ke. definite article. The. Ke is generally used instead of ka before words that begin with an a, e, o or k. Ke has the same meaning as ka. An interesting fact is that, at one time there was only ke, and ka was not used, but at an uncertain time, well before western contact, the ka version of ke came into usage. Compare with ka.

ke. noun marker. Sometimes ke is not translated as a word and is simply used as a noun marker before the noun. A good example of this is the ka (ka is a version of ke) as a noun marker is in the State of Hawai‘i motto, "Ua mau ke ea o ka ‘āina i ka pono." The ka before pono is not translated as "the." Click on the motto for more information about the state motto. Compare with ka.

  
kē. noun. The letter "k."
   Also, for a list of the names for the other Hawaiian letters, see hua palapala.

 
kea. stative verb. White. Kea is used in the place name Pūpūkea (white shell). Compare with ke‘oke‘o.
   See the kea entry in the Color Category.

 
keaka. noun. Theater. Transliterated from the English "theater." Also for movie theater, see an explanation under hale.

 
Kealakekua. place name. The pathway [of] the god. Land section, village and bay on the island of Hawai‘i. Captain Cook was killed by the Hawaiians at this bay on February 14, 1779. Also see ala (pathway), ke (the), kua (god).
   See the Kealakekua entry in the Hawai‘i Place Names Category.

 
ke‘ena. noun. Office, room.

 
kēia. demonstrative. This (near speaker). Contrast with kēlā, kēnā.

 
kēia lā. Today. Literally "this day." Also see kēia, lā.

 
keiki. noun. Child. Compare with kama.
   See the keiki entry in the Family & Relationships Category.

 
keiki kāne. noun. Boy, son. Also see kāne, keiki.
   See the keiki kāne entry in the Family & Relationships Category.

 
keiki kāne hanauna. noun. Nephew. Also see keiki kāne.
   See the keiki kāne hanauna entry in the Family & Relationships Category.

 
kekahi. article. A, an, one, another, certain (particular), other.

 
Kekāuluohi. place name. The vine growing [with] shoots. A State government building on the ‘Iolani Palace grounds that houses the Archives of Hawai‘i.

Kekāuluohi. third kuhina nui. The vine growing [with] shoots. Ke (the) + kā (vine) ulu (growing) + ohi (shoots) = the vine growing [with] shoots. She was the third kuhina nui and served from 1839 to 1845 for about 5 years and 2 months. As kuhina nui she was also called Ka‘ahumanu III. She was also the mother of Lunaliho the sixth reigning king of the Kingdom of Hawai‘i. There is a very good, short biography of Kekāuluohi at hawaii.gov.
   See the Kekāuluohi entry in the Ali‘i Category.

 
kēlā. demonstrative. That (distant from speaker and addressee). Contrast with kēia, kēnā.

 
kele. noun. Jelly, jam. Transliterated from English "jelly."
   See the kele entry in the Food & Drink Category.

 
kelepona. noun, transitive verb. Telephone; to telephone. Transliterated from English "telephone."

 
keli. noun. Cherry. The Pukui / Elbert Hawaiian Dictionary [PE] has no word for "cherry", keli comes from Māmaka Kaiao [MK]. Transliterated from English "cherry."
   See the keli entry in the Food & Drink Category.
   See the keli entry in the Plants Category.

 
kēnā. demonstrative. That (near adressee). Contrast with kēia, kēlā.

 
kenikeni. noun. Ten cents, dime.

 
ke‘oke‘o. noun, stative verb. White. Compare with kea. The picture above shows the double album "The Beatles" by the Beatles which was released in 1968. Although the official name of the album is "The Beatles", it is commonly called "The White Album."
   See the ke‘oke‘o entry in the Color Category.

 
Keoniana. place name. John Young. The name of a street in Waikīkī named Keoniana Street for the second John Young. The street is spelled as one word without a space between Keoni and Ana.
   See the Keoniana Street entry in the Waikīkī Street Names Category.

Keoni Ana. kuhina nui, minister of foreign relations John Young. Keoni Ana is transliterated from the English name John Young and was the Hawaiian name of John Young II. John Young II was a kuhina nui under Kamehameha III and the minister of foreign relations under Kamehameha IV. There is a very good, short biography of Keoni Ana at hawaii.gov.
   See the Keoni Ana entry in the Ali‘i Category.

 
Kepanī. stative verb. Japanese. Transliterated from English "Japanese." Also, a term for Japan is ‘Āina Kepanī.

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