ʻŌlelo Online, Your Online Hawaiian Language Classroom

Common Colours In Hawaiian

As in many languages of the world, some of the colour names that we have in English were not present in Hawaiian before recent times. The word for “colour” itself is “waihoʻoluʻu”, which literally means “water-based dye for dipping things into”. Let’s all try it: waihoʻoluʻu [2x]. Many people today like to say “kala”, which is a Hawaiianised version of the English, “colour”.

Here are the names of the colours. Repeat after me. E hoʻomākaukau.

ʻulaʻula – red
ʻōmaʻomaʻo – green
uliuli – blue
lenalena – yellow
ʻālani – orange
poni – purple
ʻākala – pink
mākuʻe – brown
ʻeleʻele – black
keʻokeʻo – white
ʻāhinahina – grey

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Would you like to try using them in some phrases? I’ll say the English, and you say the Hawaiian. We’ll use the Hawaiian form that you hear in your vocabulary lessons, and add the ʻaʻano descriptive word, the colour, afterwards. For example, I’ll say “A white skirt”, so you’ll respond, “he pāʻū keʻokeʻo”. “He pāʻū” means “a skirt”, and “keʻokeʻo” is the colour. He pāʻū keʻokeʻo – a white skirt.

In each of the exercises, you’ll hear the correct answer after a short pause, so you can check your response. Hoʻomākaukau!

a grey cliff – he pali ʻāhinahina
a brown animal – he holoholona mākuʻe
a blue sea – he kai uliuli
a yellow pineapple – he halakahiki lenalena
a green mountain – he mauna ʻōmaʻomaʻo
a pink flower – he pua ʻākala
a red lehua blossom – he lehua ʻulaʻula
a purple house – he hale poni
an orange fruit – he huaʻai ʻālani
a black coffee – he kope ʻeleʻele
a white restaurant – he hale ʻāina keʻokeʻo

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Great! Now I imagine you are ready for the next step. I’ll say an English sentence, and you make it Hawaiian. The colour words, since they are just descriptions, come right after the word they describe or modify. E hoʻomākaukau!

There is a grey cliff on Molokaʻi – Aia kekahi pali ʻāhinahina ma Molokaʻi
A brown animal will run on the ranch – E holo ana kekahi holoholona mākuʻe ma ke kahua pipi
There is a blue sea in Hawaiʻi – Aia kekahi kai uliuli ma Hawaiʻi
The yellow pineapple was delicious – Ua ʻono ka halakahiki lenalena
A green mountain is standing there (at that place) – Aia kekahi pali ʻāhinahina ma Molokaʻi
A green mountain is standing there (at that place) – E kū ana kekahi mauna ʻōmaʻomaʻo ma laila
I want a pink flower – Makemake au i ka pua ʻākala.
I carried a red lehua blossom – Ua hāpai au i kekahi lehua ʻulaʻula
There are two purple houses in Honolulu – Aia ʻelua hale poni ma Honolulu
The five orange fruits were famous – Ua kaulana nā huaʻai ʻālani ʻelima
There is a black coffee at the airport – Aia kekahi kope ʻeleʻele ma ke kahua mokulele
There are lots of visitors at the white restaurant – Ua nui nā malihini ma ka hale ʻāina keʻokeʻo

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If you managed to get those exercises mostly correct, you are doing really well! It’s time to start thinking ahead, to get some more supplemental material to study Hawaiian language from when you finish this program. You can always check the website mentioned in the introduction to this Topics Entertainment program for some recommendations.

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How to Say “Should” In Hawaiian Using “E”

Using “E” (“Should”) To Make A Suggestion Or Command

Sometimes, we want to suggest that somebody should do something, like “Kimo should go to Kauaʻi” or “The work should be finished before 4 o’clock”. To do this, we simply put the suggestion/command word “e” before the action part of the sentence. The following are examples:

E holoholo ʻo Kimo i Kauaʻi – Kimo should go to Kauaʻi
E pau ka hana ma mua o ka hola ʻehā – The work should be finished before 4 o’clock

Let’s try to say some sentences. Listen and repeat after me. E hoʻomākaukau!

E haʻalele ka mokulele i ka hola ʻelima – the plane should leave at 5 o’clock
E holo ka moku i Puʻupehe – the boat should go to Puʻuhepe
E maikaʻi ka hana – the work should be good
E hauʻoli nā ipo ʻelua – the two sweethearts should be happy
E hoʻomākaukau – get ready
E hoʻolohe kākou! – we should all listen
E hoʻolohe mai ʻoe! – you should listen to me!
E wikiwiki ka hana – work should go fast
no ka mea – because
ua hoihoi kākou – because we are all interested
E hele ka malihini i luna o ka pali – the visitor should go to the top of the cliff

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Now, it is your turn to translate into Hawaiian from the English. E hoʻomākaukau!

