Hawaiian/Lesson 2

This lesson will focus on broadening your vocabulary, allowing you to say short sentences and understanding the structure of Hawaiian.

Vocabulary

Nouns

ka pua -flower

ke kula -school

ka ‘ohana -family

ka lani -heaven/sky

ke kanaka -man

ke aloha -love

ka wahine -woman

ka honua -earth

ka makua -parent

ka wai -water

ke keiki -child

ka haumana -student

Adjectives

li‘ili‘i -little

nui -big

nani -pretty

pupuka -ugly

hau‘oli -happy

kaumaha -sad

māluhiluhi -tired

ma‘i -sick

Verbs

hele -go

‘ai -eat

hele mai -come

moe -sleep

hana -work

holo -run

Review

As you have learned in lesson 1, "Aia" is placed at the beginning of a sentence to show the subject's location (when or where).

    ex) Aia ka pua ma ke kula.
        (location) The flower (is) at the school.

    -Notice how there is no word for "to be" verbs in Hawaiian; it all depends on the position of
     a word in the sentence.
    ex) Ka pua li‘ili‘i (the little flower) is a part of a sentence, while
        Li‘ili‘i ka pua. (The flower is little) demonstrates a whole sentence.
    -Notice how "ka pua" went from the beginning to the end.

Next, let's look at, "Nani ke keiki". This means, the girl is beautiful, but literally translates to, "Beautiful the girl" because the adjective is in front. For future references, note that the adjective comes after the noun it describes.

Ke vs. Ka

In Hawaiian, there are two ways to express the definite article (the). Ka is used most of the time, before every word not starting with k, e, a, or o.

Pronouns

Wau or au translates as I, ‘oe means you (singular), and ‘o ia means he, she or it.

Noun Announcers

Noun announcers basically come before a noun in a sentence, announcing that it is coming. Every noun is preceded by a noun announcer, most of the time, it being "ka" or "ke". Along with ka and ke, other announcers include 'o, kēia (this), kēlā (that), ko'u (my), kou (your), and kona (his/her).

Practice Phrases

Translate into Hawaiian for practice:

ʻŌlelo Pelekane		ʻŌlelo Hawaiʻi
The good flower		Ka pua maika'i
I go.		Hele au.
The pretty child runs.		Holo ke keiki nani.
The sick parent		Ka makua ma'i
The woman is tired.		Mālohilohi ka wahine.