{"id":199,"date":"2015-03-26T03:06:31","date_gmt":"2015-03-26T03:06:31","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/visitmolokai.com\/wp\/?page_id=199"},"modified":"2018-08-12T21:44:11","modified_gmt":"2018-08-12T21:44:11","slug":"local-lingo-basic-hawaii-languages-for-visitors","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/visitmolokai.com\/wp\/local-lingo-basic-hawaii-languages-for-visitors\/","title":{"rendered":"Local Lingo – Basic Hawaii Languages For Visitors"},"content":{"rendered":"

Local Lingo – Basic Hawaii Languages For Visitors<\/h1><\/span>
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While English is the official language in Hawaii, two others will be heard while you are here, Hawaiian and the ever-present Pidgin. This article will provide a simple introduction to both.<\/p>\n

The Hawaiian language contains only 13 letters, – five vowels, seven consonants and the ‘okina, which is called a ‘glottal stop’ in English. The okina indicates a break in the sound when the word is spoken, like the break when you say “uh oh” in English. Simple, right?<\/p>\n

Here is the Hawaiian alphabet,<\/p>\n

A, E, I, O, U, H, K, L, M, N, P, W,’<\/p>\n

Here are the four basic rules,<\/p>\n

~ All words end in a vowel.<\/p>\n

~ Every consonant is followed by at least one vowel.<\/p>\n

~ Every syllable ends in a vowel.<\/p>\n

~ Two consonants never appear next to each other.<\/p>\n

The okina is only found between two vowels or at the beginning of a word.<\/p>\n

The word Lanai (verandah, porch) with no okina would be pronounced ‘Lah-nigh’, with the okina, it is Lana’i (the island 10 miles south of us) and pronounced ‘Lah-nah-ee.’<\/p>\n

‘Molokai’ written without the okina, it is pronounced ‘Moh-loh-kai.’
\nWritten with the okina, it reads Moloka’i and is pronounced ‘Moh-loh-kah-ee.’<\/p>\n

Either pronunciation is acceptable, but often a missing okina will change the meaning of a word.<\/p>\n<\/div>

<\/div><\/div><\/div>

Another grammatical mark is the kahako, a symbol that looks like a dash (-)\u00a0that is placed over a vowel. It means that it is a long vowel – simply drag the vowel out a bit longer.<\/p>\n

The vowels are pronounced pretty much as in Spanish,<\/p>\n

A = “ah”<\/p>\n

E = “eh”<\/p>\n

I = “ee”<\/p>\n

O = “oh”<\/p>\n

U = “oo”<\/p>\n

Traditionally, the W in Hawaiian sounds like the letter “V” in English.<\/p>\n

Vowels are pronounced separately except when they appear as diphthongs.<\/p>\n

‘AI’ sounds like the ‘i’ in ice.<\/p>\n

‘AE’ Sounds like I or eye.<\/p>\n

‘AO’ like ‘ow’ in how.<\/p>\n

‘AU’ like the ‘ou’ in house.<\/p>\n

‘EI’ like ‘ei’ as in eight.<\/p>\n

‘EU’ like ‘eh-oh’<\/p>\n

‘IU’ like ‘ew’ in few.<\/p>\n

‘OI’ as in the word voice<\/p>\n

‘OU’ sounds like the ‘ow’ as in bowl.<\/p>\n

‘UI’ sounds like the ‘ooey’ in gooey.<\/p>\n

Grammar<\/p>\n

English speakers learning Hawaiian should remember Hawaiian grammar word order. English sentences are arranged in subject-verb-object order. Hawaiian sentences are arranged verb-subject-object.<\/p>\n<\/div>

