o. preposition. Of, belonging to. An o-class preposition. The prepostion o is used in the name of the last ruling monarch, Queen Lili‘uokalani which means "the smarting of the high born one." Compare with a.

 
‘o. subject marker. Marks the subject of the sentence or phrase.

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

‘ō. noun. Fork. But also, any piercing instrument such as a spear, pin, skewer, harpoon, pitchfork, et cetera.

 
‘oe. pronoun. You (one person). The meaning is you in the singular, referring to one person. Compare with ‘olua (you, 2 people), ‘oukou (you, 3 or more people).
    For a chart of the personal pronouns, see palapala kuhikuhi o nā paniinoa pilikino.

 
‘ohana. noun. Family, relative.

 
‘ohai. noun. Monkeypod or rain tree. The monkeypod is not native to Hawai‘i, but comes to us from the Americas where it is native to South America and areas as far north as Mexico.The picture above shows the "Hitachi Tree", perhaps the most famous monkeypod tree in the world, certainly Hawai‘i. The "Hitachi Tree" must be one of the best paid plants in the world, earning 400,000 dollars per year for Moanalua Gardens. The Japanese electronics manufacturer Hitachi, Ltd. pays four hundred thousand dollars a year to use the tree's image for promotional purposes. I wish I had a tree like that. Earning 400 grand a year, it would be a great provider. I would even marry a tree like that if it were legal. Along with racism and other forms of bigotry, hopefully, plantism will one day be a thing of the past. Loving and committed relationships between trees and people should be recognized by the government by allowing them to marry them. When will the prejudice, hatred and discrimination end. Here is a link to an article about the tree from "The Honolulu Advertiser."
   See the ‘ohai entry in the Plants Category.

 
‘ohe. noun. Bamboo. ‘Ohe is used in the place name Kāne‘ohe. Also see Kāne‘ohe.
   See the ‘ohe entry in the Plants Category.

 
‘ōhelo. noun. A native shrub with edible red berries.
   See the ‘ōhelo entry in the Plants Category.

 
‘ōhi‘a. noun. Two kinds of trees; ‘ōhi‘a ‘ai (mountain apple tree) and ‘ōhi‘a lehua (lehua flower tree).
   See the ‘ōhi‘a entry in the Plants Category.

‘ōhi‘a. noun. Tomato.
   See the ‘ōhi‘a entry in the Food & Drink Category.

 
‘ōhi‘a ‘ai. noun. The mountain apple tree and its fruit. Literally "edible ‘ōhi‘a." Also see ‘ai, ‘ōhi‘a.
   See the ‘ōhi‘a ‘ai entry in the Food & Drink Category.

 
‘ōhi‘a lehua. noun. The tree that produces the lehua flower. Also see lehua, ‘ōhi‘a.
   See the ‘ōhi‘a lehua entry in the Plants Category.

 
‘ōhi‘a lomi. noun. Tomato. The common table tomato, that people often squeeze or crush (lomi) during meal preparation. Also see lomi, ‘ōhi‘a.
   See the ‘ōhi‘a lomi entry in the Food & Drink Category.

 
oho. noun. Hair of the head. The pictures above show a hair style called a "mop top." Compare with lauoho.

 
‘ōhua. noun. Passenger, passengers.

‘ōhua. noun. Servants, retainers. ‘Ōhua is used in the name of a street in Waikīkī called ‘Ōhua Street (servants or retainers). Compare with kauā (servant).

 
‘oi. noun, stative verb. Best. Compare with po‘okela.

‘oi. stative verb. Sharp.

 
‘oia. noun. Truth.

‘oia. stative verb. Really, true.

‘oia. pronoun. He, she, it. ‘Oia = ‘o (subject marker) + ia (he, she, it). Compare with ia.
   For a chart of the personal pronouns, see palapala kuhikuhi o nā paniinoa pilikino.

 
‘oihana. noun. Job, profession, occupation.

‘oihana. noun. Industry, business.

‘oihana. stattive verb. Professional.

 
‘ō‘io. noun. Bonefish. The word ‘ō‘io is used in the place name for the point called Kalaeoka‘ō‘io (the cape of the bone fish) on the windward side of O‘ahu that separates Kualoa from Ka‘a‘awa and the moku of Ko‘olau Poko from the moku of Ko‘olau Loa.
   See the ‘ō‘io entry in the Sea Life Category.

 
‘oi‘oi. noun. Thorn.
   See the ‘oi‘oi entry in the Plants Category.

‘oi‘oi. intransitive verb. Full of sharp points, pointed, sharp, thorny. Reduplication of ‘oi (sharp).

 
‘ōiwi. noun. Native person.

