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.
Hoʻolele means “to cause to fly.” And coupled with leo – for voice – it means “broadcast,” as we do these Hawaiian words every day on Hawaiʻi Public Radio. Hoʻolele leo – causing the voice to fly.
Puaʻa means “pig, swine, hog, pork.” And although it is a commonly used Hawaiian word, even in English conversation, it is often mispronounced. Say puaʻa as in kamapuaʻa. Puʻa is also another pronunciation you might hear, especially among native speakers.
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.”
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.
Maka means “eye, eye of the needle, face, countenance, even the lens of a camera.” It can also mean “beloved one, favorite person.” Kuʻu maka is somewhat like saying “the apple of my eye.”
We often hear people talk about being maʻa with something. It is a good choice of words if you are accustomed to something, familiar with it, used to it, know it thoroughly.
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.
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.
Kāne is the Hawaiian word for “man.” You see this often in names like Kāneʻohe, which means “bamboo man,” and in many family names as well. It is also used for “male, husband, male sweetheart, and masculine.”
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.
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.
When someone asks how you are, a good response might be, “oia mau nō,” an idiom that means “same as ever, just the same.” It is often said in answer to the question, “Pehea ʻoe?”
Kānāwai means “law, code, rule, statute, act, regulation, ordinance." There are many famous kānāwai, like the Law of the Splintered Paddle, and many we may not like. Ke kānāwai is “the law.”
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.
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.”
Puakō is the name of a place on the Big Island, a beautiful place on the Kohala Coast where some 3,000 petroglyphs have been found. It means sugar cane blossom. “Pua”is blossom and the modifier “kō” means sugar cane.
Our Hawaiian word for today, hāpai, is one most people in Hawaiʻi already know and use, even in English conversation. It means to carry, and is most often used to describe a woman who is expecting a baby. It also means “to lift, raise, hoist, hold up, or support.”
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.
Oli means a chant that was danced to, especially with prolonged phrases chanted in one breath, often with a trill at the end of each phrase. We call a chanter a mea oli.
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.
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.”
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.
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.
