Words About People
akamai - smart.
ali`i - king, royalty.
Buddha-head - local of Japanese ancestry.
halau -
hula group or school.
hanai - adopted or to adopt. .
haole - Caucasian.
hapa - half, commonly used as
hapa haole, meaning someone who is half
haole.
hapai - pregnant.
hau`oli - happy. Not to be confused with haole.
huhu - angry.
hui - club or group.
Ilocano - language spoken by immigrants from the Philippine regions of Ilocos Sur and Ilocos Norte, the most numerous Filipino immigrants in
Hawai`i.
ipo - sweetheart.
kahu - pastor, minister.
kahuna - priest in the Hawaiian religion.
kama`aina - one who has been in
Hawai`i a long time, usually refers to
haoles, especially those with old money.
kanaka - Hawaiian person.
kane - man. A good word to know when going to the
lua.
keiki - child.
kolohe - rascal or rascally. That boy is so
kolohe .
kumu - teacher.
kupuna - grandparent, elder. An older wise person.
local - a long term resident who is non-Causasian. A long-term
haole is called a local
haole or a
kama`aina .
lolo - crazy.
luna - boss.
makua - parent.
malihini - stranger, newcomer, someone unfamiliar with a place.
manini - stingy, miserly.
mu`umu`u - Hawaiian-style dress.
ni`ele - nosy. This trait is particularly looked down upon by Hawaiians. Don't be so ni`ele!
Nisei - second generation Japanese immigrant (child of an immigrant). Issei - first generation Japanese immigrant.
Sansei - third generation Japanese immigrant.
`ohana - family, whether by blood or adoption. A word made known to the world in the movie
Lilo and Stitch .
`okole - buttocks.
opu - stomach. Uncle
Kimo has such a big
opu .
Pake - a Chinese person, slang for stingy.
paniolo - cowboy.
piko - navel, the source of life to Hawaiians.
Pehea kou piko? How's your navel?
pupule - crazy.
Tagalog - the official language of the Philippines spoken by a minority of Filipino immigrants.
tita - local girl with attitude.
tutu - grandmother or grandfather.
Visayan - a language spoken by some immigrants from the Philippines.
wahine - woman.
