HWOTD

Hōkū means "star," and is often used in names such as Hōkūlea, the star of gladness, or Na Hōkū, the local recording industry awards program. Be sure to include the stresses, for it takes on a different meaning if you do not.

Although kōlea has many meanings, the most common perhaps is as the Hawaiian name of the Pacific Golden Plover - a bird that arrives in Hawaii in August or September, and returns to the Arctic in April or May.

We hear the word tūtū used so often, but many of us not know that kūkū is another perhaps more traditional pronunciation for today's Hawaiian word. It means "granny, grandma, grandpa," or any relative or close friend of your grandparents' generation. You can say kūkū kane for grandfather, or kūkū wahine for grandmother, but kūkū by itself will always suffice.

Hoʻopau means to "put an end to, finish, conclude, completely, all." To finish your work is to hoʻopau i kau hana. Hoʻopau also means "to waste," as in hoʻopau manawa – to waste time.

Kula has a number of meanings including: "plain, field, or open pasture." It also means "a source" and it is Hawaiian for the English word "gold." But perhaps the best known usage in English is to mean "school." Say it with a modifier, such as kula kiʻe kiʻe, a high school.

Today’s Hawaiian word of the day is one of the most commonly used of Hawaiian words, Lani. It means "sky, heaven, or heavenly," and can also mean "spiritual." Lani is part of many proper names, such as Leilani for “heavenly lei.”

Many of our visitors to Hawaiʻi come from Japan, and we call them kepanī. It is, as you may have guessed, a transliteration of the English word Japanese.

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.