Dakine Dictionary

(EYE-nah)

(Noun) Hawaiian word for land.

Example:

“Life is good now, Pua. There’s fish in the sea. We have our ‘āina and our home. We can travel wherever we want; people don’t bother us. Life wasn’t always this easy.”

(ah-OH-leh pee-lee-KEE-yah)

(Phrase) Hawaiian for no problem, no trouble at all.

Example:

“No worries, Zader. ‘A‘ole pilikia for ‘ohana, yeah? ‘A‘ole pilikia.” ~Uncle Kahana

(OW-mah-koo-ah)

(noun) Guardian spirit of an ancestor that can take many forms such as animal, bird, fish, rock, or wind.

Example:

“Uncle Kahana, this thing with Niuhi sharks. It’s an ʻaumākua thing?”

(ee-EP-pah)

(n) Hawaiian for supernatural and legendary beings.

(oh-KOH-leh)

(n) Hawaiian for butt, rear-end.

(OH-no)

(Adjective) Hawaiian for delicious, delightful.

Example:

The teri beef was salty-sweet, the ginger biting back just a little, so ‘ono I like cry. Real food at last!

(oh-PEE-hee)

(noun) Hawaiian for a type of limpet.

Example:

“You feel ‘em too, ‘Ilima? More better we stay on the rocks today. Pick limu and ‘opihi.” ~ Uncle Kahana

(oo-leh OO-leh)

(n) Hawaiian gourd rattle used in hula.

Example:

“Lili, no forget your ʻulīʻulī! Kumu going be plenny huhū you no bring ‘em.”

(EYE-kah-press-SHAW)

(Phrase) Pidgin phrase describing a feeling of overwhelming pressure to perform, act, or complete something.

Example:

“Homework, hula practice, lei making, wash rice, do laundry–ai ka pressah! I going snap!” ~ Char Siu

(ah-kah-mai)

(nvs) Smart, clever, expert.

Example:

English: Billy! Straight As! You’re so smart!

Pidgin: Billy! You no get caught? Akamai buggah, ah you?!

(bah-BOO-zzz)

(Noun) Hawaiian Pidgin for a fool, someone who acts stupid or goofy.

Example:

“Watch your feet, babooze!” griped Punkin. “No drip all over my bag! Watch your board!” ~ Punkin

(bam-BOO-chah)

(Adjective) Pidgin for huge, enormous.

Example:

“I no like cockaroaches in here.” He shuddered. “No get me started on the flying kine. Bamboocha!” ~Uncle Kahana

(BOW-row-z) (BOW-row-BOW-row-z)

(n) Pidgin word for the the oldest, most worn-out clothes, one small step above rags. Worn when painting, doing yard work, etc.

Example:

“How come you stay wearing your boroz? I thought the new clothes Mom and Lili bought you was sharp.”

(bum-BAH-eye)

(adj/adv) Sometime soon, in the near future

Example:

“Wasted on you. Too young. Bumbai you going like stuffs that smell li’dat.” ~Uncle Kahana

(cal-lah-BASH)

A bowl or container often made of wood or a hollowed gourd. When used to refer to people, it implies a close friend or relative, i.e. someone so familiar he would eat out of the same serving bowl.

Example:

English: “James is my father’s best friend’s son who grew up like a member of our family.”

Pidgin: “Jimmy? Calabash cousin.”

(chee)

(Interjection) Hawaiian Pidgin for you think so? You notice?

Example:

“Chee, maybe we should just bag it and leave the ‘opihi for another day. Go vegetarian for a day like the Buddha monks, yeah? I think get some ripe papaya by Nakamura’s side fence. Plus we get plenny green mangoes from Liz-dem. ‘Ono with a little shoyu.” ~Uncle Kahana

(chill-LAX)

(verb) Hawaiian Pidgin combining chill and relax.

Example:

“Like I know why wahines do anykine. Chillax, Jay. We go ride some waves.” Nili-boy turned his board, paddling and kicking to reach the next wave.

(con-FUN-it)

Exclamation of frustration. Literally confound it.

Example:

“Double-confunit with kūkae on the side,” he said. ~Uncle Kahana

(KRAK-seed)

(n) Pickled, preserved, or dehydrated fruit snacks; can also refer to other local island snacks typically sold at a crack seed store.

Example:

Jay’s favorite crack seed was rock salt plum. Char Siu loved lemon peel, but my favorite was candied ginger. ~ Zader, Niuhi Shark Saga

(ĕv‘rē tīm)

(Adj) Hawaiian Pidgin for all the time, always, habitually.

Example:

English: Char Siu eats saimin often.

Pidgin: Ho, Char Siu, every time she go eat saimin!

(fo’ DAZE)

Adj. Hawaiian Pidgin for a very long time, too long, forever, a lot, too much.

