How to Say Where Something/Somewhere From

We are now going to use the expression “no hea mai” from the voacabulary to say “where is something from?” Say it after me, “no hea mai” 2x. Good. In the same way that we added a subject such as “ka malihini” to “E holoholo ana” to say “E holoholo ana ka malihini” (the visitor will go for a ride), so we can add “ka malihini” to “no hea mai” to ask the question “where is the visitor from?” No hea mai ka malihini?

Makemake ʻoe e hoʻomaʻamaʻa? Would you like to practice? ʻAe! I will tell you the subject to use, and then you add it after “No hea mai” to make a complete sentence. Also, now that you are getting more advanced, you will translate your sentence into English right after you say the Hawaiian.

Let’s try a practice question. I say “ka malihini, the visitor”. So now you would say, “No hea mai ka malihini? – Where is the visitor from?” I’ll say the answer after a short break, so you can check your response. E hoʻomākaukau!

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Practice Questions:

Play the audio file and then for each segment below, listen to the vocabulary prompt and then read the Hawaiian phrase out loud, followed by the English translation. Then wait a moment and check how you did by listening to the Hawaiian as read by Kaliko.


  • ka moʻo, the guardian spirit
  • no hea mai ka moʻo?
  • where is the guardian spirit from?

  • nā ʻohana, the families
  • no hea mai nā ʻohana?
  • where are the families from?

  • ka pahu, the drum
  • no hea mai ka pahu?
  • where is the drum from?

  • ke kani, the sound
  • no hea mai ke kani?
  • where is the sound from?

  • ke aliʻi kāne,the chief
  • no hea mai ke aliʻi kāne?
  • where is the chief from?

  • ʻo Pele, Pele
  • no hea mai ʻo Pele?
  • where is Pele from?

  • ʻo Hiʻiaka, Hiʻiaka
  • no hea mai ʻo Hiʻiaka?
  • where is Hiʻiaka from?

  • ʻo Lohiʻau, Lohiʻau
  • no hea mai ʻo Lohiʻau?
  • where is Lohiʻau from?

  • kākou, all of us
  • no hea mai kākou?
  • where are we all from?

  • kāua, you and I
  • no hea mai kāua?
  • where are you and I from?

  • au, I
  • no hea mai au?
  • where am I from?

  • ʻoe, you
  • no hea mai ʻoe?
  • where are you from?

  • ʻo ia, she
  • no hea mai ʻo ia?
  • where is she from?

  • ʻo ia, he
  • no hea mai ʻo ia?
  • where is he from?

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Maikaʻi loa-great! If you are ready to translate from English to Hawaiian, continue on from here. If you need a little more practice, go back and try that exercise again until you are comfortable with it. If you are in need of a little more time to get your responses together, just use the pause button before I give the answer, and when you are ready, resume the program to see how you did.

OK. now let’s move on to give you a chance to translate from English into Hawaiian! Hoʻomākaukau!

  • where is the guardian spirit from? no hea mai ka moʻo?
  • where are the families from? no hea mai nā ʻohana?
  • where is the drum from? no hea mai ka pahu?
  • where is the sound from? no hea mai ke kani?
  • where is the chief from? no hea mai ke aliʻi kāne?
  • where is Pele from? no hea mai ʻo Pele?
  • where is Hiʻiaka from? no hea mai ʻo Hiʻiaka?
  • where is Lohiʻau from? no hea mai ʻo Lohiʻau?
  • where are we all from? no hea mai kākou?
  • where are you and I from? no hea mai kāua?
  • where am I from? no hea mai au?
  • where are you from? no hea mai ʻoe?
  • where is she from? no hea mai ʻo ia?
  • where is he from? no hea mai ʻo ia?

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Ua maikaʻi paha ka hana? ʻO ia! No laila, e hoʻomau aku kākou i kekahi haʻawina.

Let’s go on to the next lesson.