Kealoha should go to Kona – E holoholo ʻo Kealoha i Kona
The work should be finished before 4 o’clock – E pau ka hana ma mua o ka hola ʻehā
The plane should leave at 5 o’clock – E haʻalele ka mokulele i ka hola ʻelima
The boat should go to Kaunakakai – E holo ka moku i Kaunakakai
The work should be good – E maikaʻi ka hana
The two sweethearts should be happy – E hauʻoli nā ipo ʻelua
Get ready! E hoʻomākaukau
We should all listen – E hoʻolohe kākou!
You should listen to me! – E hoʻolohe mai ʻoe!
Work should go fast, because we are all interested – E wikiwiki ka hana, no ka mea, ua hoihoi kākou
The visitor should go to the top of the cliff – E hele ka malihini i luna o ka pali

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Nā Māhele o ke Kino (Parts of the Body)

Let’s take a short departure from the usual flow of the program and learn the words for parts of the human body. These words were not in the vocabulary list for this section.

The best way to learn this would be to touch the part of your body that you are talking about, but obviously, if you are driving or otherwise occupied, it goes without saying that you should not try to do that. Instead, listen and repeat, and visualise in your mind the places that you are talking about.

The word “koʻu” in each phrase means “my”.

koʻu maka – my face
koʻu maka – my eye*
koʻu mau maka – my eyes
koʻu lauoho – my hair
koʻu – my nose
koʻu lae – my forehead
koʻu pepeiao – my ear
koʻu mau pepeiao – my ears
koʻu waha – my mouth
koʻu niho – my tooth
koʻu mau niho – my teeth
koʻu ʻāʻī – my neck
koʻu poʻohiwi – my shoulder
koʻu mau poʻohiwi – my shoulders
koʻu lima – my arm and hand (but not including the fingers)
koʻu mau lima – my arms and hands (not the fingers)
koʻu pūlima – my wrist
koʻu mau pūlima – my wrists
koʻu manamanalima – my finger
koʻu mau manamanalima – my fingers
koʻu ʻōpū – my stomach (abdomen)
koʻu kua – my back
koʻu kuamoʻo – my spine
koʻu piko – my belly button

*(The word is the same for both “eye” and “face”. The context of the conversation helps the listener to know which one the speaker is talking about)

koʻu wāwae – my legs and feet (but not the toes)
koʻu mau wāwae – my legs
koʻu kuli – my knee
koʻu mau kuli – – my knees
koʻu manamanawāwae – my toe
koʻu mau manamanawāwae – my toes

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You should perhaps draw a picture of a person and label all the parts so that you can properly learn them. Then take a few days or weeks to slowly learn all of the names. When you think you are ready, try the next exercise to see if you have been able to memorize them. Hoʻomākaukau!

my face – koʻu maka
my eye – koʻu maka
my eyes – koʻu mau maka
my hair – koʻu lauoho
my nose – koʻu ihu
my forehead – koʻu lae (make sure you say “lae” and not “lai”)
my ear – koʻu pepeiao
my ears – koʻu mau pepeiao
my mouth – koʻu waha
my tooth – koʻu niho
my teeth – koʻu mau niho
my neck – koʻu ʻāʻī
my shoulder – koʻu poʻohiwi
my shoulders – koʻu mau poʻohiwi
my arm and hand (but not including the fingers) – koʻu lima
my arms and hands (not the fingers) – koʻu mau lima
my wrist – koʻu pūlima
my wrists – koʻu mau pūlima
my finger – koʻu manamanalima
my fingers – koʻu mau manamanalima
my stomach (abdomen) – koʻu ʻōpū
my back – koʻu kua
my spine – koʻu kuamoʻo
my belly button – koʻu piko
my legs and feet (but not the toes) – koʻu wāwae
my legs – koʻu mau wāwae
my knee – koʻu kuli
my knees – koʻu mau kuli
my toe – koʻu manamanawāwae
my toes – – koʻu mau manamanawāwae

So how did you do? Pehea ka hana? Maikaʻi paha?
E hana kākou i kekahi haʻawina i kēia manawa.

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Lānaʻi Vocabulary

As with our section on Molokaʻi, please note that the vocabulary list in this lesson surrounding Lānaʻi goes beyond the words and expressions used in the story.

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Nā ʻōlelo Pōkole, expressions

a puni – all around. this goes at the end of a phrase
ʻaʻole nō – not indeed
mana o ka moʻolelo – version of the story
kāna i hana ai – that which he or she did
no kekahi wā – for some particular length of time
nui kona aloha ʻia – he or she is greatly loved
mahalo – thank you

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Nā Kikino, or noun-like words

he lānai – a veranda, a porch, a deck
he aliʻi kāne – a chief
he aliʻi wahine – a chiefess
he ipo – a sweetheart
he halakahiki – a pineapple
he pākēneka – a percentage
he hui – a business
he hōkele – a hotel
he awa – a bay
he lūʻau – a cooked taro leaf; also the name of a traditional Hawaiian feast.
he muʻumuʻu – a “mother hubbard” style dress. This is often mispronounced “moomoo”.
Muʻumuʻu. Literally, it means “cut off”. muʻumuʻu
he ʻōpū – a stomach
he paniolo – a cowboy. from the word “espaniola”
he pāʻū – a somewhat heavy skirt used in dancing hula or, in the old days, for ladies to use when riding horses
he puka – a door, a hole that goes completely through something
he lua – a hole which has a bottom, like a pot-hole in a road; also, lua means a toilet.
ka hope – the final one, the last one
ke kiʻekiʻe – the altitude
ke keikikāne – the young boy, baby boy

