Puʻunēnē is a place on the island of Maui, and a beautiful name that is all too often mispronounced. It is named for a hill – a puʻu – where you might find the nēnē goose, our state bird: goose hill.
Maʻa mau is two words that mean common, usual, customary. Chinese food is the meaʻai maʻa mau for a lot of people in Hawaiʻi. He mea maʻa mau – a common thing.
Kiʻi means “picture, a photo, a doll, statue, any image.” It also means “to fetch something” and both are common usage. Such as E kiʻi ʻoe ke kiʻi – fetch the picture.
Luʻu means “to dive,” and it is popular thing to do in Hawaiʻi. Whether you are a student playing the card game called “Fish” or a diver out looking for a fish. Kahaluʻu then means “diving place.”
In Hawaiʻi, where everyone it seems is our uncle or aunty, the word ʻanakala comes in pretty handy. It is a borrowed word from the English language meaning “uncle.”
As most of you know, hapa means “half,” and nui means “larger.” So hapanui, the “larger half,” means majority. Non-Hawaiians account for more than half of the people of Hawaiʻi, so they are the hapanui.
Another popular place name that is often mispronounced is Maʻalaea, a bay, village, and small boat harbor on Maui. It is probably a contraction from maka ʻalaea which relates to the yellow, or red color of the Earth's beginning.
We often hear aliʻi in conjunction with pageants and other places where our chiefs are portrayed. Yes, aliʻi means chief, chiefess, officer, ruler, monarch, king, queen. And aliʻi nui then is the “High Chief.” Now days we often hear mōʻī for king, but he was an aliʻi nui in the old days.
Hema hema means “unprepared, awkward, clumsy, unskilled, inefficient.” We can think of a lot of people who are hema hema; it's much better to be mākaukau – prepared.
Pahu and hau combine to give us the Hawaiian word for ice box or refrigerator. Pahu is a box, chest, cabinet, or similar container, and hau means cool, iced, ice, frost, dew, snow. Put them together and you have an ice box: pahu hau.
If you listen to the weather forecasts, you will often hear the name ʻAlenuihāhā, our Hawaiian word for today. It is the name of the channel between Hawaiʻi and Maui, and is often mispronounced. It means “great billows smashing.”
Wai means “water.” Wai is a very important thing to Hawaiians, and for that reason is included in many names – both place names, such as Waimānalo, Waikīkī, and Waiehu. And in many family and given names. Wai can be used for any type of liquid except sea water.
Wai wai means goods, property, assets, valuables, value, worth, wealth. We most often hear wai wai to mean rich, wealth, or value, as in the popular song “Iesū me ke kanaka wai wai,” – Jesus and the Rich Man – written by Johnny Almeida.
Most of you will remember that ʻaʻole means no. And many people are confused when they hear ʻaʻohe. No, it's not a mispronunciation. ʻAʻohe means no, too, but it is generally used to mean none.
Our Hawaiian word for today is, hoa aloha. Although aikāne is probably commonly used by non-native speakers to mean “friend.” Hoa aloha is the preferred Hawaiian word.
One of the Hawaiian words first learned by most non-Hawaiians is wahine for “woman.” Kāne for “man” and wahine for “woman” are often painted on restroom doors. It also means “lady, wife, female, queen in a deck of cards” and even femininity.
Pehea ʻoe – How are you? Pehea means “how” and ʻoe means “you.” We often hear this greeting even from those who do not speak Hawaiian. Pehea ʻoe? – How are you? Maikaʻi nō – Fine.
Paʻa is a very commonly used word that can mean: firm, solid, tight, adhering, durable, fast, fixed, stuck, secure, closed, and so much more. Paʻa ā paʻa means held fast, so hoʻo paʻa means to make fast, to bind.
Our Hawaiian Word of the Day is ʻokakopa. Yes, it is a borrowed word and it means October. All of our month names are borrowed from English, which borrowed them from other languages.
Our Hawaiian word for today is ʻAuina lā. ʻAuina means “descending” and lā means “sun.” So the afternoon when the sun is setting is called the ʻauina lā. Aloha ʻauina lā is a good afternoon greeting.
Piʻi mele, two words that used together mean “musical scale.” Just as we sometimes call the scale do-re-mi in English, in Hawaiian we sometimes call the piʻi mele by the first three notes: pā-kō-lī.
Most people who live in Hawaiʻi know what a maile lei is, but it is one of those Hawaiian words that is all too often mispronounced. Maile is a native twining shrub with shiny, fragrant leaves, used for decorations and lei, especially on important occasions. Maile is pronounced “mai-lei,” not to be confused with the Leeward Oʻahu community called Māʻili.
Ulu means “to grow, increase, spread.” It is often used in conjunction with such words as wehi. Ulu wehi, for example, means “lush and beautiful, festively adorned.”
Our Hawaiian Word of the Day is waiū, for “milk.” Literally, it means “breast liquid” and can also be used to mean “breast.” Waiū that's “milk” in Hawaiian.
Ahiahi, the Hawaiian word for “evening,” is one that calls for a glide in your pronunciation. Ahiahi is that beautiful time of day, the late afternoon.