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Visitor’s Hawaiian Vocabulary<\/h2><\/span>
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\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
A hui ho’u<\/td>\nSee you later<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Ae<\/td>\nYes<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Aina<\/td>\nLand<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Akamai<\/td>\nSmart, clever<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Aloha<\/td>\nlove, compassion, greeting as in hello, good bye, farewell<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Aloha Ahiahi<\/td>\nGood evening<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Aloha auina la<\/td>\nGood afternoon<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Aloha kakahiaka<\/td>\nGood morning<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
A’ole<\/td>\nNo<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
A’ole pilikia<\/td>\nYou’re welcome \/ No problem<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Hale<\/td>\nHouse<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Hana<\/td>\nWork<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Hana Hou<\/td>\nAgain, encore<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Haole<\/td>\nOriginally meant foreigner but now accepted to mean Caucasian<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Hau’oli La Hanau<\/td>\nHappy Birthday<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Hau’oli Makahiki Hou<\/td>\nHappy New Year<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Honi<\/td>\nKiss<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Kai<\/td>\nSea, ocean<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Kala mai ia’u<\/td>\nExcuse me<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Kalo<\/td>\nTaro<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Kama’aina<\/td>\nChild of the land, today also means one who has lived here a long
\ntime<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Kanaka<\/td>\nHuman Being<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Kane<\/td>\nMan, Male<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Kapu<\/td>\nForbidden, taboo<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Kaukau<\/td>\nFood<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Keiki<\/td>\nChild<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Kokua<\/td>\nHelp, assistance<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Kolohe<\/td>\nRascal<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Kumu<\/td>\nTeacher<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Kupuna<\/td>\nGrandparent, ancestor<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Ku’uipo<\/td>\nSweetheart<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/div>
<\/div><\/div><\/div>
\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
Lanai<\/td>\nPorch, verandah<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Lani<\/td>\nHeavenly<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Lua<\/td>\nPit, restroom<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Luau<\/td>\nFeast<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Mahalo<\/td>\nThank You<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Mahalo nui loa<\/td>\nThank you very much<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Maika’i<\/td>\nGood<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Maika’i no au<\/td>\nI am fine<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Makai<\/td>\nToward the ocean<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Malihini<\/td>\nNewcomer<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Mano<\/td>\nShark<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Manu<\/td>\nBird<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Mauka<\/td>\nToward the mountain<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Mele Kalikimaka<\/td>\nMerry Christmas<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Moopuna<\/td>\nGrandchild<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Mu’umu’u<\/td>\nLoose, flowing dress<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Nani<\/td>\nBeautiful<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
No ka oi<\/td>\nThe best<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Ohana<\/td>\nFamily<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Ono<\/td>\nDelicious<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Opala<\/td>\nRubbish, trash<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Opu<\/td>\nStomach<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Pali<\/td>\nCliff<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Pau<\/td>\nFinished, done<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Pau Hana<\/td>\nFinished work<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Pehea ‘oe?<\/td>\nHow are you?<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Pua<\/td>\nFlower<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Pua’a<\/td>\nPig<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Puka<\/td>\nHole, any hole including parking spaces<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Pupu<\/td>\nHors d’oeuvres<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Pupule<\/td>\nCrazy<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Slippahs<\/td>\nFlip flops<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Tutu<\/td>\nGrandfather, grandmother<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Wahine<\/td>\nWoman<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Wikiwiki<\/td>\nHurry, quickly<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/div>
<\/div><\/div><\/div>

Basic Pidgin Vocabulary<\/h2><\/span>
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<\/div><\/div><\/div>

An den?<\/b> – and then? So?
\nAny kine – <\/b> any kind.
\nAzright<\/b> – that’s right.
\nBo da dem<\/b> – both of them.
\nBraddah<\/b> – brother.
\nBrah<\/b> – friend, buddy.
\nBrok da mou<\/b>t – tastes delicious.
\nBumbye – <\/b>When we get around to it, after a little while.
\nBummahs<\/b> – bummer, too bad.
\nChoke<\/b> – Meaning “a lot of something”, many,
\na large amount.
\nChoke Cars<\/b> – Heavy traffic.
\nDa Kine<\/b> – The real thing, a whatchamacallit, “,you
\nknow what I mean?”,
\nDat<\/b> – That.
\nDirty Lick’ns<\/b> – A Spanking.
\nEriding<\/b> – Everything, all of it.
\nEh<\/b>! – You know!
\nFadda<\/b> – Father, Dad.
\nFo’ Real?<\/b> – Are you serious?
\nFo’ Shua<\/b>! – For sure!
\nGeev’ um<\/b> – Give it to them, go for it,
\nGrind<\/b> – eat.
\nGrinds<\/b> – food.
\nHaad Rub<\/b> – Having a hard time, Bad time, feeling uncomfortable.
\nHawaiian Time<\/b> – Late.
\nHo Brah<\/b> – Prelude to describing something intense or amazing.
\nHowzit?<\/b> – What’s happening? How’s it going?
\nHow you figga?<\/b> what do you think?
\nHuli Huli – <\/b> To flip over and over, rotiserrie, also barbecue, like in Huli Huli chicken.<\/p>\n<\/div>

<\/div><\/div><\/div>

Jalike?<\/b> – Would you like to (do something)?
\nJunk<\/b> – Not good, lousy, rotten.
\nK den – <\/b> OK, agreed.
\nKaukau<\/b> – food or chow.
\nLadat<\/b> – Like that.
\nLesgo<\/b> – let’s go.
\nLike Beef?<\/b> – You want to fight?
\nLocal Style<\/b> – Anything typical of the way things are done in Hawaii,
\nLolo Buggah<\/strong> – A stupid or crazy guy.
\nLua<\/b> – Bathroom.
\nLolo<\/b> – dummy, stupid.
\nMo bettah<\/b> – much better.
\nMoke<\/b> – large local tough guy.
\nNo Ack<\/b> – Quit showing off.
\nNo can<\/b> – cannot, not possible.
\nOno<\/b> – tasty.
\nOnoliscious<\/b> – very tasty, delicious!
\nPau hana<\/b> – finished work for the day.
\nPlanny<\/b> – A lot, plenty, plentiful, choke.
\nSlippah<\/b> – thongs, slippers.
\nStink eye – <\/b> mean or dirty look.
\nTalk stink<\/b> – speaking badly about someone.
\nTalk story<\/b> – rap, chew the fat, chat.
\nTanks<\/b> – thanks.
\nTo da max<\/b> – all the way, most you can get.
\nTry Move<\/b> – (Please) move out of the way.
\nTry Wait<\/b> – (Please) be patient.
\nWat Doing<\/b> – What the “bleep” do you think you’re
\ndoing??
\nWe Go<\/b> – Let’s get out of here, split.<\/p>\n<\/div>

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