Go to the English to Hawaiian Directory for the Sea Life Category

 
‘a‘ama. noun. A large, black, edible crab. This crab lives on and runs over shore rocks. ‘A‘ama is a figurative term for a "swift, strong warrior."
   For the glossary entry and more information, see ‘a‘ama.

 
‘a‘awa. noun. Wrasse. The word ‘a‘awa is used in the place name Ka‘a‘awa.
   For the glossary entry and more information, see ‘a‘awa.

 
‘ahi. noun. Hawaiian tuna fishes, especially the yellow-fin tuna.
   For the glossary entry and more information, see ‘ahi.

 
aku. noun. Bonito, skipjack. An important food source.
   For the glossary entry and more information, see aku.

 
akule. noun. Big-eyed scad.
   For the glossary entry and more information, see akule.

 
‘anae. noun. Mullet fish. A full sized ‘ama‘ama mullet fish. The ‘ama‘ama fish is the immature stage of the mullet fish. The word ‘anae is used in the place name Wai‘anae.
   For the glossary entry and more information, see ‘anae.

 
a‘u. noun. Marlin, swordfish. The picture above shows a striped marlin.
   For the glossary entry and more information, see a‘u.

 
awa. noun. Milkfish. The picture above shows a milkfish.
   For the glossary entry and more information, see awa.

 
‘ea. noun. Hawksbill turtle. Also, for turtle, see honu.
   For the glossary entry and more information, see ‘ea.

 
hāhālua. noun. Manta ray, sea devil. Hāhālua is a combination of two words hāhā and lua (two) and the Pukui / Elbert dictionary says Hāhālua means "two mouths", but I am going to disagree with the highly esteemed PE dictionary. The word for mouth is waha and the the manta ray only has one waha, but it does have two appendages around its mouth. The primary food source of the manta ray is plankton and the two appendages help to guide plankton bearing water into its mouth, so I say that hāhālua means "two feelers or two gropers."
   For the glossary entry and more information, see hāhālua.

 
he‘e. noun. Octopus. Not to be confused with squid, but the PE dictionary says "Octopus, commonly known as squid." The Hawaiian word for squid is mūhe‘e.
   For the glossary entry and more information, see he‘e.

  
honu. noun. Turtle. Honu is a generic term for sea turtle, but honu is specifically used for the green sea turtle and not the ‘ea (hawksbill turtle). The green turtle got its name not because it is green on the outside, but because its meat is green.
   For the glossary entry and more information, see honu.

 
humuhumu. noun. Trigger fish.
   For the glossary entry and more information, see humuhumu.

 
humuhumunukunukuāpua‘a. noun. A trigger fish (Rhinecanthus aculeatus). Literally "trigger fish (humuhumu) with a snout (nukunuku) like a pig (pua‘a)." The state fish of Hawai‘i.
   For the glossary entry and more information, see humuhumunukunukuāpua‘a.

 
i‘a. noun. Fish. Usually means fish, but i‘a can be used for any marine animal, as an eel, oyster, lobster, crab, or whale.
   For the glossary entry and more information, see i‘a.

 
‘īlioholoikauaua. noun. Seal. A sea mammal. Here is the word hyphenated, so that you can see the seperate words; ‘īlio - holo - i - ka - uaua. Literally "quadruped (‘īlio) running (holo) in (i) the (ka) rough (uaua) [seas]." Shown above is a picture of the endangered Hawaiian Monk Seal.
   For the glossary entry and more information, see ‘īlioholoikauaua.

 
kala. noun. Surgeonfish, unicorn fish.
   For the glossary entry and more information, see kala.

 
kāmano. noun. Salmon. Transliterated from the English "salmon".
   For the glossary entry and more information, see kāmano.

 
koholā. noun. Humpbacked whale. Contrast with palaoa (sperm whale).
   For the glossary entry and more information, see koholā.

 
lauwiliwilinukunuku‘oi‘oi noun. A type of butterfly fish. Literally "sharp-beaked wiliwili leaf." The pictures above show a butterfly fish and the wiliwili leaf. Notice the resemblance in shape?
   For the glossary entry and more information, see lauwiliwilinukunuku‘oi‘oi.

 
leho. noun. Cowrie or cowry. The cowry, a marine gastropod mollusk, and its shell. The cowry shell was used for octopus lures (lūhe‘e). The picture above shows a tiger cowry shell.
   For the glossary entry and more information, see leho.

 
mahimahi. noun. Dolphin fish. This fish name is commonly misspelled with a space (mahi mahi) or with a hyphen (mahi-mahi). It is called a dolphin fish, but as you can see from the image above, the mahimahi should not be confused with a dolphin. Not only do they look completely different, but also the mahimahi is a fish and the dophin is a mammal.
   For the glossary entry and more information, see mahimahi.

 
makalē. noun. Mackerel, canned sardines. Transliterated from the English "mackerel."
   For the glossary entry and more information, see makalē.

 
mālolo. noun. Flying fish.
   For the glossary entry and more information, see mālolo.

 
manini. noun. Convict tang, a very common reef surgeonfish.
   For the glossary entry and more information, see manini.

 
manō. noun. Shark.
   For the glossary entry and more information, see manō.

 
mū. noun. Bigeye emperor fish.
   For the glossary entry and more information, see mū.

 
mūhe‘e. noun. Squid, cuttlefish.
   For the glossary entry and more information, see mūhe‘e.

 
nai‘a. noun. Porpoise, dolphin.
   For the glossary entry and more information, see nai‘a.

