hawaiian

Alapiʻi means stairs, steps, ladder, or any ascent. Even a musical scale can be called an alapiʻi mele. Be careful when you walk up the alapiʻi!

ʻAʻole means “no.” ʻAʻole is an interjection which also means “not, never,” and you may hear it pronounced ʻaʻale. You will commonly hear it even in English conversation when people say - ʻaʻole pilikia – no trouble.

Here's a simple, short Hawaiian Word of the Day for you,  it is ʻae. It means “yes, to say yes, consent, to confirm, grant, agree, approve, permit.” It is the word you so often want to hear in answer to your questions.

We used to see so many signs that read “kapu” that people joked about Kapu being a Hawaiian who owned all that land. Actually, kapu, means taboo, prohibition, or even sacredness, or forbidden. And yes, on those signs it has come to mean “keep out.”

Our Hawaiian Word of the Day is the name of our state, Hawaiʻi. It is pronounced either as “Hawaiʻi” or “Havaiʻi.” Yes, either is okay. Language experts say you can pronounce it with a “w” or a “v” if that sound follows an “a.”

Manu means bird or any winged creature, even the wing of a kite. We have many kinds of beautiful manu in Hawaiʻi, many of them found only in Hawaiʻi, and threatened with extinction.

Leʻa means: joy, pleasure, happiness, merry, and many more wonderful feelings. Yes, it is the same leʻa we use in the name of the double hull sailing canoe Hōkūleʻa. Hōkūleʻa translates to mean “star of gladness.”

Kiʻekiʻe means: height, tallness, high, tall, lofty, exalted, majestic, superior, prominent. In 1845, the legislature conferred the title mea kiʻekiʻe upon the Premier. Kiʻekiʻe is also how we differentiate high schools from elementary schools, we call a high school a kula kiʻekiʻe.

Kulanui literally means “big school.” Kulanui once meant “high school,” but today a kulanui is a university or college. The University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa is ke kulanui o Hawaiʻi ma Mānoa.

Alakaʻi means “to lead, guide, direct, a leader, a guide, or a conductor.” We usually hear it in relationship to hula, as those dancers who assist a kumu hula in leading and teaching hula dancers.

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Kumu means source, foundation, basis, root. Nana i ke kumu means to look at the source, and we use the same word for teacher. O wau ke kumu -  I am your teacher.

Although it is often mispronounced,  muʻumuʻu is one of the best known of Hawaiian words. It means “cut off, shortened,” and is the name so often given to a large fitting gown, because the yoke was often missing, and the sleeves short. It's first meaning, however, is “amputated, maimed.”

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

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.

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,” and when capitalized it can also mean the “Orient.” Ka Hikina means the East.

Our Hawaiian word for today is another borrowed word, kepakemapa. And yes, it’s the Hawaiian word for “September.” Like other names of the months, it was borrowed from English.

Kahaluʻu, the proper name for a beautiful Windward Oʻahu location. It means diving place. Kaha is “place” and luʻu is “diving.” Be sure to sound the glottal stop, or ʻokina.

Waihona is a depository. It can be a closet, a file, even a bank – any place for laying up things for safekeeping. A waihona noʻo noʻo, or place to store thoughts, for example, is your mind.

Uē means to cry, weep, lament, or to mourn. You might hear a mother say, “Mai ʻue” – don't cry – or you might use it to discuss the reactions of the Hawaiians to the loss of their Queen: ʻue nakanaka – the people weep.

Mākaukau means able, competent, capable, skilled, expert, prepared. We often hear a kumu hula call out that one word question to her students – “Mākaukau?” – and the answer is always ʻae – yes.

Pau is one of the most commonly used, and misused, of Hawaiian words. Pau kahana – the work is finished. Yes, pau means finished, ended, all done, final, even consumed and destroyed. Work is finished, so you can say “pau kahana.” But donʻt say “I'm pau,” that would mean you are dead or finished. And don't ask, “Are you pau?”

Especially during pageants and parades, we see flowers that have been designated as the island flower for each major island. The kaunaʻoa of Lanaʻi is such a flower. It is the native daughter, a parasitic vine belonging to the Morning Glory family.

Our Hawaiian Word for today is kau wela. Kau means “season,” and wela is “hot.” Yes, summer is the hot season, even in our beautiful Hawaiʻi nei.

Pāʻia means noisy. It is best known as a small town in East Maui, and because it is so often misspelled, it is mispronounced.

Another very commonly used Hawaiian word is nani. Nani means beautiful. It is often used in names as in pua nani for “beautiful flower.” Nani nō ʻoe – you are beautiful – is a nice expression we hope you hear everyday.

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.”

Nahu means to bite. And it can be the bite of anything – from an insect that bites, to the bite of a dog, or even the bite you take out of a piece of cake.

We often hear kakahiaka as part of aloha kakahiaka, a greeting early in the day. And most know it means morning. The popular greeting came in to use only after the arrival of the poʻe haole, as a translation for “good morning.”