Hawaiian

NATIVE TONGUE A HAWAIIAN GLOSSARY
Author: E. Kalani Flores

Click on the bold hyperlink to play a .wav sound file of the word and explore the Hawaiian language:

'aina
{noun} Land, earth.

alelo
{noun} Tongue, language.

aloha
{noun-transitive verb, noun-stative verb} Love, affection, compassion, mercy, sympathy, pity, kindness, sentiment, grace, charity; greeting, salutation, regards; sweetheart, lover, loved one; beloved, loving, kind, compassionate, charitable, lovable; to love, be fond of; to show kindness, mercy, pity, charity, affection; to venerate; to remember with affection; to greet, hail. Greetings! Hello! Good-by! Farewell! Alas!

aloha 'aina
{noun-verb} Love of the land; to nurture and care for the land.

halau
{noun} Long house, as for canoes or hula instruction; meeting house

How to use the online Hawaiian language dictionary

Want to look up a word? Just type it in where it says "Enter Word."

Hint: the typed-in word can be Hawaiian or English.
Hint: you might need to click in the white space near "Enter Word" before typing.
Hint: after typing in the word, instead of using the mouse to click on "look it up," just hit the Enter key (for PCs) or the Return key (for Macs).
Hint: as long as one of the settings to the right says "other characters," you do NOT have to enter special characters for a Hawaiian word. Example: look up "alii" or "ohana." In each case the computer will give you the word and also its correct spelling (aliʻi and ʻohana).
Note: the computer will give you different

Hawaiian language is an Austronesian language that takes its name from that of the largest island in the tropical North Pacific archipelago where it developed. Hawaiian, along with English, is an official language of the State of Hawaii. King Kamehameha III established the first Hawaiian-language constitutions in 1839 and 1840