taboo. not a Hawaiian word. Forbidden, prohibited. "Taboo" was derived from various Polynesian words, like the Tongan word "tapu", the Fijian word "tabu" and even the Hawaiian "kapu or tapu" The Hawaiian equivalent and cognate of "tapu" and "tabu" is "kapu." See kapu.

 
tiki. not a Hawaiian word. A carved image. This is not a Hawaiian word, but comes from another part of Polynesia. The Hawaiian version and cognate of the word tiki is "ki‘i." See ki‘i.

 
tita. noun. Sister. Transliterated from the English "sister."

  
tūtū. noun. Grandmother, any female relative or acquaintance of the grandparent's generation. This term can also be used for the male gender, but in practice it is used almost excessively for women only, women of a grandmother's generation and is usually used as a term of affection. If it is used for "grandfather", it is usually modified with kāne, as in tūtū kāne. Frank Delima did a very funny TV commercial for the "The Cab" in which he plays on the word tūtū. You can see the commercial on the homepage of "The Cab" company website. The Cab company took the commercial off of their homepage and I don't know where else it can be found. It is a must see! They really should put it on youtube. Contrast with tūtū kāne (grandfather).

 
tūtū kāne. noun. Grandfather, any male relative or acquaintance of the grandparent's generation. Contrast with tūtū (grandmother). Also see kāne.

 
ū. noun. Breast, teat, udder. I have a good way to remember this word. Every time I see a breast or a pair of breasts, they generally come in pairs, I think to myself Ū! and I get a smile on my face because I like the boobs. Is that wrong? Does that make me a bad person?

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

  
ua. noun, intransitive verb. Rain; to rain, rainy.
ua. Common particle preceeding verbs. Completed action. Common particle preceeding verbs and denoting completed action. The Hawai‘i State seal shows the state motto "Ua mau ke ea o ka ‘āina i ka pono" which means "The life of the land is perpetuated in righteousness." "Mau" means "perpetual" and "ua mau" in this case means "perpetuated."

 
uahi, uwahi. noun. Smoke, dust, spray.
uahi, uwahi. stative verb. Smoked.

 
uaki. noun. Watch, clock. Transliterated from English "watch."

 
‘uala, ‘uwala. noun. Sweet potato. ‘Uwala, showing a w in the word is a common alternative spelling and perhaps the more legitimate spelling. I used to think the w was just a w-glide spelled in the word, but the w came about in a different way than most w-glides. I have been told that the word ‘uwala was derived from the Sāmoan word umala for the sweet potato. Somehow the m became a w. The sweet potato originaly came to Hawai‘i from South America, probably through Sāmoa or some Polynesian place south of Hawai‘i. It is now thought that Polynesian explorers encountered South America and acquired the sweet potato through trade, although their contact with South America was somewhat limited. ‘Uala and ‘uwala are pronounced exactly the same. The picture above shows the sign at the entrance of Pu‘u‘ualaka‘a (rolling sweet potato) State Park.

 
‘uala kahiki. noun. The white or Irish potato. Literally "foreigh sweet potato." Of course the Irish potato is not a sweet potato, the Hawaiians were simply comparing the Irish potato to the only potato that they had previously known. Also see kahiki, ‘uala.

Ua mau ke ea o ka ‘āina i ka pono. Hawai‘i state motto. "The life of the land is perpetuated in righteousness." This phrase was spoken by King Kamehameha III in a 1843 address after sovereignty was returned back to The Kingdom of Hawai‘i. Hawai‘i was annexed by British captain Lord George Paulet for about five months. After London learned of the captain's actions, sovereignty was returned back to the King by Admiral Richard Darton Thomas. It became the motto of the kingdom and latter was also adopted by the State of Hawai‘i. Click any individual word of the following motto to see the glossary entry of that word: Ua mau ke ea o ka ‘āina i ka pono. Below is a chart showing the meaning of each word and you can see by the chart why Hawaiian grammar can be difficult for English speakers. I am still struggling with it. An English translation of Hawaiian sentences usually does not translate, simply and easily, from left to right. Also, there is no Hawaiian word for "is", but it is represented in the aspect marker ua.

 
uauahi. noun. Vog, smog, haze.
uauahi. stative verb. Smoky, hazy.

 
uē, uwē. noun, intransitive verb. To cry, weep, lament, mourn. Uwē is an alternative spelling with the w-glide spelled in the word. With or without the w-glide spelled in the word, both versions are pronounced exactly the same.

 
uea. noun. Wire. Tranliterated from the English "wire."

 
uhi. noun. Yam (Dioscorea Alata). The yam from southeast Asia. A climber with large underground tubers. The uhi should not be confused with the sweet potato (‘uala).

