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pā. noun. Plate, dish.
pā. noun, intransitive verb. Fence, yard.
pā. stative verb. To blow (as the wind).
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pa‘a. noun, stative verb. Firm, solid, hard, stuck, fixed, secure, closed; to hold. A common and broadly used loa‘a-type word; many meanings depending on qualifying words. The picture above right is an aerial photo of the Kapa‘a Quarry with the Ko‘olau mountains in the background. This Kapa‘a means "the solid" or "the closing."
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pa‘ahao. noun. Prisoner. Also see hao, pa‘a.![]()
pa‘ahao. intransitive verb. To be imprisoned.
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pa‘akai. noun. Salt. Pa‘akai is comprised of two words "pa‘a" and "kai." Literally "firm sea or solid sea."
See the pa‘akai entry in the Food & Drink Category.
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pā‘ani transitive verb. To play.
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pae. noun. Cluster, row, group. Compare with ‘āhui (cluster), po‘e (group).
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pae moku. noun. Group of islands, archipelago. Literally "cluster [of] islands." Also see moku, pae.
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paha. particle. Maybe, perhaps.
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pāhoehoe. noun. Smooth unbroken type of lava. One of the three basic types of lava. The other two being ‘a‘ā and pillow lava. Contrast with ‘a‘ā (rough lava).
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pahu. noun. Drum, box, cask, tank.![]()
pahu. noun. Stake, staff, post, stick.![]()
pahu. transitive verb. To push, shove.
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pahū. intransitive verb. To explode, burst.
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pahu hau. noun. Refrigerator, ice box. Literally "ice (hau) box (pahu)." Also see hau, pahu.
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pahu i‘a. noun. Aquarium, fish tank. Literally "fish tank." Also see i‘a, pahu. For aquarium in the sense of a institution or exhibition building, see hale hō‘ike‘ike i‘a.
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pahu meli. noun. Beehive. Also see pahu, meli.
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pahupa‘iki‘i. noun. Camera. Literally "box (pahu) [for] printing (pa‘i) pictures (ki‘i)." Also see ki‘i, pahu, pa‘i.
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pahu wai. noun. Water tank, water barrel. Also see pahu, wai. Shown above is the Dole Cannery water tank. The water tank was built in 1927 and was dismantled in 1997. The tank held one hundred thousand gallons of water. Lit at night (whom among us has not been lit at night), it could be seen from Waikīkī. I miss the sight of this famous landmark. If you want to know more about the pineapple shaped water tank, here is an article from starbulletin.com. The Dole cannery was located in Iwilei and is currently a retail and office space complex, cleverly called the Dole Cannery. Iwilei is very often mispronounced as if it was spelled "Iwalei." The second i in Iwilei is often mispronounced as if it was an a and I just hate that.
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pa‘i. transitive verb. Print, publish.![]()
pa‘i. transitive verb. To slap, clap.
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pa‘i ‘ai. noun. Cooked and pounded, undiluted taro (kalo). It is also called "hard poi." Contrast with poi.
See the pa‘i a‘i entry in the Food & Drink Category.
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pai‘ea. noun. An edible crab. This crab (pāpa‘i) lives on and runs over shore rocks with the ‘a‘ama. A figurative term for a "star athlete." Pai‘ea was one of the names of Kamehameha I, because as a warrior he was a great athlete. Compared with ‘a‘ama (a type of crab).
See the pai‘ea entry in the Sea Life Category.
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paikikala. noun. Bicycle. Transliterated from English "bicycle" The picture above shows the type of bike rack that is installed all around Honolulu. Compare with ka‘a hehi wāwae.
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paikiki. noun. Fashion, style. Transliterated from English "fashion?"
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pā‘ina. noun. Meal, dinner, small party with dinner. Compare and contrast with lū‘au, ‘aha‘āina.![]()
pā‘ina. intransitive verb. To eat a pā‘ina.
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paipika. noun. Pizza, pizza pie. From the Māmaka Kaiao dictionary. Transliterated from English "pizza pie." Or just "pika" if you want to say just "pizza."
See the paipika entry in the Food & Drink Category.
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paka. noun. Tobacco.
See the paka entry in the Plants Category.![]()
paka. noun. Butter. Transliterated from English "butter." Compare with waiūpaka.
See the paka entry in the Food & Drink Category.
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pākahi. transitive verb. One by one, one at a time, once, individually.
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pakalōlō. noun. Marijuana. Literally "numbing tobacco." Also see lōlō, paka.
See the pakalōlō entry in the Plants Category.
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pākaukau. noun. Table, counter, desk.
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Pākē. place name, stative verb. China, Chinese. The picture above shows a statue of the Chinese philosopher Confucius.
See the Pākē entry in the Non-Hawaiian Place Names Category.
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pakele. transitive verb. To escape.
