Almost everyone knows that a doorway is a puka. But how do you say door? Try pani puka. Pani puka is the thing that closes, blocks, or covers an opening. Puka is the doorway, ke pani puka is the door itself.
Kaimukī, the name for a section of Honolulu, is another name often mispronounced by those familiar with the common Hawaiian word kai. Actually, Kaimukī means “the ti oven” and is a compound word made up of ka for “the,” imu for “oven,” and kī for “ti.”
Many people who don't speak Hawaiian ask how to make the glottal stop in your speech at the beginning of a word. ʻIolani is a good example. ʻIolani is the name of a palace, an avenue, a fine school, and many other things. And ʻiolani means “royal hawk.”
Anu can mean “temperature,” but when we talk of weather anu usually means “cold.” After a long, hot summer, lots of us look forward to days that might be thought of as anu.
Our Hawaiian word for today is kēhau for “dew.” Kēhau is often seen on the grass in the higher elevations, and the word kēhau comes up often in Hawaiian songs and chants. Kēhau is also a popular given name.
Ānuenue means “rainbow.” It is a name given to the Kula Kaiapuni in Pālolo, the first DOE school devoted entirely to the immersion teaching of children in the Hawaiian language.
Pehea means how or what. It is most often heard in the greeting “Pehea ʻoe?” It is used by both Hawaiian speakers and many who know only a few words. Pehea ʻoe? – How are you?
Hoʻoponopono means to make right. And it is a Hawaiian way of putting things in order, settling problems by sitting down together and talking it out. Hoʻoponopono is something we should all be aware of and practice.
Our Hawaiian word for today is a famous Kauaʻi place name, Waiʻaleʻale. It means “rippling, or overflowing water.” Waiʻaleʻale is the highest mountain on Kauaʻi, and boasts an annual rainfall of more than 475 inches a year.
Often we hear Hawaiians speak of their ʻaumakua, their family or personal god – deified ancestors who might assume the shape of sharks, owls, hawks, mud hens, octopuses, eels, mice, rats, even clouds or plants.
Punahou is a very well known Hawaiian word, mostly because it is the name of one of our oldest schools, and it means new spring. In fact, Punahou School was named because of a spring at that location.
Our Hawaiian Word of the Day is wailele or waterfall. Literally, wailele means leaping water. And although it is a generic term, it is also is used in many place names and songs. Such as the popular wailele o ʻakaka.
Puʻuwai is Hawaiian for heart. And while it is often used as a center of emotions, that is probably a Western concept. The earliest reference to the heart in that context was in 1853.
Hemolele most often heard in conjunction with things religious, means “perfect, faultless, flawless, holy, immaculate, saintly.” As in ka ʻUhane Hemolele, the Holy Spirit.
Pūʻolo meaning a bundle, bag, container, or a parcel is a Hawaiian word often used in English conversation. When you go home from the store, don't forget your pūʻolo!
It's so often mispronounced that the incorrect version has become an accepted pidgin word. But our word for today is mea ʻono puaʻa, or delicious pig thing. It is a popular and tasty steamed or baked Chinese bun with pork inside.
Ōkolehao is a strong and popular liquor distilled from ti root in a still of the same name. Ōkolehao is sometimes made from rice or pineapple juice too.
Nui means “big, greatest, grand, important.” As in aliʻi nui. Hale nui would be a big house. And mea nui would be an important thing. Used as an adjective it follows the noun. It can also mean “many or a group.”
Kaʻahumanu, a beautiful Hawaiian name, and it means the bird cloak or the favorite cloak. It is the name of the favorite wife of King Kamehameha the Great.
While you most often hear Palani as the Hawaiian transliteration of the name Frank or Frances. It also means France or French. We don't have a lot of Palani in Hawaiʻi, but there are many in Tahiti.
Heluhelu means “to read.” Helu, by itself, is to count, but re-duplicating it gives us a new word: to read. All of us can heluhelu and we do it everyday reading books, newspapers, magazines, signs, and more.
Puʻunēnē is a place on the island of Maui, and a beautiful name that is all too often mispronounced. It is named for a hill – a puʻu – where you might find the nēnē goose, our state bird: goose hill.
Maʻa mau is two words that mean common, usual, customary. Chinese food is the meaʻai maʻa mau for a lot of people in Hawaiʻi. He mea maʻa mau – a common thing.
