ala. noun. Path, road, street, trail. A word used in many place names. Some examples are; Ala Moana which means "ocean (moana) street (ala)", Ala Wai which means "freshwater (wai) way (ala)" and Kealakekua which means "the (ke) pathway (ala) [of] the (ke) god (kua)." Compare with ala nui.

ala. intransitive verb. To rise up, arise.

 
alahele. noun. Trail, pathway. Also see ala, hele.

 
ā laila. locative. Then. See laila for a list of locatives that use the word laila. Also see ā, laila.

 
alaka‘i. noun. Leader, guide, director, conductor.

alaka‘i. transitive verb. To lead, guide, direct.

 
‘alalā. noun. Hawaiian crow. The Hawaiian crow, named for its harsh, grating cry. The ‘alalā is now extinct in the wild. Above is a picture of an actual ‘alalā.
   See the ‘alalā entry in the Animals Category.

 
‘alani. noun. Orange. Any kind of fruit called an orange, both the fruit and the tree.
   See the ‘alani entry in the Food & Drink Category.
   See the ‘alani entry in the Plants Category.

‘alani. stative verb. Orange. The color orange.
   See the ‘alani entry in the Color Category.

 
ala nui. noun. Street, road, highway, thoroughfare. Literally "large path." Also see ala, nui. Hawai‘i has four Interstate highways and they are all on the island of O‘ahu. Most people who live on the island might say that Hawai‘i has only three Interstate highways, because they may not know about H-201. The Moanalua Freeway has been designated an interstate since 1989, but until 2004 the freeway was signed as Route 78. In typical "Hawaiian time" fashion it only took about 15 years before the H-201 signs started to go up. I wonder "what was the hurry?" Also, people sometimes wonder how the State of Hawai‘i can have Interstate highways. The Interstate highways in Hawai‘i obviously do not connect to any other state, so how can they be Interstates? Visit my Interstates in Hawai‘i page to learn about why they are called Interstates and read my version of a classic joke.

  
alapao.  noun. Tunnel. Also see ala.

 
alawai.  place name. Canal, channel. Also see ala, wai.

 
Ala Wai. place name. Freshwater way. Literally "[fresh] water (wai) way (ala)."Boulevard and canal in Waikīkī. Also see ala, wai.
   See the Ala Wai entry in the Hawai‘i Place Names Category.

 
alelo. noun. Tongue (body part), language. For the meaning of language, I prefer ‘ōlelo.

 
Alexander Liholiho. Kamehameha IV, fourth ruling king of the Kingdom of Hawai‘i. Glowing. Liholiho means "glowing." Alexander Liholiho ruled for about 8 years and 11 months from 1855 to 1863. A year after assuming the throne, he took Emma Rooke as his queen. She is usually refered to as Queen Emma.
   See the Alexander Liholiho entry in the Ali‘i Category.
   For a list of the ruling monarchs and a timeline, see mō‘ī (monarch).

 
ali‘i. noun. Chief, chiefess, monarch, noble, king, queen. Compare with lani (very high chief).

ali‘i. stative verb. Royal, regal, aristocrat, kingly; to rule or act as a chief.

 
‘alima. number. Five (usually in counting in a series), five times. ‘Alima is the older and less commonly used version of ‘elima. The older ‘a- prefix for numbers survives in the Hawaiian words for six days of the week, Monday through Saturday. Sunday (Lāpule) is not numbered like the other days of the week. Compare with ‘elima, lima. Also see Pō‘alima (Friday).

 
‘alo. transitive verb. To dodge, evade, avoid.

 
aloalo. noun. Hibiscus. All kinds of hibiscus.
   See the aloalo entry in the Plants Category.

 
aloha. Love, hello, goodbye. These are the commonly given definitions, but the word aloha has many other less commonly used or understood meanings, most of which are shown below.

aloha. noun, transitive verb, stative verb. Love, affection, compassion, mercy, sympathy, pity, kindness, sentiment, grace, charity; greeting, salutation; sweetheart, lover, loved one; beloved, loving, kind, charitable; to love; to show kindness, mercy, charity. The picture above shows an Aloha Airlines airplane. Aloha Airlines ceased operations on March 31, 2008.
   See the Aloha entry in the Phrase Category.

