Hawaiian Language
Until the 1820's, Hawaiian was only a spoken language. In the 1820's the Calvinist missionaries from New England began to write down phonetically the Polynesian-based language. The Hawaiian language used only 12 letters. There are five vowels:
- A (as in "ah")
- E (as in "vein")
- I (as in "see")
- O (as in "no")
- U (as in "do")
The seven consonants are H, K, L, M, N, P, and W. You may hear the "W" pronounced like a "V", this happens when the W is the second to the last letter of the word, but there are exceptions. Hawaii is not one of them.
Vowels may follow each other but consonants are always followed by a vowel, creating syllables with only two letters. Words never end in a consonant and because there is no "S" in the Hawaiian language, nouns are not pluralized.
Sometimes you will see a word spelled with an apostrophe(‘) between two vowels, as in Ali'i. This is called an "‘okina", the glottal stop, and creates an abrupt break in the word, such as "oh-oh".
The second to the last syllable is usually stressed. If there are only two syllables, the last one receives the emphasis.
Basic Hawaiian Words and Phrases
- ‘ae
- yes
- ali‘i
- a Hawaiian chief or noble
- A hui hou
- Goodbye
- akamai
- smart
- aloha
- means both hello and goodbye, welcome or farewell, romantic love, affection, or best wishes
- Aloha ahiahi
- Good evening
- Aloha au ia ‘oe
- I love you
- Aloha kakahiaka
- Good morning
- Aloha nui loa
- much love, fondest regards
- ‘a‘ole
- no
- hale
- house or building
- hana
- work
- haole
- Caucasian (originally meant foreigner)
- Hau‘oli la hanau
- Happy Birthday
- Hau‘oli makahiki hou
- Happy New Year
- Heiau
- temple, ancient worship ground
- hele
- go or walk around
- hiamoe
- to sleep
- ho‘olohe
- to listen
- hui
- a group, meeting, or society
- hula
- native Hawaiian dance
- imu
- underground oven
- ipo
- sweetheart, lover, girl- or boyfriend
- ka‘a
- car
- kahuna
- teacher or priest
- kai
- ocean
- kama‘aina
- native born, long-time island resident, local
- kane
- man
- kapu
- forbidden
- kaukau
- food
- keiki
- child
- e komo mai
- please come in, enter, welcome
- kupuna
- grandparent
- kokua
- help
- lanai
- porch or patio
- lei
- traditional garland of flowers or vines
- lomi lomi
- traditional Hawaiian massage
- lua
- toilet
- lu'au
- a Hawaiian feast featuring poi, imu-baked port, and other traditional foods
- mahalo
- thank you
- makai
- toward the sea
- maikai
- good - in response to "how are you?"
- malihini
- newcomer, visitor
- mauka
- toward the moutains, inland
- mauna
- mountain
- mele
- a Hawaiian chant or song
- Mele Kalikimaka
- Merry Christmas
- menehune
- a Hawaiian dwarf or elf
- moana
- ocean
- nani
- beautiful
- ‘ohana
- family
- ‘olu‘olu
- please
- ‘ono
- delicious, delightful, the best
- 'okina opu
- stomach
- pali
- cliff
- paniolo
- a Hawaiian cowboy
- pau
- finished
- Pehea ‘oe?
- How are you?
- pono
- excellent
- pua
- flower
- puka
- a hole of any size
- pune‘e
- bed
- pupu
- an appetizer, snack, hors d'oeuvres
- pupule
- crazy
- tapa
- traditional paper cloth made from beaten bark
- tutu
- grandmother
- wahine
- woman
- wai
- water
- wiki
- quickly, fast
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