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Kauaʻi Vocabulary

Nā ʻōlelo Pōkole, expressions

  • nani maoli nō – truly beautiful
  • nō – an emphatic word, affirming or intensifying the word that comes right before it
  • hoʻi – another emphatic word, similar to nō, and often used in combination with nō. It can alsomean “again”, “also” or “indeed”.
  • ʻaʻole – no, not
  • no hea mai? – where from?
  • kekahi i kekahi – from one to the other
  • a – and
  • me – with
  • hui pū – to meet together
  • moe pū – to sleep together
  • ma Hawaiʻi – in Hawaiʻi
  • ʻoiai – since, due to the fact that
  • inā – if
  • ma hope mai – afterwards
  • i mua pono – right in front
  • paha – this word means “perhaps” and refers to the word that comes right before it, as in he malihini paha – a visitor perhaps
  • e ka mea hoʻolohe – o listener. This is addressing the person listening to the story
  • kekahi – a or an
  • kekahi mau – some
  • naʻu – for me
  • nāna – for him or for her
  • ʻo ia – she or he. This is used as the subject in sentences like “he went for a ride” or “she will speak”.

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Nā Kikino, or noun-like words

  • he kapakai – a shoreline
  • he aliʻi kāne – a chief
  • he pahu – a drum
  • he moemoeā – a dream or fantasy
  • he moeʻuhane – a dream in which the experiences seem almost real
  • he kaikaina – a younger sibling of the same sex, meaning the younger brother of a male, or a
  • younger sister of a female.
  • he moʻo – a gecko. Also a mythical creature, a guardian spirit
  • he ʻuhane – a spirit
  • he māhele – a part or division
  • he huaʻōlelo – an individual word
  • he ʻohana – a family

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Nā ʻAʻano, adverbs and adjectives

  • uʻi – beautiful, young beauty
  • kupaianaha – amazing
  • pāhaʻohaʻo – mysterious, amazing, intriguing, unfathomable make – dead
  • lili – jealous
  • kaumaha – sad
  • pōkole – short
  • ola – to be alive

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Nā Inoa, proper names

  • Lohiʻau – the chief of Kauaʻi
  • Laupāhoehoe – the place on Hawaiʻi island where Pele was sleeping
  • Hāʻena – a place on Kauaʻi
  • Hiʻiaka – the favourite young sister of Pele
  • Hopoe – the best friend and companion of Hiʻiaka
  • Panaʻewa – the lush forest area on Hawaiʻi island which was a favourite place for Hiʻiaka and Hopoe

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Nā Hamani a me nā Hehele, action words

hoʻomaopopo – to remember, as when you remember something you were supposed to have
done. Also “to remind someone of something”.
lohe – to hear
hoʻolohe – to listen
moe – to sleep
kono – to invite
ola – to live
haʻalele – to leave a place or a person to go somewhere else
ala – to wake up from sleep
kiʻi – to fetch something
mālama – to take care of something
ʻae – to agree
kuhi – to assume, to suppose
hoʻi – to return home. Note that this is a different “hoʻi” from the one we heard earlier meaning “indeed” and “also”.
hoʻomaʻamaʻa – to practice
hoʻomākaukau – to prepare for something

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Kauaʻi Story

Aloha kākou. Ua hiki mai kākou i Kauaʻi, ka hā o nā moku ma ka huakaʻi a kākou. He mokupuni kahiko loa kēia, a he nani maoli no nā kuahiwi a me nā awāwa, nā nahele a me nā kapakai, a me nā kānaka e noho ana ma laila.