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ʻAʻano, adverbs and adjectives

liʻiliʻi – small
kaʻawale – separate, not connected
hoihoi – very interested in learning about something
mau loa – going on forever
ʻono – very tasy, as food
pupule – somewhat crazy
wikiwiki – quickly, fast

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Inoa, proper names

Lānaʻi – the island name
Lānaʻihale – the mountain name
Makakēhau – the name of a chief
Puʻupehe – the name of a chiefess and a rock in the sea next to Lānaʻi
Manele – a place
Koʻele – a place

Nā Hamani a me nā Hehele, action words

hana ʻino – to do evil
hoʻouna – to send
nuku – to scold
kanu – to bury
hoʻokipa – to invite people to come to something
kūkulu – to build. Note the relationship to the word “kū”, to stand.

(Coming up in the next lesson:) Nā Māhele o ke Kino (Parts of the Body)

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Lānaʻi Story

Maikaʻi loa! Ua aʻo nui kākou i ka ʻōlelo Hawaiʻi! I kēia manawa, e huakaʻi aku kākou i Lānaʻi, ka mokupuni hope loa o kā kākou huakaʻi.

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Aloha kākou. ʻOiai e holo ana a puni nā moku nui ʻeono o Hawaiʻi nei, ua hiki mai i Lānaʻi, ka mokupuni hope o kā kākou huakaʻi mokupuni.

He liʻiliʻi wale nō kēia mokupuni: 18 mile ka loa, a he 13 mile ka laulā. He 8 mile ke kaʻawale mai Maui mai, a he 9 mai Molokaʻi mai hoʻi. ʻO Lānaʻihale ka inoa o ke kuahiwi nui loa o Lānaʻi, a ma kahi o ka 3,400 kapuaʻi kona kiʻekiʻe.

I ka wā kahiko, ʻaʻole nō i nui nā kānaka e noho ana ma Lānaʻi. Ua ʻōlelo ʻia he nui nā ʻuhane hana ʻino ma laila. Ma hope, hoʻouna ke aliʻi kāne nui o Maui i kāna keikikāne i Lānaʻi no ka nuku ʻana iā ia, a ma hope o ka wā kūpono i ke keikikāne, ua pau nā ʻuhane a pau iā ia. Ma hope mai, noho nā kānaka ma Lānaʻi. Inā hoihoi loa ʻoe e heluhelu i kekahi moʻolelo maikaʻi loa, e kiʻi i kekahi manaʻo ka moʻolelo no Makakēhau a me Puʻupehe, ke aliʻi kāne a me ke aliʻi wahine. He moʻolelo no nā ipo ʻelua e noho ana ma Lānaʻi; he moʻolelo maikaʻi nō hoʻi.

I ka makahiki 1922, ua kūʻai ʻo James Dole i ka mokupuni a pau no hoʻokahi miliona hoʻokahi haneli kaukani kālā. Ua makemake ʻo ia e kanu i nā halakahiki ma laila, a ʻo ia nō kāna i hana ai. I ka wā maikaʻi loa no ke kūʻai halakahiki a Dole, he 65 pākēneka kāna mau halakahiki o nā halakahiki a pau o ka honua nei! Kupaiahana, ʻoiai he mokupuni liʻiliʻi wale nō!

I loko naʻe o ka holopono o nā halakahiki no kekahi wā, ʻaʻole i mau loa mai nō. Ua pau kēlā mau hana, a ua kūʻai ʻo David Murdock i ka mokupuni. Ua mālama ʻo ia i ka inoa ʻo Dole no ka inoa o ka hui hana, akā, hoʻoholo ʻo ia e lilo ka mokupuni i wahi hoʻokipa malihini. Kūkulu ʻia kekahi hōkele i kai, ʻo Manele ka inoa; a laila, kūkulu ʻia kekahi i uka, ʻo Koʻele ka inoa. Aia ʻo Koʻele ma ka 1,500 kapuaʻi, ma kahi o nā keʻena kahiko o ka hui mālama kahua pipi ma mua.

He 3,000 kanaka e noho ana ma ke kauhale ʻo “Lānaʻi City”. Ma laila wale nō nā kānaka e noho ai ma Lānaʻi, a ʻo ka nui o ka poʻe, he hana no ka hui a Murdock. He hoʻokahi kahua mokulele ko ka mokupuni, a he hoʻokahi awa me ka uapo no nā moku mai Maui mai.