 
‘alopeke. noun. Fox. The PE Dictionary says that ‘alopeke is transliterated for the Greek word "alopeks." I haven't been able to confirm this, for the obvious reason that it's Greek to me.
   See the ‘alopeke entry in the Animals Category.

 
‘ahā. number. Two (usually in counting in a series), twice. ‘Alua is the older and less commonly used version of ‘elua. The older ‘a- prefix for numbers survives in the Hawaiian words for six days of the week, Monday through Saturday. Sunday (Lāpule) is not numbered like the other days of the week. Compare with ‘elua. Also see Pō‘alua (Tuesday).

  
a me. conjunction. And. A me is used before nouns, whereas a is used before verbs. Compare with a.

 
‘Amelika. place name, stative verb. America, American. Transliterated from English "America."
   See the ‘Amelika entry in the Non-Hawaiian Place Names Category.

 
‘Amelika Hui Pū‘ia. place name, stative verb. United States of America, American. Literally "America united together." Also see ‘Amelika, hui, pū.
   See the ‘Amelika Hui Pū‘ia entry in the Non-Hawaiian Place Names Category.

 
ana. noun. Cave.

ana. noun. Measurement. The word ana is used in the proper noun and place name Kalaniana‘ole (the royal chief without measure).

ana. transitive verb. To measure, survey, evaluate.

ana. demonstrative. Following a verb, ana indicates a single event.

 
‘ana. nominalizing particle. ‘Ana can be used after a verb to make it a noun.

 
āna. possessive. His, her, hers. A-class, zero possessive.

 
‘anae. noun. Mullet (a 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.
   See the ‘anae entry in the Sea Life Category.

   
‘anakala. noun. Uncle. Transliterated from English "uncle." The first picture above shows Milton Berle, also known as Uncle Miltie and Mr. Television. And, of course, the second picture is of Uncle Sam. Contrast with ‘anakē (aunt).
   See the ‘anakala entry in the Family & Relationships Category.

 
‘anakē. noun. Aunt, auntie. Transliterated from English "aunt." Pictured above is Aunt Bee from the television sitcom The Andy Griffith Show. Contrast with ‘anakala (uncle).
   See the ‘anakē entry in the Family & Relationships Category.

 
‘anemoku. noun. Peninsula.

 
aniani. noun. Mirror, glass.

aniani. stative verb. Transparent.

 
‘ano. noun. Type, kind.

‘ano. stative verb. Rather, somewhat. Used before verbs.

 
ānō. locative noun. Now, present. This word is spelled in many resources and the PE dictionary with an ‘okina as ‘ānō, but I have been taught to spell it without an ‘okina.

 
‘ano ‘ē. stative verb. Strange, odd, unusual, weird, different, peculiar.

 
anu. noun, stative verb. Cool, cold; coolness. Contrast with wela (hot). Used in the place name Nu‘uanu. Nu‘uanu means "cool (anu) height (nu‘u)."

anu. noun, intransitive verb. Cold, influenza; to have a cold.

  
ānuenue.  noun. Rainbow. A mnemonic device for remembering the colors of the rainbow is "Roy G. Biv". Red Orange Yellow Green Blue Indigo Violet

 
ao. noun. Light, day, daylight, dawn. Compare with lā (day).

ao. noun. Cloud. Any kind of cloud. The word ao is used in the name of Kamehameha III, Kauikeaouli which means "place (put) in the dark cloud[s]"

ao. noun. Earth, world, realm. Compare with honua (earth, world).

 
a‘o. noun, transitive verb. Instruction, teaching, learning; to learn or teach. The picture above shows the sign in front of the Hale A‘o building on the Windward Community College campus in Kāne‘ohe. Hale A‘o translates as "Hall of Learning."

 
a‘o aku. transitive verb. To teach. Also see aku, a‘o. Contrast with a‘o mai (to learn).

