Resources › Lessons One of the most important goals of my Conversational Hawaiian Level 1B class is for you to master the following six Pepeke patterns. Here they are with some examples given in both standard English as well as Pidgin English (HCE, Hawaiian Creole English) in some instances.
1. Pepeke Henua locational phrase
Tells us: something is somewhere or somewhen Starts with: «Aia» or «Eia» in the poʻo Markers: you can use māka painu «ana» after «aia» or «eia» to indicate the future Example Pidgin (HCE) Standard English Aia / kahi keiki / ma ʻō. Get / one child / ova dea. There is a child over there. Aia ana / au / ma ka pāʻina. I goin go (to) da party. I will be at the party. Aia ana / ~ / i ka lā ʻāpōpō. Goin be tomorrow. It will be tomorrow. (✗) Aia / he keiki / ma ʻō. I recommend you don’t put «he» inside a Pepeke
2. Pepeke Painu ʻAʻano stative phrase
Tells us: something is in a particular state or condition Starts with: an ʻaʻano in the poʻo Markers: you can use the māka painu tense markers with the ʻaʻano (except «Mai») Example Pidgin (HCE) Standard English Nani / ka wahine / ma ke kiʻi. Beautiful / da woman / in da pitcha. The woman in the picture is beautiful. ʻOno / ka ʻinamona / ma ka poke. ʻOno / da ʻinamona / in da poke. The nut relish in the poke is delicious. Pau / ka papa / i kēia manawa. Pau / da class / now. The class is over now.
3 & 4. Pepeke Painu Hamani & Pepeke Painu Hehele action phrase (two types)
Tell us: someone is doing something or something is happening Start with: a hamani (transitive verb) or hehele (intransitive verb) in the poʻo Markers: you can use any of the māka painu tense markers; no marker = habitual action Example Meaning Action type Holo / ke kāne / i ka halekūʻai. The man goes to the store. hehele ʻŌlelo Hawaiʻi / kākou. We all speak Hawaiian. hamani Ua lele / ka lupe / i ka lani. The kite flew in the sky. hehele Ke ulu nei / nā pāpapa. The beans are growing. hehele Ke hui / kākou, // hauʻoli au. Whenever we meet, I’m happy. hehele E haʻi ana / au / iā ʻoe. I will inform you. hamani E noho / ma ʻaneʻi / e ke keiki. Sit down here, child. hehele Mai inu / i kaʻu waina, / e ke hoa! Don’t drink my wine, friend! hamani
5. Pepeke ʻAike He class-inclusion phrase
Tells us: something is a something (something specific = a member of a general class) Starts with: «He something » in the poʻo Markers: you can use «ana» at the end of the poʻo to indicate future; no other māka painu Example Pidgin (HCE) Standard English He paka wai / kēia. Dis one water drop. This is a water droplet. He wai maoli / ia. Dat’s some fresh water. ThatAF thing is fresh water. He kumu / ka wahine. Da woman one teacher. The woman is a teacher. He maikaʻi ana / kēia. Dis goin be good. This is going to be a good thing. (cf . «E maikaʻi ana kēia.»)
6. Pepeke ʻAike ʻO equational phrase
Tells us: something is the something (something specific = something else specific) Starts with: «ʻO something » in the poʻo Markers: you can use «ana» at the end of the poʻo to indicate future; no other māka painu Special note: you can switch the contents of the poʻo and piko in Pepeke ʻAike ʻO. Example Meaning ʻO ka paka wai / kēia. or ʻO kēia / ka paka wai. This is the water droplet. ʻO ka wai maoli / ia. or ʻO ia / ka wai maoli. That aforementioned thing is the fresh water. ʻO ke kumu / ka wahine. or ʻO ka wahine / ke kumu. The woman is the teacher. ʻO ka maikaʻi ana / kēia. or ʻO kēia ana / ka maikaʻi. This is going to be the good thing.
Notes
Memeʻa : main content words, except for iʻoa (names) and papani (pronouns)kikino a word that acts like a noun hamani an action verb, transitive (acts on something, or takes a direct object) hehele action verb, intransitive (happens in the do-er only) ʻaʻano stative verb (shows a state or condition, like an adjective)
Main Pepeke Parts
poʻo usually the first part; tells us what kind of Pepeke it is; it also usually contains the primary information to be communicated in that phrase piko almost always directly follows the poʻo and contains the “subject/doer” ʻawe optional short segments (as many as you need) which add more info. ʻami a special tiny word which starts every ʻawe and which helps us understand the relationship of the ʻawe ’s information to the whole phrase māka painu marker words used in the poʻo of any Pepeke Painu, indicating when something happened, if it’s a suggestion or command, or if habitual, etc. kāhulu one or more words —even a whole Pepeke— semantically connected to and following another content word, giving more information about it.
ʻŌlelo Online Virtual Classroom · kumu Kaliko Beamer-Trapp · Reference revision 6 (November 2024) · This is a work in progress; feedback is welcome.
Published on 2026-10-22 — Last updated on 2026-10-22