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kī. noun. The Ti plant.
See the kī entry in the Plants Category.
kī. noun. Key. Transliterated from English "key."
kī. noun. Tea. Transliterated from English "tea."
See the kī entry in the Food & Drink Category.
kī. transitive verb. To shoot (as a gun), squirt.
kī‘aha. noun. Glass (drinking glass), cup, mug, pitcher (container). Compare with ipu.
kia‘āina. noun. Governor, governorship. Literally "prop [of the] land." Governor, as a governor of a state; a state governor. The pictures above show the seven governors of Hawai‘i during statehood and they are listed below. Also see ‘āina (land). Compare and contrast with meia (mayor), pelekikena (president).
William F. Quinn 1959 - 1962
John A. Burns 1962 - 1974
George Ariyoshi 1974 - 1986
John D. Waihee III 1986 - 1994
Ben Cayetano 1994 - 2002
Linda Lingle 2002 - 2010
Neil Abercrombie 2010 - Present
See the kia‘āina entry in the Family & Relationships Category.
ki‘eki‘e. noun. Height, highness, altitude.
ki‘eki‘e. stative verb. High, tall, lofty, majestic, prominent. Compare with kilakila (majestic).
kī hō‘alu. noun. Slack key. Literally "slacken or loosen (hō‘alu) key (kī)." Also see hō‘alu, kī. Slack key guitar is a style of music that originated in Hawai‘i. It is called slack key because two or more strings are slackened from the standard tuning.
ki‘i. noun. Image, statue, picture, photograph, illustration, petrograph. Kiʻi is the Hawaiian version of the non-Hawaiian word tiki. An illustration is shown above, if you do not know who or what it is and you want to find out, click the image. Compare with the non-Hawaiian word tiki.
ki‘i. transitive verb. To fetch, get (not receive).
ki‘i ‘oni‘oni. noun. Movie, cinema. Literally "moving picture " Also see ki‘i, ‘oni‘oni.
ki‘i pōhaku. noun. Petroglyph, stone statue. Literally "stone image." Also see ki‘i, pōhaku.
kīkī. transitive verb. To spurt, spout. Kīkī is a reduplication of the transitive verb kī and is used in the place name Waikīkī. Compare with kī.
kikiki. noun. Ticket. Transliterated from English "ticket."
kiko. noun. Dot, spot.
kiko. noun. Punctuation, punctuation mark. Compare with kaha (puctuation mark).
kikowaena kū‘ai. noun. Shopping center. Also see kiko, kū‘ai, waena.
kilakila. stative verb. Majestic, imposing.
Kīlauea. place name. Spewing, much spreading. An active volcano on the island of Hawai‘i. The definition of this place name is a reference to volcanic eruptions.
How to pronounce Kīlauea: 
–LAU–[W]EH–[y]uh
Kīlauea is often mispronounced like KIL-luh-WEH-uh. This mispronunciation gets only one out of the four syllables right. Kīlauea is a compound word made up of three words; kī (spewing), lau (much) and ea (spreading). The first syllable is pronounced , like the kī syllables in Waikīkī and the sound is elongated because of the kahakō. The second syllable has an au diphthong like in the word lū‘au or the word laulau and is pronounced LAU so that it rhymes with cow and how. This diphthong is hardly ever recognized in pronunciation and is one reason why Kīlauea is so often mispronounced. Ea is the last word, it has two syllables and a y-glide. And in this context, ea also has a w-glide because it follows a u vowel in the word lau. These glides are natural occurences of the spoken Hawaiian language and are not optional nor are they used as alternative pronounciations. The third syllable has a w-glide and it is pronounced [W]EH (kind of like way). The fourth and last syllable has a y-glide and is pronounced like [y]uh. Put it all together and we get –LAU–[W]EH–[y]uh. All the capitalized syllables receive stress and the first syllable is elongated and stressed because it has a kahakō; hence the stretching out of the EE in the first syllable.
See the Kīlauea entry in the Hawai‘i Place Names Category.
kiliona. number. Trillion. Transliterated from English "trillion."