 
‘ao‘ao. noun. Page.

‘ao‘ao. noun. Side, boundary, hemisphere.

 
‘a‘ohe. interjection. None; not any. A contraction of ‘a‘ole and he. He is an indefinitive article that means a or an. What is the difference between ‘a‘ole and ‘a‘ohe? Basically, ‘a‘ohe is used before nouns and ‘a‘ole before everything else. Compare with ‘a‘ole.

 
‘a‘ole. interjection. No, not; to have none.‘A‘ole and ‘a‘ohe are simular, so what is the difference between ‘a‘ole and ‘a‘ohe? Basically, ‘a‘ohe is used before nouns and ‘a‘ole before everything else. Compare with ‘a‘ohe.

 
‘A‘ole pilikia. phrase. No problem. Figuratively means "You're welcome." Also see ‘a‘ole, pilikia.
   See the ‘A‘ole pilikia entry in the Phrase Category.

 
a‘o mai. transitive verb. To learn. Also see a‘o, mai. Contrast with a‘o aku (to teach).

 
‘aono. number. Six (usually in counting in a series), six times. ‘Aono is the older and less commonly used version of ‘eono. The older ‘a- prefix for numbers survives in the Hawaiian words for six days of the week, Monday through Saturday. Sunday (Lāpule) is not numbered like the other days of the week. Compare with ‘eono. Also see Pō‘aono (Saturday).

   
‘āpala. noun. Apple. Transliterated from English "apple." The pictures above shows two corporate logos; the Apple Records logo and a version of the Apple Computer logo.
   See the ‘āpala entry in the Food & Drink Category.
   See the ‘āpala entry in the Plants Category.

 
ā pau. idiom. All, entirely. This shows in the PE Hawaiian Dictionary as one word (āpau), but I have been taught to spell it as two seperate words.

 
āpōpō. locative noun. Tomorrow. Āpōpō is the spelling I have been taught. The PE dictionary shows it spelled as ‘apōpō with only two kahakō and an ‘okina. Curiously, the Māmaka Kaiao dictionary shows the spelling as ‘āpōpō with three kahakō and ‘okina. I believe āpōpō is the only correct spelling. The Hawaiian day (24 hour period) began at nightfall and āpōpō literally means something like "until (ā) night [day] (pō) nights (pō)." Also see ā, pō.

 
au, wau. pronoun. I. A variant spelling of au as a pronoun is wau.
   For a chart of the personal pronouns, see palapala kuhikuhi o nā paniinoa pilikino.

au. noun. Period of time, time, age, era. Compare with manawa, wā.

au. noun. Current. Meaning current, as moving water.

 
a‘u. pronoun. Me.
    For a chart of the personal pronouns, see palapala kuhikuhi o nā paniinoa pilikino.

a‘u. possesive. My, mine. A-class, k-less version (k-less, also called zero-class by some).

a‘u. noun. Marlin, swordfish. The picture above shows a striped marlin.
   See the a‘u entry in the Sea Life Category.

 
‘au‘au. intransitive verb. To bathe, to swim.

 
‘au‘au kai. intransitive verb. To swim in the sea, to bathe in the sea. Also see ‘au‘au, kai.

 
auē, auwē. interjection. Alas! Oh! Oh dear! Oh boy! Goodness! Auwē, with the w-glide spelled in the word, is perhaps the more popular and more often used alternative spelling of auē.
   See the Auē entry in the Phrase Category.

