Ōlelo Hawai’i
How To Say It In Hawaiian On Special Occasions
Happy Anniversary | hauʻoli lā hānau |
Congratulations | Aloha nui |
Happy Birthday | Hauʻoli Lā Hānau |
Happy Mothers Day | hauʻoli lā Makuahine |
Happy Fathers Day | lā hauʻoli nā lā |
Merry Christmas | Mele Kalikimaka |
Happy New Year | hauʻoli makahiki hou |
All my love | Aloha Nui Loa |
Good luck | Pomaikia’i |
Best wishes | lana ‘iʻo ka manaʻo |
Most Common Hawaiian Phrases
Aloha kakahiaka | Good morning |
Aloha auinala | Good afternoon |
Aloha ahiahi | Good evening |
Aloha pō | Good night |
Aloha ‘oe | Farewell |
Āina | the land that takes care of us all |
E komo mai | Welcome |
Pomaika’i | Good luck |
Hana hou! | One more time! Encore |
Mahalo | Thank you |
Kokua | Help or support |
Mauka | Towards the mountain; used when giving directions. |
Makai | Towards the ocean; used when giving directions. |
Ohana | Family. Also used to describe close relationships beyond blood relatives like community, organization or workplace. |
Kama’iana | Locals refer to this as a long time resident of Hawaii. The literal meaning is child of the land. |
Keiki | Child, children |
Lanai | Patio or balcony. Also the island of Lanai. |
Pau | Finished, done, completed. |
Pau hana | Happy hour, after work; when pau with work. |
Ono | Delicious |
Aloha ʻoe also means have a great day in Hawaiian
Meaning of Aloha
Aloha has a broad meaning and is used to evoke good intentions and feelings of love and affection. A salutation in greetings and departures, Aloha means hello and goodbye.
Meaning of Mahalo
Although you’ll often find the “Mahalo” printed on trash cans throughout Hawaii, Mahalo means Thank You (opala means trash in Hawaiian).
What does mahalo mean? Pronounced mah ha loh. It means thank you.
Mahalo nui loa means thank you very much.
How To Pronounce Hawaiian Words
The Hawaiian language is a simple and easy to learn language. It may seem intimidating at first, with its use of many vowels, but if you learn the basic pronunciation and take your time to break up the words in syllables, words are easy to pronounce. The Hawaiian alphabet contains 12 letters: five vowels and eight consonants. The five vowels are: A, E, I, O, U; the seven consonants are H, K, L, M N, P, W. Traditionally, native speakers pronounce the W as you would sound a V. For instance, the word Hawaii would be pronounced, huh-vai-ee.
Vowels in the Hawaiian language are pronounced as follows:
A | ah, as in car |
E | eh, as in set |
I | ee, as in bee |
O | oh, as in solo |
U | oo, as in spoon |
Hawaiian Love Sayings and Phrases
I love you | Aloha Au Ia ‘Oe |
I desire you | Nou No Ka `I`ini |
My beloved | Ku`u Lei |
My precious sweetheart | Ko Aloha Makamae E Ipo |
Warm love and affection | Aloha Pumehana |
All my love (often used as a sign off on a letter) | Aloha Nui Loa |
*Hawaiian Lei Making Terms
‘a ‘ai | Bright or vivid in color or contrast. |
‘a ‘ala | Fragrant, a sweet scent or perfume. |
Akahana | To work carefully and meticulously. |
‘ekepue | To hide the tag end of lei materials. |
ēulu | To trim the surface of a lei to make it even. |
hahao | To insert or tuck a flower into the twists or binds of a lei. |
hainau | To bow the head forward, as when receiving a lei. |
hainole | Pliant, flexible, as soft stems for braiding into lei. |
haku | To compose or craft something. A method of lei making using a base material and braiding it while adding the decorative plant material into each wrap of the braid. |
hilo or hili | To twist, braid, or spin. Most commonly to twist strands together in a double helix. The ti leaf lei, or lei kauna ‘oa, is an example of using this method. |
hīpu’u | To knot or tie. |
kāhe’e | To slide the flowers from the lei needle to the string. |
kau lei | A lei seller. To sell a lei. |
kāna ‘e | Very fragrant |
kuina | Stringing together lei. |
kui poepoe | Strung like a wheel so the faces of the flowers are directly away from the thread. Cigar lei, or lei kika is an example. |
kuleana | Responsibility. |
kūpaoa | A strong permeating fragrance. A tuberose lei would be kūpaoa. |
pono | Proper, correct, accurate. |
*From Hua ‘Ōlelo Lei: A Lei Maker’s Dictionary
Shop for Hawaiian Leis here!
Hawaiian Slang Words
Howzit? | How are you? Used as a greeting. |
Grinds | Food. “Ono grinds” or delicious food. |
Da kine | “You know” or whatchamacallit. Used when you don’t want to use the actual word or phrase. |
Pidgin English is Hawaii’s local dialect. It’s the Hawaiian lingo of the local Hawaiian culture, not the native Hawaiian culture. If you want to know what the locals are saying, read our favorite book on common pidgin term. It’s a really fun read!
Click here to buy it on Amazon.
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