Leilani Poliʻahu

Pau is one of the most commonly used, and misused, of Hawaiian words. Pau kahana – the work is finished. Yes, pau means finished, ended, all done, final, even consumed and destroyed. Work is finished, so you can say “pau kahana.” But don?t say “I'm pau,” that would mean you are dead or finished. And don't ask, “Are you pau?”

Our Hawaiian Word for today is a beautiful Oʻahu place name, Kaʻaʻawa. It is often used as an example of a Hawaiian word with so many vowels in a row. But if you spell and pronounce it correctly, you will note that every vowel is separated by a consonant sound, the glottal stop or ʻokina. And it means the wrasse fish.

Hema means left or left side. When you watch a marching group pass by, you will often hear, “hema, hema, hema, ʻākau hema,” or “left, left, left, right, left.” It also means “south,” as in Kona hema – south Kona.

Our Hawaiian word today is a good example of the importance of putting the right stress on vowel sounds, or leaving them off. Lolo means brains, and it is…

Our Hawaiian word for today is a well-known place name on Kaua?i, Po?ip?. It is often mispronounced because people see the first three letters as a group…

Our Hawaiian word for today is really a short and useful phrase, na?u e uku. It means my treat or I'll pay.

Pu?un?n? 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 pu?u – where you might…

We often hear ali?i in conjunction with pageants and other places where our chiefs are portrayed. Yes, ali?i means chief, chiefess, officer, ruler,…

Wai wai means goods, property, assets, valuables, value, worth, wealth. We most often hear wai wai to mean rich, wealth, or value, as in the popular song…

Manu means bird or any winged creature, even the wing of a kite. We have many kinds of beautiful manu in Hawai?i, many of them found only in Hawai?i, and…