| Hawaiian word | English meaning |
|---|---|
| ahi | fire |
| ahiahi | evening |
| akamai | smart, clever, expert |
| alakaʻi | to lead, guide, direct |
| alanui | street, road, highway |
| alapiʻi | stairs |
| alaula | light of early dawn, sunset glow |
| alelo | tongue |
| aliʻi | chief |
| alo | face |
| aloha | love, hello, goodbye |
| anuanu | cold, chilly |
| ānuenue | rainbow |
| ao | light, dawn, cloud |
| apolima | bracelet |
| awāwa | valley, gulch, ravine |
| hae | flag |
| hāhālua | manta ray |
| haʻahaʻa | humble, modest, meek |
| haʻaheo | proud |
| hāʻawi | to give, grant |
| haʻi | to tell, declare; to break or snap |
| haʻiʻōlelo | speech, address, lecture |
| hāiki | narrow, pinched |
| hainakā | handkerchief, napkin |
| hālau | long house, as for canoes or hula instruction; meeting house |
| hālāwai | meeting; to meet |
| hale | house, building |
| halihali | to transport, transmit |
| hāliʻi | a covering; to spread |
| hana | work, to work |
| hānai | feed, raise, adopt |
| hānau | to give birth; born |
| hanohano | glorious, magnificent, noble |
| hāpai | to carry, lift, elevate; pregnant |
| hauʻoli | happy |
| hāwanawana | to whisper, whispering |
| heʻe | to slide, octopus |
| heʻe nalu | to surf |
| heiau | Hawaiian temple |
| helu | number, to count |
| heluhelu | to read |
| hema | left, south |
| hemo | loose, separated, untied |
| hiamoe | sleep; to sleep |
| hiapo | first-born child |
| hīhīmanu | sting ray |
| hikina | east |
| hīnaʻi | basket, container |
| hipa | sheep |
| hoahānau | cousin |
| hoaloha | friend, beloved companion |
| hōʻailona | sign |
| hōʻike | to show, exhibit |
| hoʻokipa | to entertain, to greet |
| hoʻolohe | to hear, obey |
| hoʻomākeʻaka | funny |
| hoʻomoana | to camp |
| hoihoi | pleased, interesting |
| hōkū | star |
| hola | hour |
| holo | to run, sail, ride, go |
| holoholo | to go for a walk, ride, or sail |
| holoi | to wash, clean, erase |
| honi | to kiss, to smell; a kiss, a scent |
| honua | earth |
| houpo | diaphragm, chest |
| hua | fruit, egg, seed |
| huaʻōlelo | word |
| huakaʻi | trip, voyage, journey |
| hūhū | angry |
| huʻihuʻi | cold, numbing, tingling |
| hui | club, association; to join, unite |
| hulali | shining, glittering, glossy |
| huli | to search, look for, to turn |
| hulihia | overturned, a complete change |
| hulu | feather, quill, plumage |
| ʻāhinahina | gray, silver |
| ʻahu | cape |
| ʻaʻaka | surly, cranky, irritable |
| ʻaikalima | ice cream |
| ʻāina | land |
| ʻakaʻaka | to laugh; laughter, merriment |
| ʻākala | pink |
| ʻākau | right, north |
| ʻala | fragrant, sweet-smelling |
| ʻalani | orange |
| ʻalemanaka | calendar, almanac |
| ʻanakala | uncle |
| ʻanakē | aunty |
| ʻaoʻao | page |
| ʻauʻau | swim, bathe |
| ʻauinalā | afternoon |
| ʻawaʻawa | bitter, sour, tart |
| ʻehu | spray, foam, mist |
| ʻeke | bag |
| ʻeleʻele | black |
| ʻelelū | cockroach |
| ʻelepani | elephant |
| ʻeleweka | elevator |
| ʻena | red-hot, glowing |
| ʻike | to see, know, feel, experience |
| ʻili | skin |
| ʻīlio | dog |
| ʻīlioholoikauaua | Hawaiian monk seal |
| ʻimi | to search, look for |
| ʻio | Hawaiian hawk |
| ʻiole | rat |
| ʻō | fork |
| ʻohana | family, relative, kin group |
| ʻōlelo | language, speech, word |
| ʻōlino | bright, brilliant, dazzling |
| ʻolokaʻa | to roll |
| ʻōmaʻomaʻo | green |
| ʻōmole | bottle |
| ʻōpala | trash |
| ʻōpio | youth, juvenile, junior |
| ʻōpū | belly, stomach |
| ʻuala | sweet potato |
| ʻulaʻula | red |
| ʻūpā | scissors, shears, any instrument that opens and shuts |
| iho | to go down, descend |
| ihu | nose |
| iʻa | fish |
| inoa | name |
| inu | to drink |
| kahakai | beach |
| kāhea | to call, cry out |
| kahiko | old, ancient |
| kahua | foundation, base, site |
| kaʻa | car |