I ka wā kahiko loa hoʻi, e noho ana kekahi aliʻi kāne, ʻo Lohiʻau, ma Kauaʻi. ʻŌlelo nā kānaka, he aliʻi uʻi ʻo ia. A inā hoʻomaopopo ʻoukou no Pele ma ka mokupuni ʻo Hawaiʻi, he wahine kupaianaha ʻo ia, a he pāhaʻohaʻo nō hoʻi. I kekahi pō, e hiamoe ana ʻo Pele ma Laupāhoehoe, a lohe ʻo ia i ke kani o ka pahu ma kona moemoeā. ʻAʻole ʻo ia ʻike no hea mai ke kani. Ma loko o kona moeʻuhane, huli ʻo ia i ke kani. No hea mai? Holo ʻo Pele i Maui, i Molokaʻi, i Oʻahu. ʻAʻole ʻike i ke kumu o ke kani. A hiki i Hāʻena ma Kauaʻi, ʻike ʻo Pele iā Lohiʻau, ke aliʻi uʻi. Ma laila ke kumu o ke kani! Ua ʻike ʻo Pele a me Lohiʻau, kekahi i kekahi, a ua makemake nui. Ua moe pū ihola, a laila, kono ʻo Pele iā Lohiʻau e hui pū ma Hawaiʻi ma hope. Ua haʻalele ʻo Pele iā Lohiʻau, a ua make ihola ʻo Lohiʻau i ke aloha nui iā Pele.

Ua ala hou mai ʻo Pele ma Hawaiʻi. ʻOiai ua kono ʻo ia iā Lohiʻau e holo mai i Hawaiʻi, ʻōlelo ʻo Pele iā Hiʻiaka, kekahi kaikaina o Pele, “E huakaʻi ana ʻoe e kiʻi iā Lohiʻau naʻu.”

ʻōlelo ʻo Hiʻiaka iā Pele, “E huakaʻi au inā mālama ʻoe i ka nahele lehua nani a me koʻu hoaaloha maikaʻi loa ʻo Hopoe.”

Ua ʻae ʻo Pele, e mālama ʻo ia i ka nahele a me Hopoe nō hoʻi. No laila, haʻalele ʻo Hiʻiaka, a huikaʻi akula i Kauaʻi.

Ma ka huakaʻi, he nui loa nā moʻo, nā ʻuhane, a me nā pilikia. E lohi loa ana ʻo Hiʻiaka i ke kiʻi iā Lohiʻau a me ka hoʻi i Hawaiʻi. ʻIke ʻo Hiʻiaka iā Lohiʻau, ua make. Hana ʻo Hiʻiaka a ola mai ʻo Lohiʻau, a hoʻomaka lāua e hoʻi i Hawaiʻi, i Kïlauea hoʻi.

E kuhi ana naʻe ʻo Pele, ua makemake ʻo Hiʻiaka iā Lohiʻau i kāne nāna, a no laila, ua lili loa iā Hiʻiaka. Hoʻoholo ʻo Pele e hoʻā i ka nahele o Panaʻewa. Ua pau ihola ka nahele a me Hopoe kekahi, ka hoaaloha maikaʻi o Hiʻiaka.

Ma hope mai, kaumaha loa ʻo Hiʻiaka, a no laila, kiʻi ʻo ia e honi iā Lohiʻau i mua pono o Pele a me kona ʻohana!

Pehea kou manaʻo no ka pau ʻana o kēia moʻolelo? ʻAkahi nō paha a hoʻomaka!

No laila, e ka mea hoʻolohe, ʻaʻole nō i pau ka moʻolelo no Pele, Hiʻiaka, Hopoe, a me Lohiʻau, akā, ua lohe ʻoe i kekahi māhele pōkole. No laila, i kēia manawa, e hoʻolohe kākou i nā huaʻōlelo hou a e hoʻomaʻamaʻa i nā haʻawina.

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Second-person Pronoun “You”

To say the word “you” in the singular, we use the word “ ʻoe”, spelled ʻokina-ʻō-ʻē. Repeat after me: ʻoe.

Let’s get straight to the exercises. We’ll use phrases that are already familiar to you from a previous lesson, and use our newly learned subject ʻoe, you (one person). Hoʻomākaukau!

E hoʻolohe ana ʻoe = You (one person) will listen
E heʻenalu ana ʻoe = You will go surfing
E nānā ana ʻoe = You will look
E hōʻike ana ʻoe = You will show
E aʻo ana ʻoe = You will teach
E hoʻomaka ana ʻoe = You will begin

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Now can you tell me what to do in Hawaiian? I will say something in English, and you say the Hawaiian. These are all taken from the previous exercise, so go back and review it again if you have a hard time. And don’t become discouraged; just think how young children take time to get complete phrases together, but when they speak, even if the speech is somewhat broken, the basic idea is still understandable. Work at going from partially complete responses to complete phrases.