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Pākīpika. place name, stative verb. Pacific. Transliterated from English "Pacific."
See the Pākīpika entry in the Non-Hawaiian Place Names Category.
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palai. transitive verb. To fry, fried. Above is an image from www.kfchawaii.com. Kentucky Fried Chicken = Moa Palai Kenekuke.
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palani. noun. A surgeonfish. A fish famous for its strong odor.
See the palani entry in the Sea Life Category.![]()
Palani. (Capitalized) place name, noun, stative verb. France, Frenchman; French. Transliterated from English.
See the Palani entry in the Non-Hawaiian Place Names Category.
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palaoa. noun. Sperm whale. Contrast with koholā (humpbacked whale).
See the palaoa entry in the Sea Life Category.![]()
palaoa. noun. Flour, bread, wheat. Transliterated for English "bread." Compare with pelena (bread).
See the palaoa entry in the Food & Drink Category.
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palaoa palai. noun. Pancake. Literally "fried flour." Also see palai, palaoa.
See the palaoa palai entry in the Food & Drink Category.
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palapala. noun. Document of any kind, bill, deed, warrent, certificate, policy, letter (written message), manuscript, writing of any kind.![]()
palapala. transitive verb. To write, send a written message.
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palapala‘āina. noun. Map. Literally "land (‘āina) document (palapala)." Also see ‘āina, palapala.
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palapala kuhikuhi. noun. Chart.
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palapala kuhikuhi o nā paniinoa pilikino. Chart of the personal pronouns = Chart (palapala kulikuli) + of (o) + the (pluralized form) (nā) + personal (pilikino) + pronoun (paniinoa). Also see palapala kuhikuhi, paniinoa, pilikino, nā, o. The chart below illustrates the personal pronouns. The Hawaiian personal pronouns are more numerous, so in that respect they many be more complicated, however they are more specific about who (or is it whom?) is being addressed. For instance, there are four versions of we. You can rollover the image to access each pronoun.
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palaunu. stative verb. Brown. Transliterated from the English "brown." This word is not in the PE Hawaiian Dictionary, but is in the Māmaka Kaiao dictionary. The image above begs the question, "What can palauna do for you?"
See the palaunu entry in the Color Category.
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pālule. noun. Shirt, blouse. Transliterated from English.
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palupalu. stative verb. Soft, tender, supple.
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pā mea ‘ai. noun. Plate lunch. The plate lunch is unique and intrinsic to modern Hawaiian culture and cuisine. The typical plate lunch, as shown above, consists of two scoops of rice, a scoop of macaroni salad and a serving of protein, as beef, chicken, pork or seafood. Compare with ‘ai, mea, pā.
See the pā mea ‘ai entry in the Food & Drink Category.
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panakō. noun. Bank (financial institution). Transliterated from English "bank."
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pane. noun. Answer, response, reply. Contrast with nīnau (question).![]()
pane. transitive verb. To answer.
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pani. transitive verb. To close, to shut.
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paniinoa. noun. Pronoun. Literally "name substitute." Also see inoa (name).
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paniolo. noun. Cowboy.![]()
Paniolo. (Capitalized) noun, place name, stative verb. Spaniard, Spain; Spanish. Transliterated from Spanish "español."
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papa. noun. Flat surface, plain, reef, floor.![]()
papa. noun. Class (meeting), class (social rank).![]()
papa. noun. Board, lumber.
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pāpā. noun. Papa, father, dad. From English "papa."
See the pāpā entry in the Family & Relationships Category.![]()
Pāpā. (Capitalized) proper noun. Mythical ancestor of the Hawaiians. Pāpā is also called "earth mother" and was married to Wākea who was also called "sky father." Contrast with Wākea.
See the Pāpā entry in the Gods, Demigods and Mythical Beings Category.
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papa‘ele‘ele. noun. Blackboard. Also see ‘ele‘ele, papa.
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papahe‘enalu. noun. Surfboard. Also see he‘e, nalu, papa.
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pāpa‘i. noun. General name for various kinds of crab.
See the pāpa‘i entry in the Sea Life Category.
See the pāpa‘i entry in the Food & Drink Category.
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Papa Ola. noun. Board of Health. Also see ola, papa.
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pau. stative verb. Finished, done, completed, consumed, destroyed.
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pa‘ū. stative verb. Moist, damp, moldy.
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pā‘ū. noun. Woman's skirt, sarong, skirt worn by women horseback riders.![]()
pā‘ū. noun. A figurative, poetic name for the sea.
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pau hana. Finished work. The time after work has concluded, a period of time considered a time to relax, a time to eat and drink. Many restaurants and bars in Hawai‘i have a "Pau Hana Time", the equivalent of "Happy Hour", so for this meaning it is more pidgin than Hawaiian.
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