The following is a listing of many of the Hawaiian words that are still in daily use by speakers of Hawaiian Creole English (commonly known locally as “Hawaiian Pidgin English” or simply, “Pidgin English”).
Note that I am not including Pidgin words that come from the many other languages that formed the basis for HCE; you can find those words in books, in blogs, and especially amusingly, in YouTube videos.
If you are learning Hawaiian language, then you should probably get all of the following 126 terms memorized right away, because most are used by local adults and elders who don’t even speak Hawaiian! Learning these words is a fun way to help perpetuate the Hawaiian language!
If you are interested in how Pidgin English came to be in Hawaiʻi, please read Hawaiian Pidgin English: A Brief History here on ʻŌlelo Online. Aloha!
| Hawaiian Words and Expressions in Hawaiian Creole English (“Pidgin English”) | |
|---|---|
| Hawaiian | Pidgin Meaning |
| a hui hou | goodbye |
| aloha | love, sympathy, etc |
| akamai | smart, intelligent |
| akule | a type of fish |
| aliʻi | a chief |
| e kala mai | forgive/excuse me |
| e komo mai | come inside (invitation) |
| hale | house |
| hana | work |
| hana hou | do again, repeat |
| hula | hula |
| hālau | traditional workshop or school of learning |
| hānau | to give birth |
| haole | Caucasian |
| hapa | part, half; mixed race |
| hāpai | pregnant |
| haupia | coconut pudding in blocks |
| hauna | smelly |
| hele | to go (generic) |
| hemo | to remove (really means removed, extracted, or opened)( |
| hikieʻe | a hybrid living room bed/couch |
| holoholo | to go riding around |
| honi | to kiss |
| honu | a turtle |
| hui | a group or organization |
| “hū-ī” | a call to get someone’s attention |
| hukilau | a type of group fishing technique |
| huli | to turn over, as a flipped canoe |
| hulihuli | to rotate something, as on a spit |
| hūpō | stupid, foolish |
| i mua | go forward; in front |
| imu | underground oven |
| kahu | a reverend or priest |
| kahuna | a priest (trad.) or master practitioner |
| kālā | money |
| kalo | taro |
| kamaʻāina | a local or native-born |
| kanaka | a Hawaiian person |
| “kanikapila” | to play music |
| kapakahi | crooked, bent; fig. messed up |
| kapu | forbidden |
| keiki | child |
| Kepanī | of Japanese descent |
| kuleana | responsibility |
| kumu | teacher |
| kupuna | grandparent, ancestor |
| kālua | to bake in an imu |
| kāne | man, male, husband |
| kolohe | rascal, naughty |
| kōkua | help, assistance |
| kūkae | doodoo |
| kukui | a type of tree |
| kūlolo | a type of Hawaiian dessert |
| lānai | veranda, porch |
| lauhala | pandanus leaf |
| laulau | laulau (a type of food) |
| lehua | lehua (a type of blossom) |
| lei | lei garland or necklace |
| lepo | dirty |
| limu | seaweed (usually edible) |
| lōkahi | togetherness, unity |
| luna | the boss, foreman |
| lōlō | stupid, idiotic |
| lua | toilet, bathroom |
| lūʻau | feast often with a show |
| mahalo | thanks |
| mahimahi | a type of fish |
| māhū | homosexual male; crossdresser |
| maikaʻi | good |
| maile | a type of vine |
| maka piapia | sleepy dust (Hwn mng. eyes with dusty pia) |
| makai | seaward (properly ma kai) |
| make | dead |
| mālama | to care for something |
| malihini | a visitor or non-local |
| mana | spiritual power |
| manini | a type of fish; fig., a small thing, “NBD” |
| mauka | upland (properly ma uka) |
| mauna | a mountain |
| menehune | an ancient and mythical race of people |
| moemoe | “go nighty-night” (sleep) for kids |
| momona | fat, obese |
| moʻo | gecko etc. |
| moʻopuna | grandchild, descendant |
| muʻumuʻu | a type of loose dress (mispron. “mūmū”) |
| nēnē | the native Hawaiian goose |
| pakalōlō | marijuana (mispron. as “pakalolo”) |
| pali | a cliff |
| Pākē | of Chinese descent |
| paniolo | cowboy |
| pau | done, finished |
| pau hana | after work is done |
| piko | belly-button |
| pilau | rotten stench, stink; fig. of bad character |
| pilikia | problem |
| pipi | beef, cow, bull |
| pipi kaula | dried beef, similar to beef jerky |
| pōhaku | a rock |
| pohō | useless, wasteful, wasted |
| poi | poi (a smooth taro pudding) |
| poke | poke raw fish dish |
| pōpolo | a person of African descent |
| puaʻa | pig, pork |
| puka | hole (perforated); doorway |
| pūpū | an appetizer (Hawaiian lit., any marine shell) |
| tī | a type of plant (sometimes “kī”) |
| tūtū | grandma (shortened from tupuna) |
| uku pau | to pay off completely |
| wahine | lady, wife, woman, female |
| walaʻau | to chat, idle talk |
| wana | a sea urchin with long painful spines |
| waʻa | canoe |
| wikiwiki | quick, fast |
| ʻahi | a type of fish |
| ʻauʻau | to bathe or shower or “clean up” |
| ʻaumakua | ancestral family god |
| ʻāina | the land |
| ʻehu | a reddish tint in black Hawaiian hair |
| ʻohana | family |
| ʻōkole | human rear end (Hawaiian lit., anus) |
| ʻōkole hao | Hawaiian tī root moonshine |
| ʻono | delicious |
| ʻōpala | rubbish, something which lost its value |
| ʻōpū | stomach, tummy |
| ʻuku | head lice (“ʻukus”) (Hawaiian lit., flea) |
| ʻulu | breadfuit |