OK. So the subject here is going to be “ʻoe”, you (one person). Say it again: ʻoe. – Hoʻomākaukau!

  • You will listen = E hoʻolohe ana ʻoe
  • You will go surfing = E heʻenalu ana ʻoe
  • You will look = E nānā ana ʻoe
  • You will show = E hōʻike ana ʻoe
  • You will teach = E aʻo ana ʻoe
  • You will begin = E hoʻomaka ana ʻoe

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Are you ready now to add the time of day to these phrases we have been practicing? For a review, here are the terms once again. I’ll say them and you just listen.

  • I ke kakahiaka – in the morning
  • I ke awakea – in the middle of the day
  • I ka ʻauinalā – in the afternoon
  • I ke ahiahi – in the evening
  • I ka pō – at night

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So, let’s add the times of day to our phrases. Hoʻomākaukau!

  • E hoʻolohe ana ʻoe i ke kakahiaka = You will listen in the morning
  • E heʻenalu ana ʻoe i ke awakea = You will go surfing at noon
  • E nānā ana ʻoe i ka ʻauinalā = You will look in the afternoon
  • E hōʻike ana ʻoe i ke ahiahi = You will show (or present) in the evening
  • E aʻo ana ʻoe i ka pō = You will teach in the night
  • E hoʻomaka ana ʻoe i ke kakahiaka = You will begin in the morning

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Are you ready to try and translate from English to Hawaiian? Hoʻomākaukau!

  • You will listen in the morning = E hoʻolohe ana ʻoe i ke kakahiaka
  • You will go surfing at noon = E heʻenalu ana ʻoe i ke awakea
  • You will look in the afternoon = E nānā ana ʻoe i ka ʻauinalā
  • You will show (or present) in the evening = E hōʻike ana ʻoe i ke ahiahi
  • You will teach in the night = E aʻo ana ʻoe i ka pō
  • You will begin in the morning = E hoʻomaka ana ʻoe i ke kakahiaka

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More Number Practice

Now let’s practice numbers!

Put the number at the front of the sentence before the subject, just like we do in English. For example, five people = ʻelima kanaka.

Hoʻomākaukau, kahi, lua, kolu…ʻo ia

Hoʻokahi pae mauna = one mountain range
ʻElua mea = two things
ʻEkolu kapuaʻi = 3 feet
ʻEhā kanaka = 4 people
ʻElima kukui = 5 candlenuts
ʻEono humuhumunukunukuʻapuaʻa fishes = 6 humuhumunukunukuʻapuaʻa

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(The following items do not appear in the audio)
7 hala = 7 panadanus
8 makaʻāinana = 8 commoners
9 nalu = 9 waves
10 hoaaloha = 10 friends
11 wahine = 11 women
12 kāne = 12 men
13 kanawika = 13 sandwiches
14 hola = 14 hours
15 lā = 15 days
16 pō = 16 nights

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First-Person Pronoun “I” & Times of Day

Now we are going to learn how to use the word “au” to mean “I” as a subject of a sentence. For example, you will learn how to say, I will listen or I will be hungry. Repeat after me.

  • E hoʻolohe ana au – I will listen.
  • E heʻenalu ana au – I will go surfing.
  • E nānā ana au – I will look.
  • E hoʻike ana au – I will show or present.
  • E aʻo ana au – I will teach.
  • E hoʻomaka ana au – I will begin.
  • E pōlolei ana au – I will be hungry.

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We shall now add more content to our sentence by adding at what time of day the event is going to occur. You will want to listen to these expressions several times until you can say them without being prompted first. For now, repeat them after me.

  • i ke kakahiaka – in the morning
  • i ke ʻawakea – in the middle of the day
  • i ka ʻauinalā – in the afternoon
  • i ke ahiahi – in the evening
  • i ka pō – at night

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To indicate the time of day, just add it after the subject of the sentence, which in this case will be “au” meaning I, as we learned earlier in this section of our program. Listen and repeat after me. Hoʻomākaukau!