‘ōiwi. stative verb. Native. Compare with kama‘āina (native), kupa (native), maoli (native).

 
‘oki. intransitive verb. To cut, sever, seperation.

 
‘okina. noun. Glottal stop. The word ‘okina is a combination of the intransitive verb ‘oki plus the nominalizing suffix -na and literally means "cutting off, serverance, seperation" The ‘okina is represented in writing as an upside-down or inverted apostrophe. Sometimes the ‘okina is called a diacritical mark, but it is not a diacritical mark. The only diacritic mark in the Hawaiian language is the kahakō. Along with the kahakō, the ‘okina is an unusual "element" of the Hawaiian language. As strange as it may seem, the ‘okina is a real and full fledged consonant in the Hawaiian language, however it is a unique consonant in that it doesn't have a sound like the other consonants. The ‘okina is what is called a “voiceless glottal plosive”, which makes it sort of a silent consonant. For various reasons, the ‘okina and kahakō are often excluded in the spelling of Hawaiian words, but the ‘okina and kahakō are important for correct spelling and pronunciation; they are just as important as any Hawaiian letter. For instance, the not so well known word ka‘i is a two syllable word and means "to lead, to direct", but remove the ‘okina and it becomes the much better known word kai which is a one syllable word and means "sea." Also, you can spell the place name Hawai‘i without the ‘okina as Hawaii, however Hawaii is an Anglicized version of a Hawaiian word and to that extent it is a legitimate spelling, but is not a correctly spelled Hawaiian word.
‘okina. noun. The Hawaiian letter "‘." As strange as it may seem the okina is a full-fledged Hawaiian consonant, so there are 13 letters in the Hawaiian language. They are a, e, i, o, u, h, k, l, m, n, p, w, ‘ (‘okina). It is often incorrectly stated that the Hawaiian language has only 12 letters because the ‘okina is incorrectly disregarded as a consonant.
   Also, for a list of the names for the other Hawaiian letters, see hua palapala.

 
‘ōkole. noun. Buttocks. Considered less polite than lemu. Compared with lemu.

 
‘ōkolehao. noun. Ti root spirits. Liquor distilled from the ti root. Before western contact, the Hawaiians would produce a fermented, intoxicating drink that was much used and enjoyed by the Hawaiians. After western contact, the fermented product began to be distilled in to a high proof spirit; hence the term ‘ōkolehao which literally means "iron bottom", indicating part of the equipment used in the distilling process. Later, other fermentable ingredients were sometimes used such as sugar, pineapple, taro and rice. Also see hao, ‘ōkole.
   See the ‘ōkolehao entry in the Food & Drink Category.

 
ola. noun. Life, health, well being, living.

ola. stative verb. Living, to be alive, to live.

 
‘ōla‘i. noun. Earthquake.

 
o laila. locative. Of that place. See laila for a list of locatives that use the word laila. Also see laila, o.

 
ola kino. noun. Health. Also see kino, ola.

 
‘ole. noun. Zero, nothing.

‘ole. verb. Not, without. The word ‘ole is used in the proper noun and place name Kalaniana‘ole (the royal chief without measure).

 
‘ōlelo. noun. Language, speech, word.

‘ōlelo. transitive verb. To speak, say, talk.

 
‘ōlelo haole. noun, transitive verb. English (the language); to speak English. Also see haole, ‘ōlelo.

 
‘ōlelo Hawai‘i. noun, transitive verb. Hawaiian language; to speak Hawaiian. Also see Hawai‘i, ‘ōlelo.

 
‘ōlelo no‘eau. noun. Proverb, wise saying, traditional saying. Also the title of a collection of Hawaiian proverbs and poetical sayings that were collected, translated, and annotated by Mary Kawena Pukui. You can see more information on the book "‘Ōlelo No‘eau" at amazon.com or the Bishop Museum Press website. Also see no‘eau, ‘ōlelo.

 
‘ōlelo pa‘i ‘ai. noun. Pidgin English, pidgin Hawaiian. Literally "hard-poi speech." Also see ‘ōlelo, pa‘i ‘ai. Compare with namu pa‘i ‘ai.

 
‘ōlepe. noun. Any kind of bivalve having two shells hinged together, as a mussel, oyster, clam.
   See the ‘ōlepe entry in the Sea Life Category.

 
oli. noun. Chant. Chant that is not danced to. Contrast with mele.

 
‘oli‘oli. noun. Joy, happiness, pleasure, delight.

‘oli‘oli. stative verb. Joyful, happy.

 
olo. noun. Hill. A rare version of hill that survives mostly just in place names. Compare with pu‘u.

 
olonā. noun. A native shrub. The bark of the olonā was used to make a very strong cordage which was used for many purposes.
   See the olonā entry in the Plants Category.