See the kiliona entry in the Numbers Category.
kilo. noun. Stargazer, reader of omens, astrologer.
kilo. transitive verb. To watch intently, spy, observe. Kilo is used in the place name Makakilo (observing eyes).
kinai. transitive verb. To extinguish fire.
kinai ahi. noun. Fireman, fire extinguisher. Also see ahi, kinai.
Kīna‘u. place name. Flaw. A street in Honolulu and a State office building.
Kīna‘u. second kuhina nui. Flaw. She was a half-sister of Kauikeaouli, and was made kuhina nui by him after Ka‘ahumanu died in 1832. As kuhina nui, she was also called Ka‘ahumanu II. Kīna‘u was married to Mataio Kekūanaō‘a and they had three notable children; Kamehameha IV, Kamehameha V and Victoria Kamāmalu. There is a very good, short biography of Kīna‘u at hawaii.gov.
See the Kīna‘u entry in the Ali‘i Category.
kīna‘u. (not Capitalized) noun. Stain, blemish, defect, minor flaw or imperfection, mistake.
How to pronounce Kīna‘u: –NAH–oo
Kīna‘u is often mispronounced KEE–NAU as a two syllable word because the ‘okina is disregarded. It is a three syllable word. The capitalized syllables in the pronunciation shown above are stressed and the first syllable is longer because of the kahakō as indicted by the stretched out EE.
kini. number. Multitude, many; forty thousand. For the meaning of many, also see lau, mano, nui.
See the kini entry in the Numbers Category.
kini. noun. Tin, pail, can. Transliterated from the English "tin."
kini. noun. Gin. Transliterated from the English "gin."
See the kini entry in the Food & Drink Category.
kini ‘ōpala. noun. Rubbish can, trash can, garbage can, garbage tin. The word kini is transliterated from the English word tin and ‘ōpala means garbage, so kini ‘ōpala literally means "garbage tin." Also see ‘ōpala.
kinipōpō. noun, intransitive verb. Baseball, ball; to play ball. There is a short street in Waikīkī called "Cartwright Road" named for Alexander Joy Cartwright, Jr. who is credited with being the "father of modern baseball." You can find more information about Cartwright at Wikipedia and How Stuff Works. Also, football is "kinipōpō peku" which literally means "kick ball" and basketball is "kinipōpō hīna‘i" which literally means "basket ball."
kino lau. noun. Many forms taken by a supernatural being. Literally "many bodies." Supernatural beings such as gods, goddesses and demi-gods could manifest themselves into different earthly forms. For instance, the volcano goddess Pele could become a flame of a fire, a beauitful young girl or an old woman. Another example is Lono, who could become the pig-man Kamapua‘a or the fish, the Humuhumunukunukuāpua‘a. Also see kino, lau.
ki‘o. intransitive verb. To excrete, have a bowel movement. The result of a ki‘o is usually kūkae.
kipa. transitive verb. To visit, to call on.
kīpuka. noun. Oasis within a lava bed. A small or large area of vegetation surround by a flow of lava or a bed of lava.
kīwī. noun. Television. Transliterated from English "TV."
kō. noun. Sugar cane.
See the kō entry in the Food & Drink Category.
See the kō entry in the Plants Category.
kō. noun. Long vowel sound. Used in the compound word kahakō. Also see kahakō.
kō. preposition. Of, belonging to. An o-class possessive. Compare with kā.
koa. noun. Warrior, soldier. The "Hale Koa" in the name of the Hale Koa Hotel translates as "soldiers' house." The word koa is also used in the name of a street in Waikīkī called Koa Avenue (warrior).
koa. stative verb. Brave.
koa. noun. The largest of the native forest trees.
koa kahiko. noun. Veteran, old soldier. Literally "old soldier." Also see kahiko, koa.
kō‘ala. transitive verb. To broil or barbeque. To broil or barbeque meat, fish or fowl. Compare with pūlehu (broil).
koena. noun. Leftovers, remainder, surplus, remains.
kohe. noun. Vagina. The word kohe is used in the Hawaiian name for Koko Crater, Kohelepelepe which means "vagina labia minora." Contrast with ule (penis).
koho. noun. Election, choice, selection.
koho. transitive verb. To coose, select, decide, pick, vote, elect.
kohola. noun. Reef flats, bare reef. I included this word mostly to contrast it with koholā, to show how a kahakō can make all the difference in meaning and pronunciation.
koholā. noun. Humpbacked whale. Contrast with palaoa (sperm whale).