  • E hoʻolohe ana au – I will listen.
  • E hoʻolohe ana au i ke kakahiaka – I will listen in the morning.
  • E heʻenalu ana au – I will go surfing.
  • E heʻenalu ana au i ke ʻawakea. I will go surfing at noon.
  • E nānā ana au. – I will look.
  • E nānā ana au i ka ʻauinalā. I will look in the afternoon.
  • E hoʻike ana au. – I will show.
  • E hoʻike ana au i ke ahiahi. – I will show in the evening.
  • E aʻo ana au. – I will teach.
  • E aʻo ana au i ka pō. I will teach in the night.
  • E hoʻomaka ana au. – I will begin.
  • E hoʻomaka ana au i ke kakahiaka. – I will begin in the morning.
  • E pōlolei ana au. – I will be hungry.
  • E pōlolei ana au i ka ʻawakea. – I will be hungry in the middle of the day.

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Now it is the time for you to help me translate. Try to put together the Hawaiian for the following sentences. You will hear the coreect answer after a short delay.

  • I will listen – E hoʻolohe ana au.
  • I will go surfing – E heʻenalu ana au.
  • I will look – E nānā ana au.
  • I will show – E hoʻike ana au.
  • I will teach – E aʻo ana au.
  • I will begin – E hoʻomaka ana au.
  • I will be hungry – E pōlolei ana au.

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Now, can you help me out again and include the time of day? Here they are once more for review.

  • i ke kakahiaka – in the morning
  • i ke awakea – in the middle of the day
  • i ka ʻauinalā – in the afternoon
  • i ke ahiahi – in the evening
  • i ka pō – at night

Hoʻomākaukau!

  • I will listen in the morning – E hoʻolohe ana au i ke kakahiaka.
  • I will go surfing at noon. – E heʻenalu ana au i ke awakea.
  • I will look in the afternoon. – E nānā ana au i ka ʻauinalā.
  • I will show in the evening. – E hoʻike ana au i ke ahiahi.
  • I will teach in the night. – E aʻo ana au i ka pō.
  • I will begin in the morning. – E hoʻomaka ana i ke kakahiaka.
  • I will be hungry in the middle of the day. E pōlolei ana au i ke awakea.

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Oʻahu Vocabulary

Letʻs review the vocabulary from the story. After you have heard these words a few times each, you might want to try to write them down.

Nā ʻōlelo Pōkole, expressions

  • ʻaʻole pilikia – no problem
  • kekahi – another
  • e ō – yes (in reply)
  • e Lani – Hi, Lani
  • a ʻo ʻoe? – and as for you?
  • ʻaʻohe – none
  • kuʻu wahi hoa – my friend (sarcastically)
  • ka mua – the first one
  • ma luna ou – on top of you (one person)
  • naʻu – for me
  • nāu – for you
  • aia nō a – as soon as, once you . … .
  • ʻa ʻo ia! – thatʻs it! OK! let’s go!
  • au – me, I
  • i hea? – where
  • kāua – you and I (2 people)
  • pehea? – how is it?

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Nā Kikino, or noun-like words

  • he pae mauna – mountain range
  • he mea – a thing, a person, a thingy
  • he kapuaʻi – a foot (measurement, or foot)
  • he kanaka – a person
  • he kinolau – an alternate body form of a
  • he kukui – a candlenut tree, or the nut
  • he humuhumunukunukuʻāpuaʻa – a kind of fish, the Hawaiian state fish
  • he hala – a pandanus leaf
  • he makaʻāinana
  • he nalu – a wave
  • he hoaaloha – a friend
  • he wahine – a woman
  • he kāne – a man
  • he pāpāʻōlelo – a conversation
  • he kanuika – a sandwich
  • he hola – an hour
  • pō – nighttime, night
  • ka lā – daytime, day
  • ke kakahiaka – morning
  • ke awakea – midday