He mokupuni liʻiliʻi wale nō ʻo Lānaʻi, akā, he nui kona aloha ʻia.

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Showing Time Using “ma mua” and “ma hope”

Besides indicating a physical location of something, the words “ma mua o” and “ma hope o” can also mean “before” and “after” in the sense of time. For this exercise, let’s imagine that we are in an office, and that the work has to be finished by a certain time. We will combine our knowledge of numbers for this exercise also, so let’s have a quick review of them right now. Hoʻomākaukau:

ʻekahi (1)
ʻelua (2)
ʻekolu (3)
ʻehā (4)
ʻelima (5)
ʻeono (6)
ʻehiku (7)
ʻewalu (8)
ʻeiwa (9)
ʻumi (10)
ʻumikūmākahi (11)
ʻumikūmālua (12)

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To say 1 o’clock, we just put the words “ka hola” before the hour number. For example, “ka hola ʻekahi” – one o’clock. Shall we practice all of the hours quickly? Sure! Hoʻomākaukau!

ka hola ʻekahi (1 o’clock)
ka hola ʻelua (2 o’clock)
ka hola ʻekolu (3 o’clock)
ka hola ʻehā (4 o’clock)
ka hola ʻelima (5 o’clock)
ka hola ʻeono (6 o’clock)
ka hola ʻehiku (7 o’clock)
ka hola ʻewalu (8 o’clock)
ka hola ʻeiwa (9 o’clock)
ka hola ʻumi (10 o’clock)
ka hola ʻumikūmākahi (11 o’clock)
ka hola ʻumikūmālua (12 o’clock)

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And finally, here are the directions: I will say something like, “The work should be finished before 1 o’clock” and you will say “E pau ka hana ma mua o ka hola ʻekahi”.

Okay. I think we are ready for our day of deadlines at the office! Hoʻomākaukau!

The work should be finished before…
…1 o’clock – E pau ka hana ma mua o ka hola ʻekahi
…2 o’clock – E pau ka hana ma mua o ka hola ʻelua
…3 o’clock – E pau ka hana ma mua o ka hola ʻekolu
…4 o’clock – E pau ka hana ma mua o ka hola ʻehā
…5 o’clock – E pau ka hana ma mua o ka hola ʻelima
…6 o’clock – E pau ka hana ma mua o ka hola ʻeono
…7 o’clock – E pau ka hana ma mua o ka hola ʻehiku
…8 o’clock – E pau ka hana ma mua o ka hola ʻewalu
…9 o’clock – E pau ka hana ma mua o ka hola ʻeiwa
…10 o’clock – E pau ka hana ma mua o ka hola ʻumi
…11 o’clock – E pau ka hana ma mua o ka hola ʻumikūmākahi
…12 o’clock – E pau ka hana ma mua o ka hola ʻumikūmālua

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Now if we change “ma mua o” to “ma hope o” in this sentences, then we would be saying: The work should be finished after the time. Letʻs do a few for practice. Hoʻomākaukau!

The work should be finished after two oʻclock. – E pau ka hana ma hope o ka hola ʻelua.
The work should be finished after four oʻclock – E pau ka hana ma hope o ka hola ʻehā.
The work should be finished after five oʻclock – E pau ka hana ma hope o ka hola ʻelima.
The work should be finished after ten oʻclock. – E pau ka hana ma hope o ka hola ʻumi.
The work should be finished after twelve oʻclock – E pau ka hana ma hope o ka hola ʻumikūmālua.

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How to say “on top of” and “underneath”; and using them with “aia”

In exactly the same way that we have said “in front of” and “behind”, we can say “on top of” and “beneath” (or “underneath”). The two expressions are “i luna o” and “i lalo o”, or “ma luna o” and “ma lalo o”. Remember, “i” and “ma” are interchangeable in this type of sentence. Say them once each after me: i luna o, i lalo o, ma luna o, ma lalo o. Great! So let’s get straight to the fun stuff. Mākaukau?

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Aia ke keiki ma luna o ka waʻa! – the child is on top of the canoe

(in English, we would say, “in the canoe”; but not in Hawaiian. Hawaiian says “on the canoe”. Once more: “aia ke keiki ma luna o ka waʻa”)

Aia ka holoholona ma lalo o ke kaʻa! – the animal is under the car!
E kōkua ana nā moʻo i nā kānaka ma luna o ka pali – the guardian spirits are going to help the people on top of the cliffs
E ʻōlelo ana nā wāhine ma lalo o nā kukui – the women will be speaking under the kukui nut tree

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ʻAe – ua pau! Pau ka haʻawina. That lesson is done. As you can see, it’s essentially the same as in front of and behind. So are you ready to be my translator again? Pretend we’re standing with a group of Hawaiian speaking people who are all your friends, and I come along and say something in your ear, which you have to translate as quickly and accurately as possible. Can you do it? Let’s find out. And don’t worry, the correct answer will come after a short pause, as usual. Hoʻomākaukau! Here we are with your friends…

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The child is on top of the canoe – Aia ke keiki ma luna o ka waʻa!
The animal is under the car! – Aia ka holoholona ma lalo o ke kaʻa!
The guardian spirits are going to help the people on top of the cliffs – E kōkua ana nā moʻo i nā kānaka ma luna o ka pali.
The women will be speaking under the kukui-nut tree – E ʻōlelo ana nā wāhine ma lalo o nā kukui.

