hawaiian

Our Hawaiian word for today is kaʻa mio. Kaʻa is a “car,” and by adding mio that makes it a sports car. Mio means to move swiftly. You might not own a kaʻa mio, but we all see them driving by. And now you know what to call them in Hawaiian.

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

If you've ever walked the beach looking for a glass ball, you'll enjoy today's word of the day: pōpō aniani which means glass ball.  Pōpō means “ball,” and aniani means “glass.”

Here's a fun Hawaiian word of the Day, mū pākē. Mū is how we say “checkers,” and pākē is the Hawaiian word for “Chinese.” So mū pākē is Chinese checkers.

Our Hawaiian word for today is leo ʻekolu, literally third voice, it is how we say tenor in Hawaiian. Leo means voice, and ʻekolu means three. Not counting falsetto, leo ʻekolu is the highest of the male voices.

Although many people use kaona to mean town, you may also say kūlana kauhale for town or city.

Our Hawaiian word for today is wai honua for ground water. Wai, is for water, and honua for ground or earth. There are many different kinds of water, all beginning with the word wai. Try to think of a few others.

Our Hawaiian word for today is koʻo for “support.” Koʻo has many meanings and many uses, but most commonly is used to describe a brace or a prop, a helper, something used to help support something else – even a cane become a koʻo koʻo.

Punahou is another beautiful Oʻahu place name that is often mispronounced. Punahou means “new spring.” When you say it don't drop that last vowel sound. Reshape your lips so you end up forming the last half of that “o-u” diphthong.

Kūhiō, the beautiful name given to a major avenue in Waikīkī, a beach, our federal building, and so many other place in Hawaiʻi is so often mispronounced, that we chose it for our Hawaiian Word of the Day.

Puʻuwai means heart. And since it is that time of the year when we all celebrate Valentine's Day with hearts and flowers, you'll find a use for this handy word.

Pea kiʻi is one way to say teddy bear. And lots of folks are probably shopping for those cuddly little toys as Valentine's Day approaches.

Wela means hot. You'll hear both wela (well-a) or wela (vel-a) as correct pronunciations, depending on the sound it follows. Wela means hot, burned, heat, temperature, but can also mean “lust” or “passion” or “feeling lust.” Wela wela is “doubly hot.”

Next time you order an ice cream cone, try asking for a kone ʻaikalima – that's how we say “ice cream cone” in Hawaiian. Sure, they are borrowed words, since Hawaiians of old didn't have any such thing as ice cream or cone.

Ulia kaʻa is an auto accident, and we hope you never have one. But if you do, you'll know what to call it, ulia kaʻa.

ʻAhamele means concert. ʻAha is a gathering, and mele is music. So ʻahamele is a concert.

Kaila hou is how we say modern in Hawaiian. Literally it means new style. Kaila means style and hou for new.

On the mainland, folks believe that if the groundhog comes out on February 2 and sees his shadow, there will be six more weeks of winter. Our Hawaiian word for today is aka, for shadow. You'll see more shadows than groundhogs in Hawaiʻi!

Our Hawaiian word for today is kāpena. It too is a borrowed word, and it means captain. Use it when you talk about the captain of your favorite team, or the police captain, or the ship's captain.

Since the legislature is in session, ʻaha ʻōlelo seems to be a good Hawaiian word for today. Whether you like what they do or not, call that body an ʻaha ʻōlelo.

We all know that waiwai is rich and riches, and we hear it so often. But how do we say poor in Hawaiian? ʻIlihune and that's our Hawaiian word for today. And it means just that, poor, impoverished.

ʻOmawawe is how we say microwave oven in Hawaiian. You know that is a new word in our language, but a useful one.

Our Hawaiian word for today is a borrowed one, and a relatively new one. Hōkē comes from the English word “hockey.” Well, it's become such a popular sport, we needed to call it something.

Our Hawaiian word for today is a new one: pipi kelemānia, for fresh corned beef. Pipi for beef, and kelemānia for German.

You've heard us talk so often about vowels, you've probably wondered if there is a Hawaiian word for vowel. Yes, though it is a borrowed one, woela means vowel. The woela in Hawaiian are a, e, i, o, and u.

Our Hawaiian word for today is lei ʻāʻī.  It can mean neck lei, but it can also mean a necktie. Some businessmen and lawyers wear lei ʻāʻī to work in Hawaiʻi.

Pōhaku means “stone.” Don't confuse the pōhaku with the little pebbles we call ʻili ʻili -  it must be larger than an ʻili ʻili to be a pōhaku.

Koʻolau means windward. A very appropriate name for a mountain range that runs up the windward side of the island of Oʻahu. It can be used as an adjective too, to describe something that is on the windward side.