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Nā ʻAʻano, adverbs and adjectives

koke – quickly, soon
kiʻekiʻe – high in altitude; high up; tall
kolohe – naughty, micheivous
lokomaikaʻi – benevolent, kind, generous
nunui – very large, redup. of nui
kūpono – correct, right
pōloli – hungry
hapa – a half

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Nā Inoa, proper names

Koʻolau
Waiʻanae
Kaʻala
Kākuhihewa
Kamapuaʻa
Oʻahu
Konahuanui
Waimea

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Nā Hamani a me nā Hehele, action words

hoʻolohe – to listen
heʻenalu – to surf
nānā – to look
poʻi – to break, as a wave
hōʻike – to show, to teach
aʻo – to teach or learn
hoʻomaka – to start, to begin
kani – to sound, to make a sound

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Nā Huahelu

These are the numbers from one to plenty.

  • hoʻokahi – one
  • ʻelua – two
  • ʻekolu – three
  • ʻeha – four
  • ʻelima – five
  • ʻeono – six
  • ʻehiku – seven
  • ʻewalu – eight
  • ʻeiwa – nine
  • ʻumi – ten
  • ʻumikūmākahi – eleven
  • ʻumikūmālua – twelve
  • ʻumikūmākolu – thirteen
  • ʻumikūmāhā – fourteen
  • ʻumikūmālima – fifteen
  • ʻūmikūmāono – sixteen
  • ʻumikūmāhiku – seventeen
  • ʻūmikūmāwalu – eighteen
  • ʻumikūmāiwa – nineteen
  • ʻiwakālua – twenty

The following three are taken from English word from a hundred, thousand and million. Repeat after me.

  • haneli – hundred
  • kaukani – thousand
  • miliona – million

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Oʻahu Story

Aloha hou mai kakou! Aia kakou ma ka mokupuni o Kākuhihewa, ʻo ia hoʻi ka mokupuni kaulana loa ʻo Oʻahu. ʻElua pae mauna o Oʻahu: ʻo nā Koʻolau a me nā Waiʻanae. ʻO Kaʻala ka mauna kiʻekiʻe loa o Oʻahu, he 4,046 kaupaʻi. ʻO Konahuanui ka mea kiʻekiʻe loa o nā Koʻolau, he 3,150 kapuaʻi. ʻO Kamapuaʻa kekahi kupua kolohe loa i noho ma Oʻahu. He puaʻa a he kanaka ʻo ia, a he nui kona mau kinolau, e like me ke kukui, ka hala, a me ka humuhumunukunukuapuaʻa.

ʻO Kākuhihewa ke aliʻi kaulana o Oʻahu i ka wā kahiko. Aloha nui ʻia ʻo ia e nā makaʻāinana, no ka mea, he aliʻi lokomaikaʻi ʻo ia. Ma kahi o hoʻokahi miliona kānaka e noho ana ma Oʻahu i kēia manawa.

Ua kaulana ʻo Waimea i nā nalu nunui. I kēia kakahiaka, e hele ana ʻelua hoaaloha i ka heʻenalu. ʻO Lani ka wahine a ʻo Kila ke kāne. E hoʻolohe kākou i ka pāpāʻōlelo:

Kila: E Lani
Lani: E ō
Kila: E nānā kāua i nā nalu nui!
Lani: ʻAe, a he kakahiaka mālie kēia! E heʻenalu kāua!
Kila: E heʻe ana au ma luna o nā nalu he kanalima, a ʻo ʻoe, ʻaʻohe!
Lani: ʻAʻole pilikia e kuʻu wahi hoa. E poʻi ana ka nalu mua ma luna ou, no laila, naʻu e hōʻike iā ʻoe i ka hana kūpono.
Kila: Aia nō ā aʻo mai ʻoe i ka hana kūpono, ua pō ka lā!
Lani: E hoʻomaka koke kāua i kēia hola! Mākaukau, kahi, lua, kolu – a ʻo ia!