   
‘auhau. noun. Tax. I remember this word because when I think of taxes it pains me, so I think "ow!" Then I wonder about the necessity of many taxes and I think "how?" Ow-how is kind of how ‘auhau is pronounced. Taxes in the United States of America are out of control, more so with government spending, but that is another story. On January 16, 2011, I received an email from Newsmax.com with an interesting article "The Best Country for Tax Simplicity — and the Worst" that discussed an analysis of the world’s tax codes by the World Bank and the accounting firm of PricewaterhouseCoopers. According to the report, "The typical small business in the United States might need to spend 187 hours a year to comply with the nation’s tax code. In the Indian Ocean nation of Maldives, compliance could take less than an hour…." The report went on to say that "The United States ranks 66th among the 183 nations in hours spent complying with tax regulations." Bean-counting pencil-pushers contribute very little if anything to a productive and prosperous nation. Newsmax also said that the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) disclosed that "In the United States, the tax code rose from 1.4 million words to 3.8 million between 2001 and February 2010…." and "…from 400 pages to about 70,000 since 1913." The English version of the famously long novel War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy is 560,000 words in length. The tax code is 6.785 times longer than War and Peace. Reading the tax code would be like reading War and Peace seven (7) times. Seven frigging times!

 
‘auinalā. noun. Afternoon. Literally "declining sun." Also see lā (sun). ‘Auinalā is used in the greeting "Aloha ‘auinalā."

 
‘aumakua. noun. Family god or personal god. A family or personal god that is a deified ancestor usually embodied in the form of an animal, such as shark (manō), owl (pueo), hawk (‘io), but sometimes and less often a natural phenomenon like rain (ua). Probably, literally from ‘au (group) and makua (parent). Also see makua.

‘aumākua. pluralized noun. Family gods or personal gods. ‘Aumakua is one of the eleven nouns that can be pluralized by lengthening the third to last syllable with a kahakō. Below is a list of the eleven nouns.

11 nouns that are pluralized by lengthening the third to last syllable with a kahakō:
aumākua - family gods, ‘elemākule - old men, kāhiko - old persons, kāhuna - priests, kaikamāhine - girls, kaikuāhine - sisters of a male, kānaka - people, kūpuna - grandparents, luāhine - old women, mākua - parents, wāhine - women.

 
aumoe. noun. Midnight hours, late night. Literally "sleep (moe) time (au)." Also see au, moe.

 
aupuni. noun. Government, kingdom, nation, realm. The picture above shows the front and mauka side of the Hawai‘i State Capitol Building in Honolulu.

 
aupuni mō‘ī. noun. Monarchy. Also see aupuni, mō‘ī.

 
‘auwai. noun. Ditch, canal.

 
awa. noun. Port, harbor, cove. Awa is used in the place name Keawa‘ula (the red harbor). Compare with kū‘ono (cove).

awa. noun. Milkfish. The picture above shows a milkfish.
   See the awa entry in the Sea Life Category.

 
‘awa. noun. Kava. The kava plant, a shrub native to the Pacific islands. The root of the kava plant is the source of a narcotic drink.
   See the ‘awa entry in the Food & Drink Category.
   See the ‘awa entry in the Plants Category.

 
awakea. noun. Midday, noon. Awakea is used in the greeting "Aloha awakea."

 
‘awapuhi. noun. Ginger.
   See the ‘awapuhi entry in the Plants Category.

 
awāwa. noun. Valley, gulch, ravine. Awaawa is an variant spelling of awāwa. The picture above shows Ka‘a‘awa Valley. Ka‘a‘awa means "the (ka) wrasse fish (‘a‘awa)."

 
‘āwīwī. intransitive verb. Quick, fast, swift. Compare with wikiwiki.

 
Bishop Museum. noun. Hawai‘i State Museum of Natural and Cultural History (obviously not a Hawaiian name). The full name is the Bernice Pauahi Bishop Museum and the Hawaiian name is Hale Hō‘ike‘ike o Kamehameha. For more information see Hale Hō‘ike‘ike o Kamehameha.

 
da kine. pidgin term, not Hawaiian. Whatchamacallit, whatsit, thingamajig, that thing, this thing. A corruption of the English "the kind." Da kine is used as a filler term when you do not know the word(s) for the thing you are talking about. Da kine is also used as a shorthand term when it is likely the listener will understand what is meant. The picture above shows the front entrance of Da Kine Bail Bonds in downtown Honolulu at 1381 Queen Emma Street. Da Kine Bail Bonds was made famous by Duane "Dog" Chapman and his TV show "Dog the Bounty Hunter.

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