i. particle. To, toward, in, on, at. Compare with ma (in, at, on). Usage will vary, but i is more often directional and ma locative. Compare with ma (in, at, on).

i. object marker. A particle that marks direct and indirect objects.

  
‘ī. noun. The letter "i."
   Also, for a list of the names of the other Hawaiian letters, see hua palapala.

 
ia. pronoun. He, she, it. Compare with ‘oia.
   For a chart of the personal pronouns, see palapala kuhikuhi o nā paniinoa pilikino.

  
i‘a. noun. Fish, marine animal. Usually means fish, but i‘a can be used for any marine animal, as an eel, oyster, lobster, crab, or whale.
   See the i‘a entry in the Sea Life Category.
   See the i‘a entry in the Food & Drink Category.

 
iā. particle. Particle marking the object, to, toward.

 
iā a‘u. pronoun. Me, to me. Long version of ia‘u. Also see a‘u, iā.

 
ia‘u. pronoun. Me, to me. A contaction and the short version of iā a‘u. Also see a‘u, iā.

 
ihe. noun. Spear, javelin.

 
iho. intransitive verb. Downward, to descend. Contrast with a‘e, aku, mai.

 
ihu. noun. Nose, snout, beak, bill, truck of an elephant (‘elepani). The picture above shows José Ferrer as Cyrano de Bergerac in the 1950 film of the same name. An example of an outstanding and majestic (kilakila) nose. Compare with nuku (beak).

 
‘i‘iwa. noun. Scarlet honeycreeper. The red feathers of the ‘i‘iwa were used extensively in feather work. Some birds could have a few feathers plucked, then the bird was released and the feathers would regrow; however, since the choice feathers of the ‘i‘iwi covered most of their body, the ‘i‘iwa was usually captured and killed.
   See the ‘i‘iwa entry in the Animals Category.

 
ikaika. noun. Strength, might.

ikaika. stative verb. Strong, powerful, stalwart. The word Ikaika is also a popular first name for males.

 
‘ike. noun. Knowledge, understanding, comprehension. Compare with na‘auao (knowledge).

‘ike. transitive verb. To see, know, understand, greet.

 
iki. stative verb. Small, little. Compare with li‘i.

 
i laila. locative. There, at that place. See laila for a list of locatives that use the word laila. Also see i, laila.

 
‘ili. noun. Skin, complexion.

‘ili. noun. Surface. The word ‘ili is used in the place name ‘Ilikai (sea surface).

‘ili. noun. Pebble, small stone. Used less often than ‘ili‘ili.

 
‘iliahi. noun. Sandalwood. All Hawaiian kinds of sandlewood trees and shrubs. From 1790 to 1830, the Kingdom of Hawai‘i traded sandalwood with China. Sandalwood was desired for its fragrant heartwood.
   See the ‘iliahi entry in the Plants Category.

 
‘ilihune. noun. Poverty, poor person. Literally "thin skin." A poor person is described as "thin skin" because, usually a poor person can't feed themselves and don't eat enough, so they become thin. Also see ‘ili.

‘ilihune. stative verb. Poor, destitute. Literally "thin skin." Also see ‘ili. Contrast with waiwai (wealthy).

 
‘ili‘ili. noun. Pebble, small stone. Used in the place name Mō‘ili‘ili. Mō‘ili‘ili means "pebble lizard." Mō- is a suffix used in the place name Mō‘ili‘ili that is short for mo‘o (lizard). Also see mō-.

 
‘ilikai. noun. Surface of the sea. Also see ‘ili, kai.

‘Ilikai. (Capitalized) place name. Surface of the sea. Hotel and Condominium in Waikīkī that appeared prominently in the TV series Hawaii Five-O that ran from 1968 to 1980.
   See the ‘ilikai entry in the Hawai‘i Place Names Category.

 
‘ilipuakea. noun. White person. A poetic term for a white person. Literally "white (kea) flower (pua) skin (‘ili)." Also see ‘ili, kea, pua. Compare with haole.

 
‘īlima. noun. A small to large native shrub (sida plant) and its flower. In 1923, the Territorial Legislature designated the ‘īlima as the flower of O‘ahu.
   See the ‘īlima entry in the Plants Category.

 
‘īlio. noun. Dog.
   See the ‘īlio entry in the Animals Category.

‘īlio. noun. A generic term for any foreign quadruped.

 
‘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. Also see holo, i, ‘īlio, ka.
   See the ‘īlioholoikauaua entry in the Sea Life Category.

 
‘imi. verb. To search, to seek, to hunt, to look for.

 
‘imi loa. noun. Distant traveler, explorer. Figuratively "one with great knowledge or avarious for knowledge." Also see ‘imi, loa.

