hawaiian

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.

Hiamoe means sleep. Don’t confuse it with the Hawaiʻi creole English word, moe moe, which is used to mean "sleep" in that pidgin language. Moe moe in Hawaiian means "to lie in ambush or to lurk."

Kīkākila comes from two English words. Kīkā comes from the English word "guitar." Kila is from the English word "steel." Put them together and you get the Hawaiian word for steel guitar.

Papaheʻenalu. Well Papa can mean a "board or almost any kind of flat surface." Adding heʻenalu 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.

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 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.

ʻŌlelo means language, speech, statement, utterance, term, tidings or to speak, tell, say, talk. The Hawaiian language is the ʻōlelo of Hawaiʻi.

Another popular Hawaiian place name that is often mispronounced is Nānākuli. It has stresses on both the first and second syllables. It is that beautiful place on leeward Oʻahu and it means “look” (Nānā) “at me” (kuli).

Todayʻs word of the day is a well-known name, Liliʻuokalani. She was our last queen, overthrown in January 1893. Many mispronounce because of familiarity of the English name Lily.

If you barbecue a lot, you probably already know today's word of the day. Pūlehu means to broil. Although it most correctly means broiling as you would sweet potatoes, breadfruit or bananas placed on hot embers. We often used pūlehu to describe meat that has been broiled.

Pua is a very well known and often used Hawaiian word. In common usage it means: flower, blossom, even the tassel and stem of sugar cane. It means to bloom, and among its many other meanings is child, descendant, offspring.

Awakea means “noon or mid-day.” We often hear awakea used with aloha for a greeting at that time of the day. Aloha awakea.

Our Hawaiian word for today is kahuna, a word that is so often misused. Kahuna means: priest, sorcerer, magician, wizard, minister, expert in any profession whether male or female. In the year 1845, lawyers, doctors, surgeons, and dentists were all called kahuna.

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

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.

Leo means voice, tone, tune, melody, sound, command, and more. It is most often used today to mean voice and is heard often in describing singers, such as the leo nahenahe, or as the name of the private pre-school Punanaleo, “the voice nest.”

Whether you are talking about the place on Maui or a shawl that is draped over your shoulders, it is pronounced Kīhei with a stress on the first vowel. It means a shawl or cape, and is a well-known destination on the Valley Isle.

Our Hawaiian Word of the Day is a place name, Hālawa. It is a well known place on Hawaiʻi, Molokaʻi and on Oʻahu.

Hoʻomau means to continue, keep on, persist, renew, perpetuate, persevere, and last. Be sure to pronounce those glottal stops between the “o,” which is called an ʻokina in Hawaiian.

Today's Hawaiian Word of the Day is kāmaʻa; for shoe, sandal, slipper, boot, ti leaf, or tapa sandal, shoes.

Keiki is a very well known and often used term for child. It means offspring, child, youngster. But it is also used for animals, such as a colt, kid, cub, or even the young of a taro or banana plant. Say keiki, as in keiki o kā ʻāina – a child of the land.

Mokuʻāina means state, as in the United States.

Our Hawaiian Word of the Day is mokupuni. It means island, from the word moku which means “cut or severed,” and puni which means “surrounded.” So it's a piece of land cut off and surrounded by water. It is commonly used even in English conversation.

We told you about ʻelemakule, which means old man, and today's Hawaiian Word of the Day is luahine, or old woman. It can also mean old lady. Both are proper terms, and it is perfectly all right to describe our older friends as ʻelemakule  and luahine.

Makua is a very general term for parent, or any relative of the parent's generation, as in an uncle or aunt. Since the main stock of a plant is thought of as the parent, you can also call it a makua. You can modify it to be more specific, as makua kāne for father.

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

Nui means big, greatest, grand, important, as in aliʻi nui. Hale nui would be a big house, and mea nui would be an important thing. Used as an adjective, it follows the noun. It can also mean “many or a group.”

Most of us are familiar with many Hawaiian terms for family members, but don't often use hoahānau, a good Hawaiian word for those born of the same generation. It combines hoa for “companion, friend, partner, or mate,” with hānau for “birth.” Hoahānau can be used for cousin, and comes in pretty handy in Hawaiʻi where we have large families – a nui na hoahānau.

Most of use the Hawaiian word kahu when we refer to the pastor of our church, a preacher, or minister. Kahu in its first meanings is an honored attendant, guardian, nurse, keeper of bones, regent, keeper, administrator. It is also a warden, caretaker, master, mistress. Even one who has a dog, cat, pig, or other pet.