Hawaiʻi Vocabulary

Letʻs review the vocabulary from the story. Repeat after me.

Nā ʻōlelo Pōkole, expressions

  • i kēia manawa = at this time
  • i kekahi manawa = sometimes
  • ma luna o = on top of, or above
  • ma kahi o = approximately, near to, literally: near the place of
  • like ʻole = of all different kinds
  • ma ʻaneʻi = here at this place
  • ma laila = at that place we just mentioned
  • no laila = for that reason just mentioned, therefore
  • a pau = completely

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Nā Kikino, or noun-like words

  • he mokupuni = an island
  • he moku = a land division or sometimes an island
  • he inoa = a name
  • he mauna = a mountain
  • he pua = a flower
  • he home = a home [same as English]
  • he makeima = a macadamia nut or mac nut tree
  • he kope = coffee or coffee tree
  • he mīkana = a papaya or papaya tree (Hawaiʻi island dialect)
  • he huaʻai = a fruit
  • he malihini = a visitor, someone unfamiliar with a place
  • he nahele = a forest
  • ke kai = the sea
  • ka uka = the upland
  • he kahua mokulele = an airport
  • he hale kūʻai = a store
  • he hale ʻaina = a restaurant
  • he kauhale = a group of buildings, a village or small town
  • he ʻōhiʻa = a tall strong tree that is affiliated with Pele and Hawaiʻi island
  • he hale = a house
  • he lehua = a blossom of the ʻōhiʻa tree; usually red; fig. strength

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ʻAʻano, adverbs and adjectives

  • nui = alot, much, large
  • pau = finished (not quite the same as “a pau”)
  • kaulana = well known, famous
  • kahiko = ancient
  • loa = all the way, long, far, very
  • nani = pretty, beautiful
  • huikau = confused
  • maikaʻi = good
  • uluwehiwehi = adorned by natural beauty, verdant growth
  • mālie = calm, tranquil, gently

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Inoa, proper names

  • Hawaiʻi – the name of the island, which gives its name to the state
  • Hawa-ʻi – an often heard alternate to the complete pronunciation
  • Moku o Keawe = a poetic name for Hawaiʻi island
  • Pele = goddess of the volcano who lives presently on Hawaiʻi
  • Halemaʻumaʻu = the crater in Kīlauea where Pele makes her home
  • Kīlauea = the active volcano on the side of Mauna Loa mountain
  • Mauna Loa = the long, 13,677 foot high mountain which dominates the southern end of the island
  • Mauna Kea = The 13,796 foot high mountain on Hawaiʻi known for its dusting with snow at certain times of the year, and its international observatories atop.
  • Poliʻahu = the goddess of Mauna Kea and its snow
  • Pāka = the name of the ranch known in English as “The Parker Ranch”

The following are all districts on Hawaiʻi island. Let’s say each one twice.

  • Hilo, Puna, Kaʻū, Kona Hema, Kona ʻĀkau, Waimea, Kohala, Hāmākua
  • Kona = a name given to the dry, or leeward, sides of each of the islands
  • Koʻolau = a name given to the windward, or rainy, sides of the island

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Nā Hamani a me nā Hehele, action words

  • huakaʻi = to travel, journey
  • noho = to live; to sit; to stay
  • nānā = to look, observe
  • ʻike = to see, to know
  • makemake = to wish for something, to desire, to want
  • holoholo = to travel about
  • ulu = to grow, as a plant grows

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Pane mai

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