Hawaiian Lessons

HA’AWINA ‘ELUA (Lesson Two)

Papa'ölelo (vocabulary list)

a - and (with verbs)
lole - clothes, dress, cloth
aloha - love, hello, goodbye
mahalo - to thank, to admire
hale - house, building
mai'a - banana
Haole - Caucasian, Engl. language
maika'i - good
hau'oli - happy
manu - bird
haumäna - student
mau - (plural marker)
hou - new, again
mea - thing, person
ia - he, she, it
momona - fat, sweet, fertile
i'a - fish
mu'umu'u - Hawaiian dress
inoa - name
nä - the (plural marker)
ka - the
nö - indeed (emphatic marker)
kahiko - old, ancient
'o wai - who
kaumaha - sad, heavy
'ölelo - to speak, to say
ke - the
'ölelo Hawai'i - Hawaiian language; to speak Hawaiian
keiki - child
'olu'olu - kind, pleasant, comfortable, cool, nice, charming
kou - your
'ono - delicious
ko'u - my
penikala - pencil
kula - school
pepa – paper
kumu - teacher
puke - book
li'ili'i - small, little
wïwï - thin

ka, ke, nä and mau

There are three articles (the) in Hawaiian. First, the use of ka and ke. When to use which one depends on the word it is being used with. Ke is used with all words that begin with k, and some words beginning a, e, o and p. Ka is used everywhere else. Although there are some exceptions which will be learned over time.
When nä is used, it indicates that the word is in its plural form as in ka puke - the book versus nä puke the books. Mau is used to pluralize the noun when nä cannot be used and sometimes is translated as "some". Later you will learn more uses with mau.
nä wähine - the women
nä käne - the men
he mau wähine - women; some women
he mau käne - men; some men

Pepeke 'Aike 'O This is another pepeke 'aike known as "pepeke 'aike 'o". This pattern consists of two parts that equal each other. You have a subject and a predicate. These sentences like the "pepeke 'aike he" are verbless sentences and answers who or what (person, place, thing) it is.
'o wai kou inoa? - what is your name?
'o Laka ko'u inoa - my name is Laka
'o Malia këia - this is Mary
'o 'oe ke kumu hula - you are the hula teacher
'o Pi'i ka haumäna - Pi'i is the student
'o këlä ka manu nui - that is the big bird
'o këia ka noho 'olu'olu this is the comfortable chair
'o ka noho 'olu'olu këia this is the comfortable chair
'o au ke kumu I am the teacher
'o ka hale kula këlä
that is the school

'O - subject marker. You already learned about the 'o that appears at the beginning of the pepeke 'aike. The 'o also appears in front of papani (pronouns) 'oe & ia and in front of an i'oa (personal names or name of a place).

'o ka wahine 'olu'olu 'o Momilani - Momilani is the pleasant woman
'o ke kumu 'o Leonahenahe - Leonahenahe is the teacher
'o këlä keikikäne 'o Kaleo - That boy is Kaleo
'o Kalani 'o 'oe ka haumäna - You are the student
'o La'akea ka haumäna - La'akea is the student

nö: Nö is an intensifier to mean "indeed" or "certainly" or sometimes not translated at all. It is an adverb, modifying the verb. This is a kähulu and just as it followed the kikino (common noun), nö will follow the verb.

aloha! - greetings!
aloha nö - greetings (to you too)

ia: ia means he, she or it but is preceded by 'o when the subject is "he" or "she". If the subject is "it", the 'o is omitted. he keiki maika'i 'o ia - he/she is a good child
he kula maika'i ia - it is a good school

Päpä'ölelo (conversation)

Laka: Aloha! 'O wai kou inoa? - Aloha, what is your name?
Malia: 'O Malia ko'u inoa. A 'o kou inoa? - My name is Malia. And your name?
Laka: 'O Laka ko'u inoa. My name is Laka.
Malia: Aloha nö e Laka. He kumu au. Aloha Laka. I'm a teacher.
Laka: Maika'i! He kumu kula 'oe? Great! Are you a school teacher?
Malia: 'A'ole, he kumu hula au. No, I'm a hula teacher.
Laka: 'Ölelo Haole 'oe? Do you speak English?
Malia: 'Ae, 'ölelo Haole au, a 'ölelo Haole ko'u makuahine. Yes, I speak English and my mother speaks English.
Laka: He mea maika'i nö. (That's) a really good thing.