Lani: Hō, ua kani ka hola 12. Pololi au, e Kila. E ʻai kāua i hea?
Kila: Pehea ka hale ʻaina ʻo Kuaʻāina?
Lani: Maikaʻi.
Kila: E ʻai ana au i nā kanawika he ʻelima, a nāu nō e kūʻai!
Lani: E ʻai ana au i nā kanawika he ʻehiku!
Kila: Lanakila ʻoe.

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Using “No ka mea” (Because)

How to use “no ka mea” to string to phrases together. In English, we can use the word “because” to join two phrases together. The same is possible in Hawaiian, using “no ka mea”. As you heard in the vocabulary for this section, “no ka mea” means “because”.

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To practice, repeat the Hawaiian after the speaker. Learn how to put the three pieces of the complete idea together, and then say the entire sentence. Try to think about the meaning of each phrase as you say it.

E huakaʻi ana kākou – we are all going to travel
no ka mea – because
ua nani ka mokupuni – the island is beautiful
E huakaʻi ana kākou, no ka mea, ua nani ka mokupuni.
We are all going to travel, because the island is beautiful.

E noho ana kākou – we are all going to sit down
no ka mea – because
ua nui loa ka makani – the wind is so very strong
E noho ana kākou, no ka mea, ua nui loa ka makani.
We are all going to sit down because the wind is so very strong.

E nānā ana kākou – we are all going to look
no ka mea – because
e heʻenalu ana nā kānaka – the people are going to surf
E nānā ana kākou, no ka mea, e heʻenalu ana nā kānaka.
We are all going to look, because the people are going to surf.

E lanakila ana kākou – we will win
no ka mea – because
e ikaika ana kākou – we will be strong
E lanakila ana kākou, no ka mea, e ikaika ana kākou.
We will win, becuase we will be strong.

E makemake nui ana kākou – we are all going to really like
no ka mea – because
e nui ana nā huaʻai – there will be lots of fruit
E makemake nui ana kākou, no ka mea, e nui ana nā huaʻai.
We will all really like it, because there will be lots of fruit.

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Hulō! Ua pau ka huakaʻi i ka mokopuni ʻo Maui. I kēia manawa, e holoholo ana kākou i Oʻahu. Hoʻomākaukau!

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Using “Ua” to Make the Past Tense

We have already learned how to say that something will happen in the future. For example, “e hele ana ke kanaka” means “the person will go”, because “hele” means to go, and the e-ana around it means that it will occur in the future. The last two words, “ke kanaka” is the subject – who or what is going to perform the action.

We can say things in the past very easily, by just replacing the e-ana with the single word “ua” before the action. For example, “ua hele ke kanaka” means “the person went”. “Ua” is the past marker; “hele” is to go; and “ke kanaka” is the person. See how easy?

We can use descriptive ʻaʻano words with “ua”, past marker, too, just like with the future markers “e- ana”. So for example, we can say, “ua maikaʻi ka hana” – the work was good: “ua maikaʻi” means “was good”, and “ka hana” means “the work”. Ua maikaʻi ka hana. In fact, “ua maikaʻi ka hana” can also mean that the work is still good, since it was good in the past, and it still has not stopped being so. Ua maika’i ka hana. Work is good. This only works with ʻaʻano words that describe a state or condition: words like maika’i, good, pololei, correct, ikaika, strong, paʻakikī, difficult, and so on.

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OK. Are you ready to practice? E hoʻomaʻamaʻa kākou. We’ll only try to change one word at a time to make it easy. Repeat each word or phrase after me. Hoʻomākaukau!

Ua ʻōlelo ka malihini – the visitor spoke
Ua kū nā keiki – the children stood
Ua holoholo nā malihini – the visitors all went for a ride
Ua hele ke kanaka – the person went
Ua hele nā kānaka – the people went
Ua holo ka moku – the ship sailed
Ua maikaʻi ka hana – the work was good, or, the work is good
Ua nui nā hale – the houses were big, or, the houses are big
Ua nui nā kānaka – there were lots of people, or there are lots of people

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A ʻo ia! Now it’s your turn to see how you remember those expressions! Try to say the Hawaiian after hearing the English. You’ll hear the correct answer after a brief pause. Hoʻomākaukau!