 
‘ūhini. noun. Grasshopper, locust.

 
u‘i. satitive verb. Youthful beauty, youthfully handsome, youthfully pretty, youthfully beautiful. Similar to the word nani, but u‘i is more narrowly applied to young people and not things. Compare with nani (pretty), nohea (pretty).

 
uila, uwila. noun, stative verb. Lightning, electricity; electric. Sometimes uila is spelled uwila with the w-glide spelled in the word, but as always, with or without the w-glide spelled it the word both versions are pronounced exactly the same. Contrast with hekili (thunder).

 
uka. locative noun. Inland, upland, towards the mountain.

 
ukana. noun. Baggage, luggage, freight, cargo.

 
uku. noun, intransitive verb. Pay, payment, wages, reward.

 
‘uku. noun. Louse, flea.

 
‘ukulele. noun. A small, guitarlike musical instrument. Literally "leaping flea." Also see lele, ‘uku.

 
ula. noun. Loster. The picture above shows a spiny lobster.

 
‘ula. intransitive verb. Red, brown (as the skin of Hawaiians). There is a town on the windward side of O‘ahu that is called Hau‘ula which means "red hau."

 
‘ula‘ula. intransitive verb. Red, brown (as the skin of Hawaiians). Reduplication of ‘ula. The picture above shows Mao's "Little Red Book." Keep a copy of this on your nightstand in case you can't fall asleep at night, reading it will put you straight to sleep.

 
ule. noun. Penis.

 
uliuli. stative verb. Any dark color. Any dark color, such as green, brown, blue or black. Examples are, the deep blue of the ocean, the dark green of vegetation or the dark color of the black clouds.

  
‘ulī‘ulī. noun, intransitive verb. A gourd rattle; to rattle. A gourd rattle containing seeds with feathers on the top, used for the hula ‘ulī‘ulī.

 
ulu. noun. Grove.
ulu. intransitive verb. To grow.

 
‘ulu. noun. Breadfruit tree and its fruit.

 
ulu manu. noun. Flock of birds. Also see manu, ulu.

 
ulu moku. noun. Fleet, collection of ships. Also see moku, ulu.

 
ulu niu. noun. Coconut grove. Also see niu, ulu.

 
uluna. noun. pillow, cushion.

 
‘umeke. noun. Bowl, calabash, circular vessal of wood or gourd.

 
‘umi. number. Ten, tenth.

 
‘umi‘umi. noun. Beard, mustache, goatee, whiskers.

 
‘upena. noun. Fishing net, net, web.

 
‘u‘uku. statve verb. Tiny, small. Smaller than iki and li‘i. Compare with iki, li‘i.

 
uwē, uē. noun, intransitive verb. To cry, weep, lament, mourn. Uē is an alternative spelling without the w-glide spelled in the word. With or without the w-glide spelled in the word, both versions are pronounced exactly the same.

Uwē ka lani, ola ka honua. When the heavens weep, the earth lives. This is the interpretation given by the Honolulu Board of Water Supply on its website. In Mary Kawena Pukui's book ‘Ōleleo No‘eau, her interpretation is "When the sky weeps, the earth lives" meaning "When it rains the earth revives." Uwē means "weep" and has the w-glide spelled in the word. Since the w is a w-glide, it is pronounced as a w sound and not as a soft v sound. Although a soft v sound is an acceptable alternative pronunciation for many if not most w(s) in Hawaiian words, w-glides are always pronounced as a w-sound. Uwē can also be spelled without the w-glide as uē, but both spellings are pronounced exactly the same. The following has links to the individual words used in the phrase: Uwē ka lani, ola ka honua.

 

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