See the koholā entry in the Sea Life Category.
koiū. noun. Shoyu sauce. Soy sauce. Transliterated from Japanese "shoyu." The image above shows a dispenser of Aloha Shoyu brand soy sauce. In 1946, five Japanese families created the Aloha Shoyu Company in a small factory in Kalihi on the island of O‘ahu and today they are the leader in Hawai‘i soy sauce sales. To learn more about Aloha Shoyu, you can visit their website at alohashoyu.com. Also see kai (sauce).
See the koiū entry in the Food & Drink Category.
koka. noun. Soda. Transliterated from English "soda."
See the koka entry in the Food & Drink Category.
koke. particle and noun. Quick, quickly, immediately.
kokoke. intransitive verb. Near, close, adjacent.
kokoleka. noun. Chocolate. Transliterated from English "chocolate."
See the kokoleka entry in the Food & Drink Category.
kōkua. noun. Help, assistance. Kōkua used to be a term for "lawyer or attorney" before it was replaced by "loio."
kōkua. transitive verb. To help, to assist, cooperation.
kōlea. noun. Pacific golden plover. A migratory bird.
See the kōlea entry in the Animals Category.
Kōlea. (Capitalized) place name, stative verb. Korea; Korean. Tranliterated from English "Korea." The picture above shows Kim jong-il, the crazy old lady that is the "Dear Leader" of North Korea. The term for North Korea is Kōlea ‘Ākau and South Korea is Kōlea Hema.
See the Kōlea entry in the Non-Hawaiian Place Names Category.
kō laila. locative. Of that place, local. See laila for a list of locatives that use the word laila. Also see kō, laila.
kolohe. noun, intransitive verb. Rascal, mischief-maker, prankster; mischievous, naughty.
komo. noun, transitive verb. Entrance; to enter, go into. Komo is used in the expression and greeting "E Komo mai."
komo. transitive verb. To dress, to put on, wear.
komohana. noun, stative verb. West, western. Komohana is a combination of two words "komo" and the nominalizing suffix "-hana." The west is called "komohana" because the sun enters (komo) or sets in the west. Also see komo. Contrast with ‘ākau, hema, hikina.
kona. noun, stative verb. Leeward sides of the islands; leeward. Contrast with ko‘olau (windward).
kona. singular possessive. His, her, hers, its. Singular, o-class possessive.
kōnane. noun. Ancient game that resembles checkers.
kōnane. intransitive verb. Bright (as luminous or shining).
kono. transitive verb. To invite.
ko‘olau. noun, stative verb. Windward side of the islands; windward. Contrast with kona (leeward).
Ko‘olau. (Capitalized) place name. Windward. The windward mountain range on the island of O‘ahu.
See the Ko‘olau entry in the Hawai‘i Place Names Category.
kopa. noun. Soap. Transliterated from the English "soap."
kōpa‘a. noun. Sugar. Literally "hard sugar cane." Also see kō, pa‘a.
See the kōpa‘a entry in the Food & Drink Category.
kope. noun. Coffee, coffee beans.
Transliterated from English "coffee."
See the kope entry in the Food & Drink Category.
kope. noun, transitive verb. Rake, shovel; to rake.
kope. noun, transitive verb. Copy, duplicate; to copy, to duplicate. Transliterated from English "copy."
kou. possessive. Your. Singular, o-class possessive.
ko‘u. possessive. My, mine. Singular, o-class possessive.
Kristo. proper noun. Christ. Transliterated from Greek "Christos." The only Hawaiian word I know of that is allowed to break the rule that Hawaiian words do not have consonant clusters and Kristo has two. An anomoly and an amazing exception to Hawaiian spelling.
kū. stative verb. To stand, standing; to rise.
kū. stative verb. To park; parked.
kū. transitive verb. To soak (as clothes).
