ʻaʻa	type of lava that is rough and jagged
ʻahi	yellowfin tuna
ʻahinahina	silversword plant with pointed silver leaves
ahu	stone cairns used to mark a trail; an altar or shrine
ahupuaʻa	traditional land division, usually in a wedge shape that extends from the mountains to the sea
aikane	friend
ʻaina	land
ʻakala	Hawaiian raspberry; also called a thimbleberry
akamai	clever
ʻakepa	endangered crested honeycreeper
aku	bonito (skipjack tuna)
akua	god, spirit, idol
ʻalae keʻokeʻo	endangered Hawaiian coot
ʻalala	Hawaiian crow
aliʻi	chief, royalty
aloha	the traditional greeting meaning, love, welcome, good-bye
aloha ʻaina	love of the land
ʻamaʻama	mullet
ʻamakihi	small, yellow-green bird; one of the more common native birds
anchialine pool	contains a mixture of seawater and freshwater
ʻaʻo	Newell's shearwater (a seabird)
ʻapapane	bright red native Hawaiian honeycreeper
ʻaumakua	protective deity, deified ancestor or trustworthy person
awa	milkfish
ʻawa	see kava
ʻawapuhi	wild ginger
azuki bean	prepared as a sweetened paste; added to shave ice or Japanese desserts
bentō	Japanese-style box lunch
broke da mout	delicious; literally 'broke the mouth'
crack seed	Chinese preserved fruit; a salty sweet and/or sour snack
ʻelepaio	a brownish native bird with a white rump, common to Oʻahu forests
fuku-bonsai	Hawaiian-style potted dwarf trees
goza	rolled-up straw mats used at the beach
grinds	food
hala	pandanus tree; the leaves are used in weaving mats and baskets
hale	house
hana	work; a bay, when used as a compound in place names
haole	Caucasian; literally, 'without breath'
hapa	portion or fragment; person of mixed blood
hau	indigenous lowland hibiscus tree whose wood is often used for making canoe outriggers (stabilizing arms that jut out from the hull)
Hawaiʻi nei	all the Hawaiian Islands taken as a group
heiau	ancient stone temple; a place of worship in Hawaii
hele on	to get moving
Hina	Polynesian goddess (wife of Ku, one of the four main gods)
holoholo	to walk, drive, or ramble around for pleasure
holua	sled or sled course
honu	turtle
hoʻolauleʻa	celebration, party
hoʻonanea	to pass the time in ease, peace and pleasure
huhu	angry
hui	group, organization
hukilau	fishing with a seine (a large net), involving a group of people who pull in the net
hula	Hawaiian dance form, either traditional or modern
hula ʻauana	modern hula, developed after the introduction of Western music
hula halau	hula school or troupe
hula kahiko	traditional hula
hula ohelo	a hula dance style in which the some of the dancer's motions imitate sexual intercourse
humuhumunukunukuapuaʻa	rectangular trigger-fish; Hawaii's unofficial state fish
ʻiʻiwi	a bright red Hawaiian honeycreeper with a curved, salmon-colored beak
ʻiliahi	Hawaiian sandalwood
ʻiliʻili	small stones
ʻilima	native plant, a ground cover with delicate yellow-orange flowers
ʻio	Hawaiian hawk
issei	first-generation Japanese immigrants
kahili	a feathered standard, used as a symbol of royalty
kahuna	knowledgeable person in any field; commonly a priest, healer, or sorcerer
kahuna nui	high priest
kaiseki ryori	multicourse chef's tasting menu
kamaʻaina	person born and raised in Hawaii; literally, 'child of the land'
kanaka	man, human being, person; also Native Hawaiian
Kanaloa	god of the underworld
kane/Kane	man; also the name of one of four main Hawaiian gods
kapa	see tapa
kapu	taboo, part of strict ancient Hawaiian social and religious system
kaukau wagon	lunch wagon
kaunaoa	a groundcover vine with yellow tendrils used to make lei
kava	a mildly narcotic drink (ʻawa in Hawaiian) made form the roots of Piper methysticum, a pepper shrub
keiki	child
ki	see ti
kiawe	a relative of the mesquite tree introduced to Hawaii in the 1820s, now very common; its branches are covered with sharp thorns
kiʻi	image, statue (often of a deity); also known as tiki in Tahitian
kilau	a stiff, weedy fern
kipuka	an area of land spared when lava flows around it; an oasis
ko	sugarcane
koʻa	fishing shrine
koa	native hardwood tree often used in making native crafts and canoes
kohola	whale
kokiʻo keʻokeʻo	native Hawaiian white hibiscus tree
kokua	help, cooperation
kona	leeward side; a leeward wind
konane	a strategy game similar to checkers
koʻolau	windward side
Ku	Polynesian god of many manifestations, including god of war, farming, and fishing (husband of Hina)
kukui	candlenut tree and the official state tree; its oily nuts were once burned in lamps
kumulipo	Native Hawaiian creation story or chant
kupuna	grandparent, elder
kuʻula	a stone idol placed at fishing sites, believed to attract fish
Laka	goddess of the hula
lama	native plant in the persimmon family
lanai	veranda
lau	leaf
lauhala	leaves of the hala plant used in weaving
