kakou i kahakai – let's go to the beach. -
Our Hawaiian word for today is another borrowed word, ‘Aukake. And it is the Hawaiian word for August. Yes, it was borrowed from English, as is the case for all the names of the months. -
Pukikī is the Hawaiian word for the English word “Portuguese” — a group of people who arrived here by the thousands in the late 1800s.
