The Hawaiian language is a dialect of the Polynesian tongue.
It has only 12 letters: the vowels are the same as English,
A, E, I, O, U.
The consonants are H, K, L, M, N, P, and W.
PRONUNCIATION Vowels: A as in father, E as in vein, I as "ee"
in peep, O as in own, and U as "oo" in boo .
CONSONANTS H as in hale, K as in Kate, L as in laid, M as in
moon, N as in noon, P as in peak, and W as in always.
RULES 1. Every word must end in a vowel.
2. Every consonant must be followed by at least one vowel.
3. Every syllable must end in a vowel.
4. Divide into syllables for easy pronunciation: Ka/la/ni/a/na/o/le.
Hawaiian Word
Meaning
'ahi
tuna fish (one of local favorite fishes
to eat)
'ai
yes
ali'i
royalty of Hawaii
aloha
hello, goodbye, love
auwe
alas, woe
hale
house
haole
Caucasian, foreigner
hula
Hawaiian dance, to dance
humuhumu-nukunuku- a-pua'a
Hawaii's state fish
kai
sea, ocean
kahuna
priest
kalua
to bake underground
kamaaina
old-timer, local
keiki
child
kokua
assistance, help, cooperate
lanai
porch
laulau
combination of pork, chicken, and/or fish
wrapped in leaves and steamed