Example:

“Wow, Uncle Kahana, you get mango fo’days!”

(HAH-lau)

(n) Hawaiian word for a hula school.

Example:

“The boys in my hālau are learning a new shark hula. It’s about these guys who are lost, yeah, out in the open ocean in a canoe and this shark comes and leads them back to land.” She side stepped, then ʻuwehe’d, arms out. “Real powerful.” ~ Lili, One Boy, No Water

(ham-mah-JANG)

(Adjective) Hawaiian pidgin for mixed up, broken, junk, every which way. Said of something old and used.

Example:

‘We watched for a moment as his slippahs slap, slap, slapped the lava rocks, his old man’s hammajang trunks hanging off his hips and hitched up again and again in time with his feet.’ ~ description of Uncle Kahana

(HAH-nah ho)

(phrase) Hawaiian for again, do it again. It’s often called out when a performance is especially pleasing or powerful.

Example:

English: Wow! George, I wish I could see that again!

Pidgin: Hana hou! Hana hou!

(how-oh-lee mah-kah-he-key ho)

Hawaiian phrase. In Hawaii people say Hau‘oli Makahiki Hou when they wish someone a Happy New Year. It’s a direct translation from the English: hau‘oli means “happy” or “glad,” hou means “new” or “fresh,” and makahiki is easily translated into “year, age; annual.” Like most English adoptions into Hawaiian it works in a Spanglish sort of way.

But anciently makahiki referred to a season that began around mid-October and lasted four lunar  months. During this time there was feasting, religious observances and ceremonies, games, sports, dancing, a respite from work, and a kapu on war. It was a time of peace and prosperity in honor of the god Lono.

May you and your ‘ohana enjoy the aloha of the makahaki season all year long.

Hau‘oli Makahiki Hou!

Example:

English: Happy New Year!

Pidgin: Hau‘oli Makahiki Hou!

(how-MAH-nah)

(n) Hawaiian word for student.

Example:

“Okay, haumāna, sit down. We begin with the first lua ‘ai I ever learned.” ~Uncle Kahana

(how-PEE-ah)

(noun) Hawaiian for a thick coconut pudding usually served in slices.

Example:

Jay slid down the backside of the crest as the face of the wave formed and lifted Frankie. Effortlessly and as smooth as haupia on a lazy afternoon, Frankie coasted all the way to the sand.

(ho-ku-LEH-ah)

(n) The name of a modern Hawaiian voyaging canoe build in the traditional manner.

Example:

“When a wave stay that big you gotta paddle like you on the Hokule’a, brah!”

(HOH-loh-HOH-loh)

(v) Pidgin for going out and finding some fun.

Example:

English: “Lilinoe, let us get in your car and drive up and down main street and see what others are doing. Perhaps we can meet young men with whom we can converse.”

Pidgin: “Lili! We go holoholo!”

(hu-LAH)

(nvt) Hawaiian form of dance

Example:

The baby fussed and Kahana started to sway as he moved over the lava, looking like a tourist doing the hula at a late night lū‘au in Waikiki.

(hu-LAH HA-lau)

(n) A hula school.

(EE-moo)

(n) Hawaiian cooking pit, underground oven.

Example:

English: Let’s have a clam bake!

Pidgin: Fire up da imu!

(j’un-ken-POH)

Pidgin for rock, paper scissors from the Japanese  jan ken pon. How you choose who picks first, does the dishes, or buys the round. As a kid on Maui we’d swing our closed fist in time with a chanted rhyme and shoot three times for a two out of three win:

Example:

English: Todd, let’s do rock, paper, scissors to see who has to stay and babysit.

Pidgin: Junkenpo, brah. Loser sits, winner splits.

(juhn-KAH-luhn-KAH)

(adj) Pidgin description of something that is old, broken down, used up.

Example:

English: Perhaps we should borrow your mother’s car since the road is steep and winding and your car tires are bald and the brakes are soft.

Pidgin: Pali road? In that junkalunka thing? No way!

(kah-KEE-m0-CHEE)

(n) types of rice crackers enjoyed in Hawaii. Also called arare or mochi crunch.

Example:

“Why all the kakimochi? You going movies?”

(kah-OH-nah)

(n)The hidden meaning of a song, poem, chant, dance, etc. When you see old folks laughing about innocent songs about fishing or mist, you’re missing the kaona.

Example:

English: The hidden metaphors in that song are so powerful!

Pidgin: Kaona, yeah?

(kay-KEE)

(n) Hawaiian for child.

Example:

He watched the ocean for a while, reading the ripples too small to be called waves, the kind that allowed young mothers to daydream on Keikikai Beach while her keiki splashed in safety.

(koh-LOH-heh)

(v) Hawaiian for mischievous, naughty, a rascal.