lei	garland, usually of flowers, but also of leaves or shells
limu	seaweed
lio	horse
loko iʻa	fishpond
lolo	stupid, feeble-minded, crazy
lomi	to rub or soften
lomilomi	traditional Hawaiian massage
Lono	Polynesian god of harvest, agriculture, fertility and peace
loulu	native fan ferns
luakini	a type of heiau dedicated to the war god Ku and used for human sacrifices
luʻau	traditional Hawaiian feast
mahalo	thank you
mahele	to divide; usually refers to the missionary-initiated land divisions of 1848
mahimahi	dolphin fish or dornado, popular in restaurants; not related to the mammal dolphin
mai hoʻokaʻawale	leprosy; literally, 'the separating sickness'
maiʻa	banana
maile	native plant with twining habit and fragrant leaves; often used for lei
makaʻainana	commoners; literally, 'people who tend the land'
makaha	a sluice gate, used to regulate the level of water in a fishpond
makahiki	traditional annual wet-season winter festival dedicated to the agricultural god Lono
makai	toward the sea
makaku	creative, artistic imagination
malihini	newcomer, visitor
malo	loincloth
mamane	a native tree with bright yellow flowers; used to make lei
mana	spiritual power
manini	convict tang (a reef fish); also used to refer to something small or insignificant
mauka	toward the mountains; inland
mele	song, chant
menehune	little people' who, according to legend, built many of Hawaii's fishponds, heiau and other stonework
milo	a native shade tree with beautiful hardwood
moa paheʻe	a game similar to ʻulu maika, using wooden darts and spears
mokihana	an endemic tree or shrub, with scented green berries; used to make lei
moʻi	king
moʻo	water spirit, water lizard, or dragon
mu	a 'body catcher' who secured sacrificial victims for the heiau altar
muʻumuʻu	a long, loose-fitting dress introduced by the missionaries
naupaka	a native shrub with delicate white flowers
Neighbor Islands	the term used to refer to the main Hawaiian Islands outside of Oʻahu
nene	a native goose; Hawaii's state bird
nisei	second-generation Japanese immigrants
niu	coconut palm
noni	Indian mulberry; a small tree with yellow, smelly fruit that is used medicinally
nuku puʻu	a native honeycreeper with a yellow-green underbelly
ogo	seaweed
ʻohana	family, extended family
ʻohiʻa lehua	native Hawaiian tree with tufted, feathery, pom-pom-like flowers
ʻokole	buttocks
olo	traditional long, wooden surfboard
one hanau	birthplace, homeland
ʻono	delicious
ʻoʻo ihe	spear-throwing
pahoehoe	type of lava that is quick and smooth-flowing
pakalolo	marijuana; literally, 'crazy smoke'
palaka	plantation-era plaid fabric (usually navy-white or red-white) made from sturdy cotton
pali	cliff
palila	endemic honeycreeper
paniolo	cowboy
pau	finished, completed, no more
Pele	goddess of fire and volcanoes; her home is in Kilauea Caldera
pigdin	distinct Hawaiian language or dialect
piko	navel, umbilical cord
pili	a bunchgrass, commonly used for thatching houses
pilo	native shrub of the coffee family
pohaku	rock
pohuehue	morning glory
poi	staple Hawaiian starch made from steamed, mashed taro
Poliahu	goddess of snow
poʻouli	endangered endemic creeper
pua aloalo	a hibiscus flower
pueo	Hawaiian owl
puhi	eel
puʻili	bamboo sticks used in hula performance
puka	any kind of hole of opening; small shells that are made into necklaces
pukiawe	native plant with red and white berries and evergreen leaves
pulu	the silken clusters encasing the stems of hapuʻu ferns
pupu	snack or appetizer; also a type of cowry shell
puʻu	hill, cinder cone
puʻuhonua	place of refuge
raku	a style of Japanese pottery characterized by a rough, handmade appearance
ryōkan	traditional Japanese inn
sansei	third-generation Japanese immigrants
shaka	hand gesture used in Hawaii as a greeting or sign of local pride
stink-eye	dirty look
tabi	Japanese reef-walking shoes
talk story	to strike up a conversation, make small talk
tapa	cloth made by pounding the bark of the mulberry, used for early Hawaiian clothing (kapa in Hawaiian)
ti	common native plant; its long shiny leaves are used for wrapping food and making hula skirts
tiki	se kiʻi
tutu	grandmother or grandfather; also a term of respect for any member of that generation
ʻuaʻu	dark-rumped petrel
ʻukulele	four-stringed instrument used in modern Hawaiian music (literally 'leaping flea,' because of the action of the fingers when playing), derived from the braguinha, which was introduced to Hawaii in the 1800s by Portuguese immigrants
ʻuliʻuli	gourd rattle containing seeds and decorated with feathers
ʻulu maika	ancient Hawaiian bowling game
unagi	eel
wahine	woman
wikiwiki	hurry, quick
wiliwili	the lightest of the native woods
zazen	Zen meditation
zendo	communal Zen meditation hall