 
‘ō‘io. noun. Bonefish. The word ‘ō‘io is used in the place name for the point called Kalaeoka‘ō‘io (the cape of the bone fish) on the windward side of O‘ahu that separates Kualoa from Ka‘a‘awa and the moku of Ko‘olau Poko from the moku of Ko‘olau Loa.
   For the glossary entry and more information, see ‘ō‘io.

 
‘ōlepe. noun. Any kind of bivalve having two shells hinged together, as a mussel, oyster, clam.
   For the glossary entry and more information, see ‘ōlepe.

   
ono. noun. Large mackerel type fish. Also called a "wahoo" and it looks like the fish used in the Wahoo's Fish Taco logo shown above. Wahoo is not a Hawaiian word.
   For the glossary entry and more information, see ono.

 
‘ōpae. noun. Shrimp.
   For the glossary entry and more information, see ‘ōpae.

 
‘ōpelu. noun. Mackeral scad.
   For the glossary entry and more information, see ‘ōpelu.

 
‘ōpihi. noun. Limpet. A shellfish.
   For the glossary entry and more information, see ‘ōpihi.

 
pai‘ea. noun. An edible crab. This crab lives on and runs over shore rocks with the ‘a‘ama. Figurative term for a "star athlete." Pai‘ea was one of the names of Kamehameha I, because as a warrior he was a great athlete.
   For the glossary entry and more information, see pai‘ea.

 
palani. noun. Surgeonfish. A fish famous for its strong odor.
   For the glossary entry and more information, see palani.

 
palaoa. noun. Sperm whale. Contrast with koholā (humpbacked whale).
   For the glossary entry and more information, see palaoa.

 
pāpa‘i. noun. General name for various kinds of crab.
   For the glossary entry and more information, see pāpa‘i.

 
po‘imalau. noun. Portuguese man-of war. Contrast with pololia (jellyfish). For a website dedicated to Box Jellyfish and Man-O-War sting treatments and their Hawai‘i arrival dates, go to www.808jellyfish.com.
   For the glossary entry and more information, see po‘imalau.

 
pololia. noun. Jellyfish. Contrast with po‘imalau (Portuguese man-of-war). For a website dedicated to Box Jellyfish and Man-O-War sting treatments and their Hawai‘i arrival dates, go to www.808jellyfish.com.
   For the glossary entry and more information, see pololia.

 
puhi. noun. Eel.
   For the glossary entry and more information, see puhi.

 
ula. noun. Loster. The picture above shows a spiny lobster.
   For the glossary entry and more information, see ula.

 
walu. noun. Oilfish.
   For the glossary entry and more information, see walu.

 
wana. noun. Sea urchin.
   For the glossary entry and more information, see wana.

English to Hawaiian Directory

bigeye emperor fish. See mū.
big-eyed scad. See akule.
bonefish. See ‘ō‘io.
bonito. See aku.
butterfly fish. See lauwiliwilinukunuku‘oi‘oi.
clam. See ‘ōlepe.
convict tang. See manini.
cowry. See leho.
crab. See pāpa‘i. For specific types of crab, see ‘a‘ama / pai‘ea.
cuttlefish. See mūhe‘e.
dolphin. See nai‘a.
dolphin fish. See mahimahi.
eel. See puhi.
fish. See i‘a.
flying fish. See mālolo.
Hawai‘i state fish. See humuhumunukunukuāpua‘a.
hawksbill turtle. See ‘ea.
humpbacked whale. See koholā.
jellyfish. See pōlolia.
limpet. See ‘ōpihi.
lobster. See ula.
mackeral. See makalē.
mackeral scad. See ‘ōpelu.
manta ray. See hāhālua.
marlin. See a‘u.
milkfish. See awa.
mullet. See ‘anae.
mussel. See ‘ōlepe.
octopus. See he‘e.
oilfish. See walu.
oyster. See ‘ōlepe.
porpoise. See nai‘a.
Portuguese man-of-war. See po‘imalau.
salmon. See kāmano.
sardines (canned sardines). See makalē.
sea devil. See hāhālua.
seal. See ‘īlioholoikauaua.
sea urchin. See wana.
shark. See manō.
shrimp. See ‘ōpae.
skipjack. See aku.
sperm whale. See palaoa.
squid. See mūhe‘e.
state fish, the. See humuhumunukunukuāpua‘a.
surgeonfish. See kala / manini / palani.
swordfish. See a‘u.
triggerfish. See humuhumu / humuhumunukunukuāpua‘a.
tuna. See ‘ahi.
turtle. See honu.
unicorn fish. See kala.
wahoo. See ono.
wrasse. See ‘a‘awa.
yellow-fin tuna. See ‘ahi.

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