Kū. (Capitalized) proper noun Major god. Ancient Hawaiian god of war. Also called Kūkā‘ilimoku (Kū [the] island snatcher). One of four major Hawaiian gods. The other three major gods were Kanaloa, Kāne, Lono.
See the Kū entry in the Gods, Demigods and Mythical Beings Category.
kua. noun. Back. Back, as in the rear portion of a body. Kua is used in the place name Kualoa meaning "long (loa) back."
kua. Variant spelling of akua (god). Used in the place name Kealakekua which means "the (ke) pathway (ala) [of] the (ke) god (kua)." Also see akua.
kū‘ai. transitive verb. To buy, barter, exchange, to sell. Literally "to stand up food." Also see ‘ai, kū.
kū‘ai aku. transitive verb. To sell. Also see aku, kū‘ai. Contrast with kū‘ai mai (to buy).
kū‘ai mai. transitive verb. To buy. Also see kū‘ai, mai. Compare with kū‘ai aku (to sell).
kuahiwi. noun. High hill, mountain. Compare with mauna (mountain), pu‘u (hill).
Kualoa. place name. Long back. Kua (back) + loa (long) = long back. Land section, ranch and beach park on the windward side of O‘ahu. Also see kua, loa.
See the Kualoa entry in the Hawai‘i Place Names Category.
kuawa. noun. Guava. Transliterated from the English "guava." A plant and its fruit that is native to South and Central America and areas as far north as Mexico.
See the kuawa entry in the Food & Drink Category.
See the kuawa entry in the Plants Category.
kū‘ē. transitive verb. To oppose, resist, protest. Literally "stand (kū) different (‘ē)." Also see ‘e, kū.
kuene. noun. Waiter, waitress.
kuhina nui. noun. Prime minister or premier. A powerful officer in the days of the Kingdom of Hawai‘i. A postion created after the death of Kamehameha the Great in 1819. There were six kuhina nui and they are shown above in consecutive order. The first kuhina nui was Ka‘ahumanu and her role as the kuhina nui was that of a regent during the reign of Kamehameha II and Kamehameha III making her more powerful than the kings themselves. With her passing in 1832, the office of kuhina nui transitioned to that of prime minister or premier and the kuhina nui became the second most powerful position in the kingdom, until the office was abolished in 1864 during the reign of Kamehameha V.
Here a chronological list of the six kuhina nui with links and when they served:
Ka‘ahumanu (1819-1832), Kīna‘u (1832-1839), Kekāuluohi (1839-1845), Keoni Ana (1845-1855), Kamāmalu (1855-1863), Mataio Kekūanaō‘a (1863-1864).
ku‘i. transitive verb. To pound, punch, strike, hit, prod.
ku‘i ‘ōpihi. verb. To strike ‘ōpihi or to pry ‘ōpihi. To strike (hit) ‘ōpihi or pry ‘ōpihi so as to remove them from rocks. Also see ku‘i, ‘ōpihi.
kūkae. noun. Excrement, dung, feces. Also, compare with ki‘o (bowel movement).
kuke. noun. Cook. A person who cooks.
kuke. transitive verb. To cook.
kuki. noun. Cookie. Transliterated from the English "cookie." Compare with mea ‘ono kuki.
See the kuki entry in the Food & Drink Category.
kukui. noun. Candlenut tree and the nuts from the tree.
See the kukui entry in the Plants Category.
kukui. noun. Light, lamp, torch.
kukui pa‘a lima. noun. Flashlight. Literally "light hold hand." Also see kuku‘i, lima, pa‘a. I like this term because it is made up of three words that should be known to every beginning Hawaiian language student and when you put them together, you get the term flashlight.
kukui uila. noun. Electric light. Also see kukui, uila.
kūkulu. transitive verb. To build, construct. To build or construct a house or building, but can also be used "to set up a tent."
kula. noun. Plain, field.
kula. noun. School.
kula. noun, stative verb. Gold, golden. Transliterated form English "gold."
kulāiwi. noun. Native land, homeland. Compare with ‘āina hānau.
kula ki‘eki‘e. noun. High school. Also see ki‘eki‘e, kula.
