taboo. not a Hawaiian word. Forbidden, prohibited. Taboo is not a Hawaiian word, but has all the same meanings as the Hawaiian word kapu. Taboo was an early spelling interpretation by Westerners of various words, like the Tongan word "tapu" the Fijian word "tabu" and the Hawaiian "kapu." The Hawaiian equivalent and cognate of "tapu" and "tabu" is "kapu." See kapu.

 
tiki. not a Hawaiian word. A carved image, statue. This is not a Hawaiian word, but comes from another part of Polynesia (Polenekia), perhaps most notably, from New Zealand. The Hawaiian version and cognate of the word tiki is "ki‘i." See ki‘i.

 
tita. noun. Sister. Transliterated from the English "sister."
   See the tita entry in the Family & Relationships Category.

  
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. Frank Delima did a few commercials for The Cab company, but the commercial I like most is of Delima playing the three tutus and the taxi driver. He is helping the large ladies into the back of the cab by nicely shoving them in. At the end of the commercial he says "We have service, island wide", a subtle reference to the girth of the ladies. Contrast with tūtū kāne (grandfather).
   See the tūtū entry in the Family & Relationships Category.

 
tūtū kāne. noun. Grandfather, any male relative or acquaintance of the grandparent's generation. Contrast and compare with tūtū (grandmother). Also see kāne.
   See the tūtū kāne entry in the Family & Relationships Category.

 
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.
   See the ‘uala entry in the Food & Drink Category.
   See the ‘uala entry in the Plants Category.

 
‘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.
   See the ‘uala kahiki entry in the Food & Drink Category.
   See the ‘uala kahiki entry in the Plants Category.

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.
   See the Ua mau ke ea o ka ‘āina i ka pono entry in the Phrase Category.

 
uauahi. noun. Vog, smog, haze.

uauahi. stative verb. Smoky, hazy.

 
uē, uwē. noun. Lamentation, weeping.

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. Also see uwē.

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

 
‘uhane. noun. Spirit, soul, ghost.

 
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).
   See the uhi entry in the Food & Drink Category.
   See the uhi entry in the Plants Category.

 
‘ūhini. noun. Grasshopper, locust.
   See the ‘ūhini entry in the Animals Category.

 
u‘i. stative 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.
   See the ‘uku entry in the Animals Category.

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

 
ula. noun. Loster. The picture above shows a spiny lobster.
   See the ula entry in the Sea Life Category.
   See the ula entry in the Food & Drink Category.

 
‘ula. intransitive verb. Red, brown (as the skin of Hawaiians). ‘Ula is used in the place names Hau‘ula (red hau) and Keawa‘ula (the red harbor). ‘Ula is also used in the name of a street in Waikīkī called Lau‘ula Street (red leaf).
   See the ‘ula entry in the Color Category.

 
ulana. transitive verb. To weave, plait, braid, knit.

 
‘ula‘ula. intransitive verb. Red, brown (as the skin of Hawaiians). Reduplication of ‘ula. The picture above shows Mao's "Little Red Book." Mao was a great mass-murderer, but no great philosopher, he was a giant piece of kūkae pilau. Keep a copy of ke puke ‘ula li‘i on your nightstand in case you can't fall asleep at night, Mao's words will put you straight to sleep with all his talk about the proletariat.
   See the ‘ula‘ula entry in the Color Category.

 
ule. noun. Penis. Contrast with kohe (vagina).

 
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.
   See the uliuli entry in the Color Category.

  
‘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 is used in the name of a street in Waikīkī called Uluniu Avenue (coconut grove).

ulu. noun. Assemblage, collection, flock.

ulu. intransitive verb. To grow.

ulu. noun. Growth.

 
‘ulu. noun. Breadfruit tree and its fruit.
   See the ‘ulu entry in the Food & Drink Category.
   See the ‘ulu entry in the Plants Category.

 
ulu lā‘au. noun. Forest, grove of trees. Compare with lā‘au, ulu.

 
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.
   See the ‘umi entry in the Numbers Category.

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

 
‘ūpā. noun. Scissors. Scissors, but also any instrument that opens and shuts such as tongs, shears.

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

 
‘u‘uku. stative 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. phrase. 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.
   See the Uwē ka lani, ola ka honua entry in the Phrase Category.

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