Example:

English: Mitsy laughed. “Oh, Kahana! How I delight in your rascally nature! You haven’t changed a bit!”

Pidgin: Mitsy laughed. “Oh, Kahana, you still kolohe, ah you!”

(koo-lee-ah-na)

(nvt) Hawaiian word for right, privilege, concern, area of responsibility.

Example:

English: “As responsible human beings we must take care of the earth! There are wastrels among us who must heed my words or our land will become  a vast wasteland of corruption and filth where none can live! I call on you now to change your ways before it is too late!”

Pidgin: “What you mean, ‘not your kuleana?’ You breathing, right? You living, right? Taking care of the ‘āina is everybody’s kuleana, brah!”

(koo-loh-loh)

(n) Thick Hawaiian coconut and taro pudding often served in slices.

Example:

English: Mom! This fudge is weird! It doesn’t even taste like chocolate.

Pidgin: Get kulolo? Awesome!

(koo-m00)

(n) Hawaiian for teacher, tutor.

Example:

Lili glared at Jay over the rim, glass halfway to her mouth. “And what you know, hah? You ever listen to my kumu hula talk about sharks?” She sniffed and took a drink. “And you like be one surfer! Too much Shark Week shows, you.”

(LAH-naheye)

(n) Hawaiian for porch, patio.

Example:

English: They like to set those kinds of glass balls on their coffee tables, but I’m only going to sell the small ones. The big ones are for us. They’ll ;ook nice on the patio.

Pidgin: They like those popo aniani for put on the coffee table. But I only going sell the small kine. The big kine’s for us. Look nice on the lānai.

(lau-HAH-lah)

(n) Hawaiian for pandanus leaf. Used to weave hats, mats, bags, etc.

Example: 

Like before, the furniture was pushed out of the way, but this time a section of the floor in the middle of the room was padded in lauhala mats and old cushions I recognized from the chaise lounges on the lānai.

(laow-laow)

 (n) A wrapped package of ti or banana leaves usually containing pork, chicken, fish, and/or vegetables and baked in an imu or in that style.

Example:

The door popped open. “What? You guys selling cookies, lau lau, or band candy?”

(lay)

(n) Hawaiian for garland.

Example:

Lili sighed the way only sixteen year old sisters can. “You get eyes, Zader? We making leis for the Christmas show at Ala Moana. Our halau is dancing there next Saturday.”

(lay day)

(Holiday) May 1st is celebrated as Lei Day in Hawaii. Most elementary schools have a program with each class singing and dancing.

No Lei Day program would be complete without this hapa haole song:

May Day is Lei Day in Hawai`i
Garlands of flowers ev’ry where
All of the colors in the rainbow
Maidens with blossoms in their hair
Flowers that mean we should be happy
Throwing aside our load of care, Oh!
… May Day is Lei Day in Hawai`i
Lei Day is happy day out there.

(Lo-CAL)

(Adj.) Someone originally from Hawai’i. Also used to describe anything typical of the way people do things in Hawai’i. People from Hawai’i automatically know that no matter where you are  in the world, when someone from Hawai’i says someone’s local, they’re not talking about where they live, but where their heart is.

Example:

English: Nili-boy now lives in France, but he used to live in Waimanalo.

Pidgin: Nili-boy? Stay local, brah.

(LOO-ow)

(n) A Hawaiian celebration feast.

Example:

“He’s getting more and more pupule every day. Talking to himself. Puttering around the reef and docks with that dog. Now he thinks he’s cooking a Christmas lū‘au for one hundred people. Like he even knows one hundred people for invite!” ~ Liz

(mah-lah-SAH-dahs)

(n) A Portuguese pastry similar to a doughnut, but without a hole.

Example:

Nili-boy: “Me? I’m a coco-puff, you know, the malasadas with dobash filling? Golden tan on the outside, rich chocolate brown on the inside.”

(mai-KAH-eee)

(adj) Hawaiian word for good.

Example: 

“Yeah, Paul,” he said to Dad. “One drink and some kulolo sounds maika‘i, mahalo.”

(make a)

(adj) Pidgin meaning to screw up, embarrass oneself.

Example:

“I was supposed to get into Ridgemont. Make ‘A.’” ~ Zader

(mah-nah-PU-ah)

(n) A filled Chinese bun made of sweet rice flour and either steamed or baked. Often filled with char siu, a type of roast pork.

Example:

“Don’t call me manapua,” said Char Siu. “Ever.”

(mah-NEE-nee)

(Adjective) Hawaiian for small, stingy.

Example:

“The first guy never made one sound. Just gone. Not even one manini ghost of red in the ocean.” ~ Uncle Kahana

(mau-KAH)

(v) Toward the mountains, to travel inland.