‘imi loa. intransitive verb. To seek far, explore. Also see ‘imi, loa.

 
imu. noun. An underground oven. To make a traditional underground oven called an imu, first you have to dig a pit (lua). A pig (pua‘a) is typically or traditionally cooked in an imu and the cooked pork is called "kālua pork." Compare with ‘oma (modern oven).

 
inā conjuction. If.

 
ināhea. interrogative interjection. When? Ināhea is used only in past tense questions. Contrast with āhea (when?, used in questions about the future).

 
‘inamona. noun. Relish made with candlenut. Relish made from the cooked and mashed kernal of the kukui nut with salt (pa‘akai). Also see kukui.
   See the ‘inamona entry in the Food & Drink Category.

 
‘inika. noun. Ink. Transliterated from the English "ink."

 
‘ino. noun. Hate, sin. Compare with hala (sin), hewa (sin).

‘ino. stative verb. Wicked, immoral, sinful, bad, evil. The picture above is of Lucifer.

‘ino. noun. Storm.

‘ino. stative verb. Stormy.

 
inoa. noun. Name.

 
inu. noun, transitive verb. Drink, to drink.

 
‘io. noun. The Hawaiian hawk. The picture above shows a Hawaiian hawk. Today, it is an endangered species and is found only on the big island of Hawai‘i. The word ‘io is used in the place name for the Hawaiian palace, ‘Iolani (royal hawk) palace.
   See the ‘io entry in the Animals Category.

 
‘i‘o. noun. Flesh, meat.
   See the ‘i‘o entry in the Food & Drink Category.

 
‘i‘o holoholona. noun. Meat. Literally "animal flesh." Also see holoholona, ‘i‘o.
   See the ‘i‘o holoholona entry in the Food & Drink Category.

 
‘Iolani. place name. Royal hawk. Literally "royal (lani) hawk (‘io)." The picture above shows the second royal palace (hale ali‘i). The first royal palace was a wood structure that became termite ridden, it was razed and replaced with the second palace. The first royal palace were simply called Hale Ali‘i. After the death of Kamehameha IV in 1855, his brother Kamehameha V (Prince Lot) succeeded him as reigning monarch. Kamehameha V wanted to rename the palace for his recently passed brother. ‘Iolani was one of the names of Kamehameha IV. The construction of the second palace (shown above) was started in 1879 and it was completed in 1882. Also, see ‘io, lani.
   See the ‘Iolani entry in the Hawai‘i Place Names Category.

 
‘iole. noun. Rat, mouse.
   See the ‘iole entry in the Animals Category.

 
‘i‘o pipi. noun. Beef. Literally "beef meat." Also see ‘i‘o, pipi.
   See the ‘i‘o pipi entry in the Food & Drink Category.

 
‘i‘o pua‘a uahi. noun. Bacon. Literally "smoked (uahi) pork (pua‘a) flesh (‘i‘o)." Also see ‘i‘o, puaa, uahi.
   See the ‘i‘o pua‘a uahi entry in the Food & Drink Category.

 
ipo. noun. Sweetheart, lover.

 
ipu. noun. The bottle gourd plant.

ipu. noun. General name for a container or vessel. A cup, dish, mug, calabash, pot, bowl, etc. Compare with kī‘aha.

 
ipu ‘inika. noun. Ink bottle. Also see ‘inika, ipu.

 
ipukukui. noun. Lamp, candlestick. Also see ipu, kukui.

 
‘iu. stative verb. Lofty, sacred, revered. ‘Iu is used in the name of the crown princess, Ka‘iulani.

 
‘iwa. noun. Frigate bird, man-of-war bird. A predacious seabird with a wide wingspan. The wingspan of the male can reach 2.5 yards. A funny mistake on page 104 of the PE dictionary under ‘iwa, mistakenly says that "...it has a wingspan of 12 m." Twelve meters? That would be about thirteen yards or 39 feet in width. It would have been like a Hawaiian pterosaur. By the way, according to dictionary.com, the wingspan of a pterosaur could reach 50 feet. The word ‘iwa is perhaps used most notably in the place name Hale‘iwa (frigate bird house).
   See the ‘iwa entry in the Animals Category.

 
iwakālua. number. Twenty, twentieth.

 
iwi. noun. Bone.

 
Iwilei. place name. Collar bone or a unit of measurement. A road and a section of Honolulu, perhaps best known as the location of the Dole cannery, which is no longer a cannery, but is now used for retail and office space. Many years ago, Iwilei was also a center for prostitution.
   See the Iwilei entry in the Hawai‘i Place Names Category.

iwilei. (not capitalized) noun. Collar bone or a unit of measurement, yard (36 inches). The meaning of iwilei as collar bone can easily be understood because the collar bones form a sort of lei around the neck. For the meaning of a unit of measurement, it is a measure of length from the collar bone to the tip of the middle finger, when the arm is extended; a measurement of about a yard, depending on who is doing the measuring. Also see iwi, lei.

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