Contrast with kula nui (college).
kūlanakauhale. noun. City, town, village. Literally "situation plural house." Also see hale, kau, kū. Compare with kaona (town).
kulanui. noun. Universtity, college. Formerly this was the term for high school. Literally "big school." Also see kula, nui. Contrast with kula ki‘eki‘e (high school).
kuleana. noun, transitive verb. Right, responsibility, privilege, authority.
kulikuli. noun. Noise.
kulikuli. stative verb. Noisy, deafening.
Kulikuli! verb phrase. Be quiet! Shut up! A nicer way to say "Be quiet!" or "Shut up!" would be to use the word hāmau.
See the Kulikuli entry in the Phrase Category.
kūlina. noun. Corn.
See the kūlina entry in the Food & Drink Category.
See the kūlina entry in the Plants Category.
kūlolo. noun. Taro and coconut pudding. A pudding made from cooked, grated taro (kalo) and coconut cream.
See the kūlolo entry in the Food & Drink Category.
kumu. noun. Teacher.
kumu. noun. Tree trunk, main stalk of a tree.
See the kumu entry in the Plants Category.
kumu. noun. Bottom, base, foundation, basic, fundamental.
kumu. noun. Reason.
kumu. noun. Source.
kumulā‘au. noun. Tree. Also see kumu, lā‘au.
See the kumulā‘au entry in the Plants Category.
Kumulipo. noun. The Hawaiian Creation Chant. Since lipo means "deep, blue-black", some translate Kumulipo as "orgin in the deep, blue-black past." Also see kumu.
kumulipo. (not Capitalized) noun. Orgin (of the earth), genesis, source of life.
kū‘oko‘a. noun. Independence, freedom, liberty. Kū‘oko‘a is used in the term "Lā Kū‘oko‘a" which means "Independence Day."
kū‘oko‘a. stative verb. Independent, free.
kū‘ono noun. Bay, cove, gulf. Compare with kaikū‘ono.
kupa. noun, intransitive verb. Citizen, native. Compare with kama‘āina (native), maoli (native), ‘ōiwi (native).
kupa. noun. Cube. Transliterated form English "cube."
Kupa. (Capitalized) place name. Cuba.
See the Kupa entry in the Non-Hawaiian Place Names Category.
kūpono. stative verb. Proper, appropriate. Also see kū, pono.
kupu. noun. Shoot, sprout, growth. Shoot, sprout or growth as of a plant.
kupu. intransitive verb. Sprout, grow. Compare with ulu (grow).
kupulau. noun. Spring. Literally "leaf sprouting." Also see kupu, lau. The Hawaiians didn't have a term for spring, because there were really only two seasons, the rainy season (ho‘oilo) and the hot season (kau wela), so this term has been adopted for spring. Southern California also has only two seasons, the fire season followed by the rain and mudslide season. Contrast with kau wela (summer), hā‘ule lau (fall), ho‘oilo (winter).
kupuna. noun. Grandparent, relative or friend of the grandparent's generation, ancestor.
See the kupuna entry in the Family & Relationships Category.
kūpuna. pluralized noun. Grandparents, relatives or friends of the grandparent's generation, ancestors. Kupuna 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.
kupuna kāne. noun. Grandfather. Can also be used for granduncle or male ancestor. Also see kāne, kupuna. Compare with tūtū kāne.
See the kupuna kāne entry in the Family & Relationships Category.
kupuna wahine. noun. Grandmother. Can also be used for grandaunt or female ancestor. Also see kupuna, wahine. Compare with tūtū.
See the kupuna wahine entry in the Family & Relationships Category.
ku‘u. possessive. My, mine. This version of my or mine also expresses affection.
ku‘u home. Literally "my home." Also see home, ku‘u.
ku‘uipo. Literally "my sweetheart." Also see ipo, ku‘u.
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