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Pehea? How did you do? I hope they understood, for both of our sakes! OK. Letʻs move on to the next lesson, which will allow us to use “ma mua o” and “ma hope o”, in front of, and behind, as the time markers “before” and “after”.

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How to Say Something is Somewhere using “aia,” “ma mua,” “ma hope,” “ma,” and “i”.

We have learned a lot of material up to this point, and you have been exposed to many sentence patterns in the stories which you perhaps do not yet understand. But as we progress through the program, you will become more and comfortable first of all listening to spoken Hawaiian, then being able to reproduce the sentences given, and ultimately being able to construct your own! So with that in mind, let’s keep on going.

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To say “The car is in front of the house”, we use a sentence like this: aia ke kaʻa i mua o ka hale. aia / ke kaʻa / i mua o – ka hale. You have already said most of this sentence before with actions at the start of the sentence, but we are just going to use “aia” now, which can be thought to mean “there is”.

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Mākaukau ʻoe no ka hoʻomaka? A ʻo ia! Hoʻomākaukau!

Aia ka hale ma Molokaʻi – the house is in Molokaʻi
Aia ke kaʻa ma hope o ke kanaka – the car is behind the man
Aia ka mokulele i mua o ka hale – the plane is in front of the house
Aia ke keiki hauʻoli ma ke kahua pipi – the happy child is at the ranch
Aia ka nahele nui ma hope o ka hale kūʻai – the large forest is behind the store
Aia ke kālā ma mua pono o ke keiki! – the money is right in front of the child!

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Now are you ready to try translating? Try to break the sentence up into pieces in your head and translate one piece at a time. Remember, there’s no hurry; you can always use your “pause” button! Hoʻomākaukau!

the house is in Molokaʻi – Aia ka hale ma Molokaʻi
the car is behind the man – Aia ke kaʻa ma hope o ke kanaka
the plane is in front of the house – Aia ka mokulele i mua o ka hale
the happy child is at the ranch – Aia ke keiki hauʻoli ma ke kahua pipi
the large forest is behind the store – Aia ka nahele nui ma hope o ka hale kūʻai
the money is right in front of the child! – Aia ke kālā ma mua pono o ke keiki!

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Let’s try again now, but this time, we’ll add some of those fancy expressions we’ve been saying over and over in our vocabulary lessons for each section. Listen carefully for the “building block” pieces of the sentences, and reproduce them in the correct order until they sound “right” to you. Hoʻomākaukau…

I kēia manawa – at this time
…aia ka hale ma Hilo – the house is in Hilo
I kēia manawa, aia ka hale i Hilo
At this time, the house is in Hilo

No laila – so therefore
…aia ka huaʻai ma ka hale kūʻai – the fruit is at the store
No laila, aia ka huaʻai ma ka halekūʻai
To therefore, the fruit is at the store

Aia nā wailele a pau – all of the waterfalls
…ma nā pali kiʻekiʻe – on the tall cliffs
Aia nā wailele a pau ma nā pali kiʻekiʻe
All of the waterfalls are on the tall cliffs

Aia nā pua like ʻole – all different kinds of flowers
…ma ka nahele o uka loa – in the forests of the highlands
Aia nā pua like ʻole ma ka nahele o uka loa
All diffrent kinds of flowers are in the forests of the uplands

I ka wā kahiko – in the ancient times
…aia nā aliʻi ma Maui – the chiefs were on Maui
I ka wā kahiko, aia nā aliʻi ma Maui
In the ancient times, the chiefs are on Maui

Aia ke kapikala ma Honolulu – the Capital is in Honolulu
…no ka mea – becuase
…aia nā hale aupuni ma laila – the government buildings are there
Aia ke kapikala ma Honolulu, no ka mea, aia nā hale aupuni ma laila
The Capital is in Honolulu because the government buildings are there

ʻAʻole pilikia. – no problem
…aia ka hale ola kokoke i ʻaneʻi – the hospital is close by!
ʻAʻole pilikia, aia ka hale ola kokoke i ʻaneʻi
No problem, the hospital is close by!

Aia kekahi hoaaloha ma Kauaʻi – there is another friend on Kauaʻi
…no ka mea – becuase
…ua hele au i laila a ua noho i laila – I went there and (I) lived there
Aia kekahi hoaaloha ma Kauaʻi, no ka mea, ua hele au i laila a ua noho i laila
There is another friend on Kauaʻi, because I went there and lived there

Aia paha kekahi mau pahu – there are perhaps some drums
ma mua o ka hale nui – in front of the large building
ma Kaunakakai – in Kaunakakai
Aia paha kekahi mau pahu ma mua o ka hale nui ma Kaunakakai
There are perhaps some drums in front of the large building in Kaunakakai

Aia nō paha kekahi mau kānaka akamai – there are perhaps some intelligent people
e kūkulu ana i ka hale kahiko – building ancient-style houses
a hiki i kēia lā – right up to these times.
Aia nō paha kekahi mau kānaka akamai e kūkulu ana i ka hale kahiko a hiki i kēia lā
There are perhaps some intelligent people building ancient-style houses right up to these times.

