This page contains an overview of the first eight pepeke patterns that you learn in my classes. Knowing and using all eight of these will allow you to speak Hawaiian all day long*!
*batteries not included; assembly and plenty of vocabulary required.
(1) Pepeke Henua
“something is somewhere or somewhen” — locational phrase
| poʻo | piko | ʻawe |
|---|---|---|
| Aia or Eia | who or what | location |
The ʻami «i» and «ma» are interchangeable when used for location in time or place.
It is also possible to show that “something is temporarily located with someone” with Pepeke Henua. The temporary owner, a person, is shown in the ʻawe: use the ʻami «i» before a kaʻi+memeʻa, or «iā» before an iʻoa or a papani, as expected.
You could translate the above as “Kimo has the keys to the house” or “The keys to the house are with Kimo” but just be sure to think in Hawaiian: that they are located with the person rather than that the person “has” the things.
(2) Pepeke Painu ʻAʻano
“something is in a particular state or condition” — stative phrase
| poʻo | piko | ʻawe | ʻawe |
|---|---|---|---|
| ʻaʻano condition | who or what | (optional cause) | (additional info) |
Use the ʻami «i» or «iā» (as appropriate) to show the cause of the ʻaʻano state or condition.
(3) Pepeke Painu Hamani/Hehele
“something is doing something” — action phrase
| poʻo | piko | ʻawe | ʻawe |
|---|---|---|---|
| hamani or hehele action | doer | (optional direct object) | (additional info) |
| hamani | an action word which takes a direct object if the action is being done to something or if there is a receiver of the action |
| hehele | no direct object because the action occurs only within the doer |
(4) Pepeke ʻAike He
“something is a something” — class-inclusion phrase
“something specific is a member of a general class of things”
note: the underlined items above are the part that goes in the poʻo.
| poʻo | piko | ʻawe |
|---|---|---|
| He + something general | specific thing | (additional info) |
(5) Pepeke ʻAike ʻO
“something is the something” — equational phrase
“something specific is something else specific” (somethingA = somethingB)
“If A = B, then B = A” say the mathematicians; we can therefore flip the poʻo and piko.
| poʻo | piko | ʻawe |
|---|---|---|
| ʻO + something A | something B | (additional info) |
(6) Pepeke Nonoʻa He
“something has a something” — simple possession phrase
| poʻo | piko | ʻawe |
|---|---|---|
| He + item owned | ko + owner kā + owner | (additional info) |
This pepeke is very similar to Pepeke ʻAike He but it has the addition of a possessive marker to start the piko. The marker is called a «nonoʻa». Nonoʻa refer to ownership or possession. As with anything dealing with possession in Hawaiian, you need to know the difference between kinoʻō and kinoʻā (o-class and a-class) to properly use this pattern.
For Pepeke Nonoʻa He, the nonoʻa «ko» and «kā» are what some people call “k-possessive” since they start with “k”. In the next pepeke pattern (Pepeke Nonoʻa Huahelu), you will see that the nonoʻa in those cases are “k-less” (just «o» and «a» respectively).
The owner in any nonoʻa pattern can be one of three things: a kaʻi+memeʻa sequence, an iʻoa, or a papani. When used with papani, you must watch out for the first three (my, your, and his/her) because they are fused to the nonoʻa. See the examples below.
Here’s what this looks like with plurals. Note the English does not use the kaʻi “a” / “an”.
(7) Pepeke Nonoʻa Huahelu
“something has a # of something” — possession of a quantity
| poʻo and piko fused | ʻawe |
|---|---|
| He + # + item owned + o/a + owner as kaʻi+memeʻa | (additional info) |
| He + # + item owned + o/a + owner as iʻoa | (additional info) |
| He + # + o/a + owner as papani + item owned | (additional info) |
This pepeke is related to Pepeke Nonoʻa He (“something has a something”) but for two small differences: (1) we need to put the quantity right after «He» and (2) the possessive nonoʻa word is k-less. By that, I mean it is «o» instead of «ko», and «a» instead of «kā».
Some important notes: (1) if the owner is a papani (underlined below), it jumps up right after the number; (2) the kaʻi «He» is optional in conversational Hawaiian; and (3) «ʻEhia» (how many) and «ʻAʻohe» (none/no/zero quantity) may also be used in place of «He + #» to start the pepeke.
(8) Pepeke Nonoʻa No/Na
“something belongs to something” — “something is for something”
| poʻo | piko | ʻawe |
|---|---|---|
| No + owner | item owned | (additional info) |
| Na + owner | item owned | (additional info) |
This pattern always starts with either «No» or «Na» plus the owner which is going to be either a kaʻi+memeʻa, an iʻoa, or a papani, just like the piko.
The English translations below will stick generally to Hawaiian word order and “Hawaiian thinking” so that you can learn the Hawaiian language way of putting these ideas together.
When using the first three papani as owners, fuse «no» or «na» to the papani owner.
Other papani owners act like kaʻi+memeʻa and iʻoa owners.
ʻŌlelo Online Virtual Classroom · kumu Kaliko Beamer-Trapp · Reference revision 3 (June 2026) · This is a work in progress; feedback is welcome.