| kaʻa ʻōhua | bus |
| kaʻaahi | train, railroad |
| kaʻawale | separate, free, different, apart |
| kaka | to rinse, clean |
| kakā | duck; to quack |
| kakahiaka | morning |
| kākau | to write |
| kākoʻo | to uphold, support, favor |
| kalaiwa | to drive |
| kalaka | truck |
| kalo | taro |
| kamahaʻo | wonderful, astonishing, marvelous |
| kāmaʻa | shoe, sandal |
| kamepiula | computer |
| kānāwai | law, code, rule, statute |
| kāne | man, husband |
| kani | sound |
| kao | goat |
| kaomi | to press down, squeeze with downward pressure |
| kapa | also called Tapa, a fabric as made from wauke bark |
| kapalili | fluttering, quivering as a leaf |
| kāpena | captain |
| kauhale | group of houses comprising a Hawaiian home |
| kaulana | famous |
| kaumaha | sad, heavy |
| kauoha | order, command, demand |
| kaupoku | roof, ceiling |
| kāwele | to dust, or wipe with a cloth |
| keiki | child |
| kekona | second |
| kelepona | telephone |
| kena | quenched, satisfied |
| kiaʻi | guard, watchman, caretaker |
| kīʻaha | cup, glass |
| kiʻi | image, picture; to fetch, get |
| kiʻiʻoniʻoni | movie |
| kika | tiger |
| kīkala | hips |
| kikokiko | spotted; to type |
| kilape | giraffe |
| kiloi | to throw, throw away, discard |
| kini | can |
| kinipōpō | ball |
| kipi | rebellion, revolt, to rebel |
| koa | brave; warrior; the largest of native forest trees |
| koholā | whale |
| kōkua | help, aid, assistance, relief |
| kolo | to creep, crawl, move along |
| komo | to enter |
| komohana | west |
| kope | coffee |
| kū | stand, upright, stop |
| kua | back |
| kuahiwi | mountain |
| kūʻai | to buy, barter, sell |
| kuʻi | to pound, punch, strike |
| kūʻokoʻa | independence, liberty, freedom |
| kukui | candlenut, light |
| kula | school, plain |
| kula pepeiao | earrings |
| kuleana | responsibility, right, privilege |
| kumu | teacher, foundation, source |
| kumulaʻau | tree |
| kupuna | grandparent, ancestor |
| lā | sun, day |
| laha | broadly circulated, spread out |
| lāhui | nation, race, tribe, people |
| lalo | down, low, under |
| lana | floating, buoyant |
| lanakila | victory, triumph |
| lau | leaf |
| laulā | broad, wide, liberal |
| lauoho | hair |
| lawaiʻa | fisherman; to fish |
| leʻaleʻa | to have a good time, fun, amusement |
| lei | garland |
| lekauila | |
| leki | tape |
| lele | to fly, to jump |
| lemi | lemon |
| leo | voice |
| lepo | dirt, earth, ground |
| lima | arm, hand |
| limahana | laborer, worker, employee |
| limu | seaweed, underwater plants |
| lio | horse |
| loʻi | irrigated terrace, especially for taro |
| lōʻihi | length, long, tall |
| lole | clothes |
| loli | to change, alter, influence |
| luna | high, upper, above |
| lupe | kite |
| mahiʻai | farmer; to cultivate land, farm |
| mahina | moon, month |
| maʻi | sickness, illness, disease |
| māʻona | full after eating |
| maka | eyes |
| makaaniani | glasses |
| mākaʻi | policeman, guard; to police |
| mākaʻikaʻi | to visit the sights |
| makamae | precious, of great value, highly prized |
| makani | wind |
| mākeke | market |
| mākua | parent |
| makuahine | mother |
| makuakāne | father |
| māla | garden, plantation, patch |
| mālama | to take care of, tend, preserve |
| mālamalama | light of knowledge |
| malihini | stranger, foreigner, tourist |
| mamalu | umbrella |
| manaʻo | thought, idea, belief, opinion |
| manakō | mango |
| manō | shark |
| manu | bird |
| maopopo | to understand, recognize, realize |
| mauʻu | grass |
| mauna | mountain, mountainous region |
| meainu | drink, beverage |
| meakanu | plant |
| mehameha | loneliness, solitariness |
| mele | song |
| melemele | yellow |
| mikiʻao | nail |
| minoʻaka | smile; to smile |
| minuke | minute |
| moa | chicken |
| moana | ocean |
| moeʻuhane | dream; to dream |