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Molokaʻi Vocabulary

Please note that the vocabulary list in this lesson goes beyond the words and expressions used in our story. The more vocabulary you can learn, the more you can talk about! As with all of our lessons, you can substitute words of the same kind used in the exercises, right into your own sentences! For example, since we have learned how to say “maikaʻi ka hana”, and “maikaʻi” is an ʻaʻano descriptive word, you could use any ʻaʻano in the same location. Thus, from this vocabulary list, you can say “lōʻihi ka hana”, “work is long,” meaning that work takes a long time to complete.

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Nā ʻōlelo Pōkole, expressions

“Molokaʻi nui a Hina” – a saying that means that Molokaʻi is the child of Hina, an akua, or goddess, at the time of the creation of the islands
Aia lā hoʻi – there at that place indeed
ma waena o – in between
ʻē aʻe – other. This is used at the end of phrases and links to the word right before it; for example, nā mokupuni ʻē aʻe – the other islands
nō hoʻi kekahi – also used at the end of a phrase, it is a very emphatic “also”; for example, a ua hele nā kāne nō hoʻi kekahi – and the men went also
A hiki i kēia mau lā – right up to today, until these days
ʻaʻole loa – not at all
me ia nō – just the way it is, unchanging
hānau a hānai – born and bred, as a place where you were “born and bred”

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Nā Kikino, or noun-like words

he akua – a god
he mile – a mile. From the English word mile. He mile.
he pali – a cliff
he wailele – a waterfall
he kahua pipi – a ranch
he holoholona – an animal, usually four-footed
he kāula – a priest of the ancient Hawaiian religion
he home – a home. From the English. he home
he ala – a road or pathway
he haole – a foreigner, a caucasian
he imu – an underground oven
he ipo – a sweetheart
he keiki – a child, a baby
he kālā – money. This is from the English word “dollar” – “dālā” – “kālā”
he kamaʻāina – a resident, a person familiar with a place
ka poʻe – the people (you cannot use the word “poʻe” to mean a person; for that you would have to use “kanaka”, as we have already learned).
ka poʻe – people
ka loa – the length
ka laulā – the width
ke kai – the sea
ka moana – the open ocean
nā nahele – the forests. nā is the plural definite marker, and nahele is forest

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ʻAʻano, adverbs and adjectives

lōʻihi – long
ʻokoʻa – different
piha – full, as a container
akamai – clever, smart
hauʻoli – happy
kapu – sacred, or off-limits. The English word “taboo” comes from the old pronunciation of this wordas “tapu”. kapu lōlō – crazy, stupid

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Inoa, proper names

Hina – a goddess in the Hawaiian creation story
Wākea – a god in the Hawaiian creation story
Kamakou – the name of the high mountain on Molokaʻi’s east end
Kahiwa – the waterfall that is one of the longest in the world
Lanikāula – the name of a famous priest who lived on Molokaʻi

Here are some more place names on Molokaʻi. Repeat after me

Maunaloa, Kaluakoʻi, Moʻomomi, Ka-lae-o-ka-ʻïlio, Kepuhi, Ka-lae-o-ka-lāʻau, Hale o Lono, Kalaupapa, Kaunakakai

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Nā Hamani a me nā Hehele, action words

lele – to jump, or fly as an animal; to leap off a cliff
aʻoaʻo – to advise someone about something
holomua – to progress, as in ability
hāpai – to carry; also when a person is pregnant, she is “hāpai”
kōkua – to help

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How to Say “In Front Of” and “Behind”

Maikaʻi loa ka hana! Ua pololei paha nā mea a pau? A ʻo ia! E holomua kākou i kēia manawa.

You actually already know these two expressions from listening to the stories. “I mua o” and “i hope o” mean “in front of” and “behind”, respectively. Let’s hear an example of their use:

Ua noho ke kanaka i mua o ka hale – the person sat in front of the
house. (i mua o ka hale = in front of the house)
Ua noho ke kanaka i hope o ka hale – the person sat behind the house (i hope o ka hale = behind the house)

Did you hear the marker “i” right after the subject “kanaka”?

“Ua noho ke kanaka i hope…”

The “i” marker tells the listener to listen for the location of the action which follows: i hope o ka hale. In other words, “i” helps the listener to recognise where the subject of the sentence, ke kanaka, ends. Ua noho (action)/ ke kanaka (subject)/ i hope o ka hale (location).