 
‘olu. noun, stative verb. Pleasant, kind, cool, refreshing, comfortable. ‘Olu is used in the name of a street in Waikīkī called Kai‘olu Street (cool sea).

 
‘olua. pronoun. You (2 people). Used when refering to 2 people, one of them being the person being spoken to. Compare with ‘oe (you, one person), ‘oukou (you, 3 or more people).
   For a chart of the personal pronouns, see palapala kuhikuhi o nā paniinoa pilikino.

 
‘olu‘olu. noun, stative verb. Pleasant, kind, nice, congenial, cool, comfortable, gracious, please.

 
‘oma. noun. Oven, stove, baking pan. Compare with imu (ground oven), kapuahi (stove).

‘oma. transitive verb. To roast, bake. Compare with kālua (bake), puhi (bake).

‘oma. stative verb. Roasted, baked.

 
‘ōma‘ima‘i. stative verb. Chronic sickness. Compare with ma‘i (sick).

 
‘ōma‘oma‘o. stative verb. Green.
   See the ‘ōma‘oma‘o entry in the Color Category.

 
‘oma wiki. noun. Microwave oven. Literally "quick oven." Also see ‘oma, wikiwiki (reduplicative version of wiki).

 
‘ōmole. noun. Bottle, jug.

 
ona. possessive. His, her, hers. O-class, zero possessive.

 
‘ona. noun. Intoxication.

‘ona. stative verb. Drunk, intoxicating, intoxicated.

 
one. noun. Sand.

 
‘oni‘oni. intransitive verb. To move.

 
‘onipa‘a. noun. Steadfast, immovable, resolute. Literally "fixed movement." Also see ‘oni‘oni (reduplication of ‘oni), pa‘a.

   
ono. noun. Large mackerel type fish. Also called a "wahoo" and it looks like the fish used in the Wahoo's Fish Taco logo shown above. Wahoo is not a Hawaiian word.
   See the ono entry in the Sea Life Category.

ono. number. Six, sixth. Also see ‘aono, ‘eono.

 
‘ono. transitive verb. Delicious, tasty. The picture above shows the Ono Hawaiian Foods restaurant at 726 Kapahulu Ave in Honolulu. They have no website that I know of, but you can get more information by googling "Ono Hawaiian Foods" or by phone at (808) 737-2275.

 
‘ō‘ō. noun. Digging stick, spade. Today the ‘ō‘ō digging stick is usually used in groundbreaking ceremonies in Hawai‘i instead of a shovel.

 
‘ōpae. noun. Shrimp.
   See the ‘ōpae entry in the Sea Life Category.
   See the ‘ōpae entry in the Food & Drink Category.

  
‘ōpala. noun. Trash, rubbish, garbage. A picture of a trash can is shown above. Mahalo (thanks) is written on many trash receptacles to thank people for throwing away their trash in the receptacle, but some people who visit Hawai‘i mistakenly believe that mahalo is the word for trash or garbage. This confussion may be hard to believe, since the word mahalo for thanks is so commonly used, but I have personally experienced this misunderstanding from visitors.

 
‘ōpe‘ape‘a. noun. Bat.
   See the ‘ōpe‘ape‘a entry in the Animals Category.

 
‘ōpelu. noun. Mackeral scad.
   See the ‘ōpelu entry in the Sea Life Category.

 
‘ōpihi. noun. Limpet. A shellfish. Also for, to strike or pry ‘ōpihi, see ku‘i ‘ōpihi.
   See the ‘ōpihi entry in the Sea Life Category.
   See the ‘ōpihi entry in the Food & Drink Category.

 
‘ōpiopio, ‘ōpio. noun. Youth, youngster, juvenile.
   See the ‘ōpiopio entry in the Family & Relationships Category.

‘ōpiopio, ‘ōpio. stative verb. Young.

 
‘ōpū. noun. Stomach, belly, abdomen, tripe.

 
‘ōpū pipi. noun. Beef tripe, beef tripe stew. Also see ‘ōpū, pipi.
   See the ‘ōpū pipi entry in the Food & Drink Category.

 
‘ōpū pua‘a. noun. Pig tripe, pig tripe stew. Also see ‘ōpū, pua‘a.
   See the ‘ōpū pua‘a entry in the Food & Drink Category.

 
o‘u. possessive. My, mine. O-class, zero possessive.

 
‘oukou. pronoun. You (3 or more people). Used when refering to three or more people, one of them being the person spoken to. Compare with ‘oe (you, one person), ‘olua (you, 2 people).
    For a chart of the personal pronouns, see palapala kuhikuhi o nā paniinoa pilikino.

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