  • The visitor spoke – Ua ʻōlelo ka malihini
  • The children stood – Ua kū nā keiki
  • The visitors all went for a ride – Ua holoholo nā malihini
  • The person went – Ua hele ke kanaka
  • The people went – Ua hele nā kānaka
  • The ship sailed – Ua holo ka moku
  • The work was good – Ua maikaʻi ka hana
  • The houses were big – Ua nui nā hale
  • There were many people – Ua nui nā kānaka

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Making the Subject of the Sentence an Inoa (name)

Making the subject of a sentence an inoa, or name.

We have already learned how to use “kākou” as a subject, as well as any common noun, like “ka malihini” or “nā kānaka”. Now we shall learn how to use an inoa, or name, as a subject in a sentence. To do so, we simply use the name after the action part of the sentence, and add “ʻo” to indicate to the listener that a name is coming up. E hoʻolohe mai. Listen:

Using kākou (all of us) as the subject:
E mālie ana kākou – We will all be calm Using nā malihini (the visitors):
E hele ana nā malihini – The visitors will be calm
E mālie ana ʻo Hilo – Hilo will be calm

If you hear the example name “Kimo” used in any of the upcoming lessons, you can substitute the name of any person you choose in its place just for practice. Hoʻomākaukau!

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  • E kaulana loa ana ʻo Māui – Māui will become very famous
  • E ulu nui ana ʻo Kimo – Kimo will grow large
  • E ʻoluʻolu ana ʻo Ukumehame – Ukumehame valley will be comfortable
  • E mālie maikaʻi ana ʻo Molokini – Molokini islet will be nice and calm
  • E holo loa ana ʻo Kimo – Kimo will run all the way
  • E hoʻoholo ana ʻo Māui – Māui will decide
  • E pololei ana ʻo Kimo – Kimo will be correct

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E unuhi mai. Do your best to translate the following into Hawaiian. Hoʻomākaukau!

  • Māui will become very famous – E kaulana loa ana ʻo Māui
  • Kimo will grow large – E ulu nui ana ʻo Kimo
  • Ukumehame valley will be comfortable – E ʻoluʻolu ana ʻo Ukumehame
  • Molokini islet will be nice and calm – E mālie maikaʻi ana ʻo Molokini
  • Kimo will run all the way – E holo loa ana ʻo Kimo
  • Māui will decide – E hoʻoholo ana ʻo Māui
  • Kimo will be correct – E pololei ana ʻo Kimo

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Sentence Subject Using Kikino (Common Nouns)

While on Hawaiʻi island, we learned how to make an action occur in the future with e-ana, and the subject was either “kākou”, all of us, or “kāua” you and I. Now let’s learn how to use a kikino, or common noun, as a subject. The sentence order is the same as before, but the subject will have either “ka” or “ke” before it to mean “the” something. E hoʻolohe mai; listen:

Here’s what we already know:

E huakaʻi ana kākou = we will all travel;
“e huakaʻi ana” means “will travel”;
“kākou” means “all of us”.
E huakaʻi ana kākou.

And here’s our new lesson with our new subject:

E huakaʻi ana ka malihini = the visitor will travel.
“E huakaʻi ana” means “will travel”;
“ka malihini” means “the visitor”.
E huakaʻi ana ka malihini.

To practice, the action will stay the same, and the subject will change. Repeat after me. Hoʻomākaukau!

E ʻōlelo ana ke kanaka – the person will speak
E ʻōlelo ana ke koa – the warrior will speak
E ʻōlelo ana ke kupua – the demigod will speak
E ʻōlelo aka ka mikionali – the missionary will speak

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E unuhi mai. Translate the following. Hoʻomākaukau!

  • The person will speak – E ʻōlelo ana ke kanaka
  • The warrior will speak – E ʻōlelo ana ke koa
  • The demigod will speak – E ʻōlelo ana ke kupua
  • The missionary will speak – E ʻōlelo aka ka mikionali
  • The visitor will go surfing – E heʻenalu ana ka malihini

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