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It is interesting to note that the word “ma” can be used in place of this “i” marker to indicate a location of something happening. So we can say either “i mua o ka hale” or “ma mua o ka hale”. “I hope o ka hale”, or “ma hope o ka hale”. Since you are not studying linguistics in this program, there is no need for us to work out the reasoning behind the option of “i” or “ma”, but rather to be confident that when we want to indicate a location of an action, we can start that part of the sentence with the marker “i” or “ma”.

Let’s get to some examples. You should just say these over and over to yourself until you become comfortable enough that it feels natural to say these sentences. After a while, if you were to say them incorrectly, they would sound strange. That’s great progress when you know what sounds “right” from “wrong”.

Hoʻomākaukau!

Ua pau ka hana i mua o ka hale – the work is finished in front of the house.
Ua nui nā huaʻai ma hope o ka hale – there is alot of fruit behind the house.
E ʻōlelo ana nā malihini i mua o nā kānaka – the visitors are going to speak in front of the people.

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These next examples will be read a little more slowly so that it gives you a chance to listen to each piece of the phrase.

E hoʻolohe ana ʻo Kimo iā Kealoha i mua o ka uapo – Kimo will listen to Kealoha in front of the bridge.
E hoʻolohe ana nā kānaka iā Kealoha ma Hilo, ma mua o ka uapo – The people are going to listen to Kealoha in Hilo, in front of the bridge.
ʻAʻole pilikia. E holoholo ana kākou ma mua o ka hale kapikala – No problem. We will be riding around the front of the capital building.
Ua nui nā kānaka i mua o ka mokulele, no ka mea, e nui ana nā malihini – There were many people in front of the plane, because there were going to be many visitors.

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Ua nui nā huaʻai i mua o Kimo – there were many fruits in front of Kimo.
Ua nui nā huaʻai i mua o ke kanaka – there were many fruits in front of the person.
E ʻoluʻolu ana ka makani ma hope o ke kuahiwi – the wind behind the mountain is going to be comfortable and cool.
E ʻoluʻolu ana ka makani ma hope o Kaʻala – the wind behind Kaʻala is going to be cool and comfortable.

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So now that you have practiced saying “i mua o”, “i hope o”, “ma mua o”, and “ma hope o”, you can help me to find my lost friend! Let’s pretend we are on a trip somewhere, and I seem to have lost my friend.

I will ask you “I hea koʻu hoaaloha?” (Where is my friend?) Then I will give you the English version of the response, and you are to translate it into Hawaiian and then tell me the location. You can tell whether to use “i” or “ma” by the way I ask the question. Just listen carefully, and youʻll hear the hint at the start of each question.

After a short delay, during which you should say your translation, I’ll give you the answer so you can check yourself. Makemake e hoʻomaka i ka haʻawina? Hoʻomākaukau!

I hea koʻu hoaaloha? – in front of the house – i mua o ka hale
Ma hea koʻu hoaaloha? – behind the house – ma hope o ka hale
I hea koʻu hoaaloha? – in front of the people – i mua o nā kānaka
I hea koʻu hoaaloha? – in front of the bridge – i mua o ka uapo
Ma hea koʻu hoaaloha? – in Hilo, in front of the bridge – ma Hilo, ma mua o ka uapo
Ma hea koʻu hoaaloha? – in front of the capital building – ma mua o ka hale kapikala
I hea koʻu hoaaloha? – in front of the plane – i mua o ka mokulele
I hea koʻu hoaaloha? – in front of Kimo – i mua o Kimo
I hea koʻu hoaaloha? – in front of person – i mua o ke kanaka
Ma hea koʻu hoaaloha? – behind the mountain – ma hope o ke kuahiwi
Ma hea koʻu hoaaloha? – behind Kimo – ma hope o Kimo

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Disc 5 Track 22 part 1 00:15 and music

Pehea ka hana? How have you been doing? Maikaʻi paha. I kēia manawa, e holomua kākou i ke aʻo i ka ʻōlelo Hawaiʻi ma ka mokupuni nana ʻo Molokaʻi

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How To Use “iā” to Direct Action Towards Another Person

Maikaʻi. Ua pau ka haʻawina. E hana kākou i kekahi mea hou.

In the first half of this program, we learned how to say that an action has occurred, or will occur in the future. Now we will learn how to direct the action towards somebody. For example, we can already say “Kimo said” (Ua ʻōlelo ʻo Kimo), and “The chief will want” (E makemake ana ke aliʻi), and now we will learn to say “Kimo said -to Kealoha,” and “The chief will want -Hiʻiaka”.

