Go to the English to Hawaiian Directory for the Phrases & Idioms Category
Ā hui hou. phrase. Goodbye. Literally "until (ā) [we] meet (hui) again (hou)."
For the glossary entry, see Ā hui hou.
Aloha. Love, hello, goodbye, greetings. These are the commonly given definitions, but the word aloha has many other less commonly used and understood meanings that are shown in the main glossary entry.
For the glossary entry and more information, see aloha.
Aloha ahiahi. Good evening. A greeting introduced after western contact.
Aloha ‘auinalā. Good afternoon. A greeting introduced after western contact.
Aloha awakea. Good midday. A greeting introduced after western contact.
Aloha kakahiaka. Good morning. A greeting introduced after western contact.
‘A‘ole pilikia. phrase. No problem. Figuratively means "You're welcome."
For the glossary entry and more information, see ‘A‘ole pilikia.
Auē, Auwē. Interjection. Alas! Oh! Oh dear! Oh boy! Goodness! Auwē is a popular alternative spelling of auē with the w-glide spelled in the word.
For the glossary entry and more information, see auē, auwē.
E kala mai (ia‘u). phrase. Excuse (me).
For the glossary entry and more information, see E kala mai ia‘u.
E komo mai. phrase. Come in, welcome.
For the glossary entry and more information, see E komo mai.
E ‘olu‘olu ‘oe. phrase. Please.
For the glossary entry and more information, see E ‘olu‘olu ‘oe.
E ‘olu‘olu ‘oe, ‘o wai kou inoa? phrase. Please, what is your name?
Hana hou. Encore; to do again, repeat. The picture above shows the cover of an issue of Hana Hou! magazine. The cover features a picture of a portion of downtown Honolulu. The building just below the second "a" in the title of the magazine is the Aloha tower. Hana Hou! is the magazine of Hawaiian Airlines.
For the glossary entry and more information, see hana hou.
Hau‘oli lā hānau. phrase. Happy Birthday. Hau‘oli (happy) Lā (day) Hānau (birth).
For the glossary entry and more information, see Hau‘oli lā hānau.
Hau‘oli makahiki hou. Happy new year.
He aha kou pilikia? What's your problem?
He ‘īlio kēnā. That (near addressee) is a dog.
Kehe a mauli ola! exclamation. Gesundheit!
Literally "sneeze and live." An exclamation said to one who has sneezed, to ward off the ill effects. Similar to saying "Gesundheit."
Kūlia i ka nu‘u. phrase. Strive to [reach] the summit. The famous slogan of Queen Kapi‘olani.
kulikuli. verb phrase. Be quiet! Shut up! A nicer way to say "Be quiet!" or "Shut up!" would be to use the word hāmau.
For the glossary entry and more information, see kulikuli.
Mahalo. Thanks, thank [you].
For the glossary entry and more information, see mahalo.
Maika‘i. Good, fine, all right, well.
For the glossary entry and more information, see maika‘i.
Makemake au e hele. I want to go.
Mele Kalikimaka. Merry Christmas. This phrase is tranliterated from the English phrase "Merry Christmas."
For the glossary entry and more information, see Mele Kalikimaka.
Nā palaoa me nā mea hō‘ono‘ono i waena. Sandwich, from the PE dictionary. It is a long description and not an easy or short term, making it unwieldily to use if you want to talk about a sandwich or sandwiches. It literally means "The bread (plural) with the tasty things (or tasty stuff) in between." Fortunately, Māmaka Kaiao provides an short transliterated term, Kanauika.
No hea mai ʻoe? Where are you from?
No Honolulu mai au. I am from Honolulu.
Ua mau ke ea o ka ‘āina i ka pono. Hawai‘i state motto. "The life of the land is perpetuated in righteousness." This phrase was spoken by King Kamehameha III in a 1843 address after sovereignty was returned back to The Kingdom of Hawai‘i. Hawai‘i was annexed by British captain Lord George Paulet for about five months. After London learned of the captain's actions, sovereignty was returned back to the King by Admiral Richard Darton Thomas. It became the motto of the kingdom and latter was also adopted by the State of Hawai‘i. Click any individual word of the following motto to see the glossary entry of that word: Ua mau ke ea o ka ‘āina i ka pono. Below is a chart showing the meaning of each word and you can see by the chart why Hawaiian grammar can be difficult for English speakers. I am still struggling with it. An English translation of Hawaiian sentences usually does not translate, simply and easily, from left to right. Also, there is no Hawaiian word for "is", but it is represented in the aspect marker ua.
For the glossary entry, see Ua mau ke ea o ka ‘āina i ka pono.
Uwē ka lani, ola ka honua. When the heavens weep, the earth lives. This is the interpretation given by the Honolulu Board of Water Supply on its website. In Mary Kawena Pukui's book ‘Ōleleo No‘eau, her interpretation is "When the sky weeps, the earth lives" meaning "When it rains the earth revives." Uwē means "weep" and has the w-glide spelled in the word. Since the w is a w-glide, it is pronounced as a w sound and not as a soft v sound. Although a soft v sound is an acceptable alternative pronunciation for many if not most w(s) in Hawaiian words, w-glides are always pronounced as a w-sound. Uwē can also be spelled without the w-glide as uē, but both spellings are pronounced exactly the same. The following has links to the individual words used in the phrase: Uwē ka lani, ola ka honua.
For the glossary entry, see Uwē ka lani, ola ka honua.
Alas! See Auē, Auwē!
All right. See Maika‘i.
Come in. See E komo mai.
Do [it] again. See Hana hou.
Encore! See Hana hou!
Excuse me. See E kala mai iaʻu.
Fine. See Maika‘i.
Gesundheit. See Kihe a mauli ola!
Good. See Maika‘i.
Good afternoon. See Aloha ‘auinalā.
Goodbye. See Ā hui hou / Aloha.
Good evening. See Aloha ahiahi.
Good midday. See Aloha awakea.
Good morning. See Aloha kakahiaka.
Goodness! See Auē!, Auwē!
Greetings. See Aloha.
Happy birthday. See Hau‘oli lā hānau.
Happy new year. See Hau‘oli makahiki hou.
Hello. See Aloha.
How are you. See Pehea ‘oe?
I am from Honolulu. See No Honolulu mai au.
I want to go. See Makemake au e hele.
Love. See Aloha.
Merry Christmas. See Mele Kalikimaka.
No problem. See ‘A‘ole pilikia.
Oh! See Auē!, Auwē!
Oh boy! See Auē!, Auwē!
Oh dear! See Auē!, Auwē!
Please. See E ‘olu‘olu ‘oe.
Please, what is your name? See E ‘olu‘olu ‘oe, ‘o wai kou inoa?
Repeat! See Hana hou!
Sleep well. See E hiamoe maika‘i.
Strive to [reach] the summit. See Kūlia i ka nu‘u.
Thanks. See Mahalo.
Thank [you]. See Mahalo.
That (near adressee) is a dog. See He ‘īlio kēnā.
The bread with the tasty things (tasty stuff) in between. See Nā palaoa me nā mea hō‘ono‘ono i waena.
The life of the land is perpetuated in rightousness. See Ua mau ke ea o ka ‘āina i ka pono.
Welcome. See E komo mai.
Well (good). See Maika‘i.
What's your problem? See He aha kou pilikia?
When the heavens weep, the earth lives. See Uwē ka lani, ola ka honua.
Where are you from? See No hea mai ‘oe?
You're welcome. See ‘A‘ole pilikia.
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