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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