To do this, all we have to do is add the marker “iā” after the subject of the sentence, and then add the name of the person to whom the action is directed. Let’s all practice saying the marker word: iā [2x]

E hoʻomaʻamaʻa kākou:

E kiʻi ana ke aliʻi – the chief is going to fetch
iā Pele – (to) Pele (and note that in English we don’t need to say “to Pele”)
E kiʻi ana ke aliʻi iā Pele – the chief is going to fetch Pele

E ʻōlelo ana ke kanaka – the person will speak
iā Lohiʻau – to Lohiʻau
E ʻōlelo ana ke kanaka iā Lohiʻau – the person is going to speak to Lohiʻau

E hoʻomaopopo ana nā kānaka – the people are going to remind
iā Kealoha – (to) Kealoha
E hoʻomaopopo ana nā kānaka iā Kealoha – the people are going to remind Kealoha

E kiʻi ana ke kāne – the man will fetch
iā kākou – (to) us
E kiʻi ana ke kāne iā kākou – the man is going to fetch us

Ua ʻōlelo ka wahine – the women spoke
iā ʻoe – to you
Ua ʻōlelo ka wahine iā ʻoe – the woman spoke to you

Ua nānā ka malihini – the visitor looked
iā Mauna Kea – at Mauna Kea
Ua nānā ka malihini iā Mauna Kea – The visitor looked at Mauna Kea

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I hope you manage to follow the examples given. Repeat them as often as necessary. And when you are ready, continue on to the next lesson, which is a translation excercise for you, to translate from English into Hawaiian. Hoʻomākaukau!

The chief is going to fetch Pele – E kiʻi ana ke aliʻi iā Pele
The person is going to speak to Lohiʻau – E ʻōlelo ana ke kanaka iā Lohiʻau
The people are going to remind Kealoha – E hoʻomaopopo ana nā kānaka iā Kealoha
The man is going to fetch us – E kiʻi ana ke kāne iā kākou
The woman spoke to you – Ua ʻōlelo ka wahine iā ʻoe
The visitor looked at Mauna Kea – Ua nānā ka malihini iā Mauna Kea

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Using “kekahi” and “kekahi mau”

In the stories for Kauaʻi and the other islands, you heard the words “kekahi” and “kekahi mau” being used. As you already know from repeating the vocabulary lists from each island, we say “he” to mean “a” or “an”. For example, “he malihini” would be what? “A visitor.” Right! “He malihini.”

We also know how to say that someone specific will do something, or did someting. For example, “Ua hele ka malihini” – the visitor went; “E hele ana ka malihini” – the visitor will go.

Now how about if we wanted to say “a visitor went”? It would seem that you could say “ua hele – he malihini”, but this is not good Hawaiian. Instead, we use the word “kekahi” to take the place of “he”. Try it with me: kekahi. [2x] So we would say “ua hele – kekahi malihini”. A visitor went.

Makemake ʻoe e hoʻomaʻamaʻa? Are you ready to try some excercises? A ʻo ia! E hoʻomākaukau!

E hele ana kekahi wahine i Kauaʻi – a woman will travel to Kauaʻi.
Ua uʻi kekahi aliʻi – a chief was handsome
E ʻōlelo ana kekahi kaikaina – a younger sibling will speak
E kono ana kekahi malihini – a visitor will make an invitation (invite)
Ua kaumaha kekahi kanaka – a person was sad

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Maikaʻi nō! You have learned how to use “kekahi” to mean “a” when used with the subject of the sentence. Now let’s try saying “kekahi mau”, which means “some”. Say it after me: kekahi mau. [2x] We use this in exactly the same way we used “kekahi” in the previous exercise. Let’s get straight to practicing!

Hoʻomākaukau!

E hele ana kekahi mau wāhine i Kauaʻi – some women will travel to Kauaʻi.

(Note that when you say “wahine”, it means “one woman”, and “wāhine” means many women. There are very few words that are pronounced differently in the singular and plural, and this is one of them).

Let’s do that first one again:

E hele ana kekahi mau wāhine i Kauaʻi – some women will travel to Kauaʻi.
Ua uʻi kekahi mau aliʻi – some chiefs were handsome
E ʻōlelo ana kekahi mau kaikaina – some younger siblings will speak
E kono ana kekahi mau malihini – some visitors will invite
Ua kaumaha kekahi mau kānaka – some people were sad.

(Here we have another of the handful of words that change in the singular and plural. You have already been using this in earlier lessons, however: “Kanaka” person; “Kānaka” people.)

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Now it is the time for us to practice what we have learned so far using “kekahi” and “kekahi mau”. We’ll mix them up a bit, but don’t be confused! Just think: if I say “a” something, then use “kekahi”. And if I say “some” somethings, then use “kekahi mau”.

Hoʻomākaukau!

A chief was handsome – Ua uʻi kekahi aliʻi
Some people were sad – Ua kaumaha kekahi mau kānaka
Some chiefs were handsome – Ua uʻi kekahi mau aliʻi
Some women will travel to Kauaʻi – E hele ana kekahi mau wāhine i Kauaʻi
A person was sad – Ua kaumaha kekahi kanaka
A younger sibling will speak – E ʻōlelo ana kekahi kaikaina
A visitor will invite – E kono ana kekahi malihini
Some younger siblings will speak – E ʻōlelo ana kekahi mau kaikaina
A woman will travel to Kauaʻi – E hele ana kekahi wahine i Kauaʻi

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