↑ ↑ ↑ Use the links above to access the glossary words ↑ ↑ ↑

I created a Hawaiian word glossary because of my dissatisfaction with most Hawaiian glossaries that are available online. Many websites do not understand how to render the ‘okina (an upsidedown apostrophe) and kahakō (called a macron in English) on the internet, so they often go missing. Of course, the best resource for Hawaiian words and their usage is a real Hawaiian dictionary. I recommend a hard copy of the Pukui and Elbert Hawaiian Dictionary from the University of Hawai‘i Press, but there is a Hawaiian Dictionary resource available online.

Below are 8 websites that come up after a Google search for "Hawaiian Words." Some good, some bad:

www.alohafriends.com/words.html - I have a particular disdain for this site because it seems they want to be the internet portal and arbiter of just about everything Hawaiian and about Hawai‘i, and sell a lot of exorbitantly over priced merchandise while doing it. Their Hawaiian Words page says the Hawaiian language has only "7 consonants", but it has 8 consonants. Like so many websites, they disregard the ‘okina as a consonant, but the ‘okina is a real and full-fledged consonant in the Hawaiian language. On another page, they acknowledge the ‘okina as consonant, so I wonder why the inconsistency about the ‘okina. They inconsistently render the ‘okina; sometimes it is a grave accent (`), sometimes it is a straight up and down apostrophe ('), sometimes it is a curled apostrophe (’) and sometimes they use an actual ‘okina (‘). They don't use the kahakō at all, but the kahakō is very important for correct pronunciation and spelling. They attempt to show how some words should be pronounced, but inconsistency is a problem. Sometimes the letter "o" is shown pronounced as "oh" and other times it is shown pronounced as just "o." There may be no difference between "o" and "oh", but they should use only one or the other. I would go with "oh." The syllables "ki" and "ke" are both shown as being pronounced as "key." Y-glides and w-glides are completely ignored in their pronunciations. This website is riddled with mistakes, many more mistakes than I have covered here. If you really want to buy stuff from their internet shop, I have to say "Caveat emptor." I did a price comparison with ABC Stores website on Mauna Loa Brand Macadamia Nuts Gift Set of 6 - 4.5oz cans. ABC Stores charge $18.99 plus $9 for shipping for a total of about 28 dollars. Aloha Friends charges $52.00 (shipping included for the $52). Almost twice as much. Would you rather pay 28 dollars or 52 dollars for the exact same item? This is just one example, but it is not a pricing exception. If you want to piss away more money, buy six items from Aloha Fiends [sic] and pay more than 2 1/2 times what ABC Stores would charge. Click here to see my graphic evidence of this vast price difference. With "Aloha Friends" like them, who needs enemies? Webpage reviewed 06-04-2010.

www.hawaii-luaus.com/glossary.htm - An ascetically pleasing website, but the glossary doesn't use the kahakō at all and instead of an ‘okina this website uses an apostrophe or the grave accent mark ( ` ). The apostrophe is okay if you don't know how to render a proper ʻokina on a web page, but I really hate and don't like the use of the grave accent mark. Also "kaukau" is spelled as two words (kau kau) and is wrongly represented as a Hawaiian word meaning "food." The Hawaiian word "kaukau" has nothing to do with food. "Food" in Hawaiian is "‘ai" or "mea ‘ai." Webpage reviewed 01-01-2010.

www.mauimapp.com/moolelo/hwnwdseng.htm - This site consistantly uses a grave accent mark ( ` ) instead of the ‘okina. It also uses an underline to indicate a long vowel instead of using a kahakō. Webpage reviewed 01-01-2010.

GOOD SITE with Sound Files - www.aloha-hawaii.com/hawaii/native+tongue/ - A very attractive and well done webpage with almost 40 words with great definitions, but the greatest thing about this webpage is that each word has a sound file so that you can hear how the word is pronounced. The only think wrong is the kahakō is not used, so some words are written incompletely. With the exception of the missing kahakō, this webpage is a great example that other websites would be smart to emulate. Webpage reviewed 01-01-2010.

www.hawaiiscubadiving.com/home/hawaiian-language.html - Some one needs to tell these people that the ‘okina is a really consonant in the Hawaiian language, so there are eight consonants and 13 letters in the Hawaiian language. Has many spelling errors because the kahakō is not used. Webpage reviewed 01-01-2010.

www.magical-hawaii.com/Hawaiian-Words.html - This site does a pretty good job of butchering what they call a "beautiful language." They misspell "kolohe" meaning "rascal" as "kokohe." I have seen this misspelling of "kokohe" on other lists, so something makes me think that someone made the original mistake and others just copied and pasted the error. This site attempts to show how the words listed are pronounced. Here are two error ridden examples for your amusement: Haole - how-lee and Heiau - hey-ee-ow. Webpage reviewed 01-01-2010.

GOOD SITE with Video Files - www.kitv.com/news/124839/detail.html - Brought to you by Kamehameha Schools. Many of the words have a video so you can hear the word pronounced and they give a briefly explaination of the word. The videos take awhile to download and some of the video links do not take you to the word you clicked. I clicked one word and I was shown a news story video about a Jehovah's Witnesses convention in Hawaii. Webpage reviewed 01-01-2010.

hawaiian-words.com/hawaiian-dictionary/ - You would think that a website called "hawaiian-words.com" that seems to be devoted to Hawaiian words wouldn't be riddled with mistakes, but it is. On the homepage it doesn't recognize the ‘okina as a consonant, so they claim there are only 7 consonants, but there are 8. The ‘okina is a full fledged consonant. There are many misspellings. Many missing ‘okina, an occasional misplaced ‘okina and absolutely no kahakō. However, their "Common Words and Phrases" page is very, very good because it has sound files so that you can hear the pronunciation. And all the words seem to be spelled correctly. I wonder why they were so lax about spelling on their "Dictionary" page. Webpage reviewed 07-10-2010.

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