| moena | mat, bed, resting place |
| mōʻī | monarch, sovereign, queen, king |
| moʻo | lizard, water spirit/guardian |
| moʻokūʻauhau | genealogy |
| moʻolelo | story, tale, myth, history, tradition |
| moʻopuna | grandchild |
| moku | island, boat |
| mokulele | airplane |
| momona | sweet, fat, fertile |
| muli | after, behind, younger |
| nahu | to bite |
| naʻauao | knowledge, wisdom, enlightened |
| naiʻa | dolphin |
| nalu | wave |
| nānā | to look at, observe |
| nanea | enjoyable, at ease, at leisure |
| niho | tooth |
| nīnau | question; to ask a question |
| niu | coconut |
| niuhi | man-eating shark |
| noe | mist, fog, spray from the rain |
| noho | chair, to sit |
| noʻeau | clever, skillful, wise |
| noʻonoʻo | thought, reflection, thinking |
| noi | to ask for something, request |
| nui | big |
| nūpepa | newspaper |
| ola | life, to live |
| oli | a chant; to chant |
| one | sand |
| pahu | box, drum; to push, shove |
| paʻa | firm, solid, secure, closed |
| pāʻani | to play |
| paʻi | to hit; to print as on a printer |
| pāʻina | party |
| pākahi | singly, once, one at a time |
| pākaukau | table |
| pākeke | |
| palapala | document, certificate |
| palaunu | brown |
| pale | to ward off, shield, defend, protect |
| paleʻili | shirt |
| pali | cliff, precipice |
| paniolo | cowboy |
| papahele | floor |
| pāpale | hat |
| pēʻahi | fan, wave |
| peku | a kick, to kick |
| pele | lava flow; name of volcanic goddess who creates new earth |
| peni | pen |
| penikala | pencil |
| pepa | paper |
| pēpē | baby |
| pepeiao | ear |
| piʻi | to climb, ascend, rise |
| pinao | dragonfly |
| pipi | cow |
| pō | night, darkness |
| poepoe | round |
| pōhai | circle, group, gathering |
| poho | chalk |
| poʻo | head |
| poʻohiwi | shoulder |
| poʻoʻōlelo | title |
| pōkiʻi | younger brother or sister, or closely related younger cousin |
| pōkole | short, brief |
| pola | bowl |
| polū | blue |
| poni | purple |
| pōpoki | cat |
| pua | flower |
| puaʻa | pig |
| pueo | owl |
| puʻu | hill, peak, cone |
| puʻuwai | heart |
| puka | hole, door |
| pukaaniani | window |
| puke | book |
| pule | week, to pray |
| pulelehua | butterfly |
| pūlumi | broom; to sweep |
| puna | spoon |
| pūnaewele | network, internet |
| punahele | favorite |
| ua | rain |
| uē | to cry, weep, lament, mourn |
| uhi | to cover; a covering, tattoo |
| uila | lightning, electricity |
| ulana | to plait, weave, braid |
| uliuli | any dark color including the deep blue of the sea, green of vegetation, black of clouds |
| ulu | breadfruit, growth, to grow |
| waha | mouth |
| wahine | woman, wife |
| waʻa | canoe |
| wai | water |
| waihona | closet, cabinet |
| walaʻau | to talk, speak, converse |
| wāwae | leg, foot |
| wehe | to open, untie, undo, loosen |
| wehewehe | to explain, define |
| wehi | decoration, adornment, ornament |
| wela | hot, burned |
| welo | to flutter, float, or stream, as in the wind |
| wena | glow, as of sunrise or fire |
| wikiō | video |
HOLIDAY CLOSURE | In observance of Veterans Day, all public libraries will be closed on Wednesday, November 11, 2026.
HOLIDAY CLOSURE | In observance of Thanksgiving Day, all public libraries will be closed on Thursday, November 26, 2026.
HOLIDAY CLOSURE | In observance of Christmas Day, all public libraries will be closed on Friday, December 25, 2026. Libraries that are normally closed on Mondays will be open for public service hours on Monday, December 21, and closed on Friday and Saturday, December 25 and 26.
HOLIDAY CLOSURE | In observance of New Year's Day, all public libraries will be closed on Friday, January 1, 2027. Libraries that are normally closed on Mondays will be open for public service hours on Monday, December 28, and closed on Friday and Saturday, January 1 & 2.