Example:

I looked out the lānai door and watched a couple of clouds head mauka where I hoped they would eventually drop their rain down the steep mountain sides and not on Lauele as I walked home. ~ Zader

(mel-lee kah-lee-kee-mah-kah)

Phrase. Hawaiian for Merry Christmas.

Example:

Aunty Lehua wishes you and yours Mele Kalikimaka this holiday season!

(MEN-tow)

(nvs) Pidgin for crazy, not right in the head. Literally mental.

Example:

English: Any sober adult who runs around the backyard shouting I’m a butterfly see me soar has a problem.

Pidgin: Cousin Eddie? Mento.

(nah-nah)

(n) Hawaiian for noisy supernatural beings.

(NEE-el-leh)

(nvs) Nosey, to keep asking questions, busybody, curious in a rude way.

Example:

After a summer spent avoiding our nīele questions about his lack of girlfriends and shepherding multi-bus stop excursions to the Honolulu Zoo, he’s counting the hours until he’s back at college and away from small town Lauele. ~ One Boy, No Water

(wŭn)

(Adj.) Singular, a or an.

Example:

English: Do you have an ‘ukulele?

Pidgin: Eh, get one ‘ukulele?

(PAH-hoe-hoe)

(n) A type of lava that is smooth and often slick when wet.

Example:

English: Billy! Don’t run! This lava is really smooth and—it’s okay! Don’t cry!

Pidgin: What I said? Das wet pāhoehoe, lōlō. You run like that in slippahs of course you going break your head.

(pah-WHO)

(n) A type of Hawaiian drum.

Example:

The kumu hula tapped the top of his pahu, calling the dancers to order.

(pah-lee)

(n) Hawaiian for a steep or sheer cliff.

Example:

Driving over the pali with its twisting roads always made Zader a little car sick.

(pah-oh-OH)

(n) Hawaiian name for blennies, a small fish commonly found in tide pools.

Example:

“That’s pao‘o. Haoles call them blennies. So’s that green spotted one. Get all kine blennies in here.”

(pow HAH-nah)

(vs) to complete work, end of the work day, or retirement.

Example:

“What you  doing sitting there drinking soda? Not pau hana time yet!”

(Pee-kah-KAY)

(n) A type of flower, Hawaiian jasmine.

Example:

The pīkake lei’s scent filled the room.

(PEE-lau)

(nvs) Rotten, rank, stinky, foul, rancid.

Example:

“Jay knows sharks no like eat people, right? I mean, people taste real pilau to sharks—anykine shark, not just Niuhi sharks.” ~ Uncle Kahana

(pee-lee-key-ah)

(n) Hawaii word for trouble.

Example:

Mitsy flapped her hands at them. “Now go away! Take your pilikia out of here! I gotta water my plants!”

(poy)

(n) A paste made from cooked taro roots and mashed with water.

Example:

“Maybe I’ll bring leftovers to you guys the day after Christmas. Liz likes her poi a little sour.”

(poh-kay)

(n) A dish made with raw seafood, seaweed, and other ingredients.

Example:

“Zader no can eat poke? What’s up with that?”

(poh-poh AH-nee-AH-nee)

(n) Glass balls or floats found on Hawaiian beaches that usually originated from fishing nets in Asia.

Example:

English: How much for that little glass ball? It will look perfect on the patio!

Pidgin: Try look! Pōpō aniani! We go sell ’um to the tourists!

(PORT-tah-GEE-man-oh-war)

(n) Hawaiian Pidgin for a type of stinging jellyfish.

Example:

“Ho, ‘Ilima, careful where you put your nose, yeah? Better watch out for portagee-man-o-war! I bet the buggers wen wash up on the beach last night.” ~ Uncle Kahana

(pooh-pooh-leh)

(Adjective) Hawaiian for crazy, reckless, insane.

Example:

“I know, I know, I sound pupule, but I swear that little shark wen grin, showing me all its teeth!”

(RAD-ee-koh)

Adj. Hawaiian Pidgin for extreme, pushing limits and boundaries, on the edge. Sometimes shortened to “rad” or used as “radical out” to describe something radical to the max.

Example:

“Ho, Jay was on the edge of his board balancing j’like he was Jackie Chan! I thought no way, but then he wen snap his board back from the jaws of death. He so radical!”

(sah-SHEE-mee)

(n) Japanese for thinly sliced raw fish. Often confused with sushi on the mainland.

Example:

‘When Kalei’s head broke the surface of the large saltwater pool at Piko Point, all he was thinking about was thinly sliced sashimi fanned on a bed of green cabbage and the hot wasabi paste he would mix with shoyu to make a dipping sauce.’ ~ One Shark, No Swim

(sham-battle)

(n) A type of dodge ball game, usually played with multiple balls. The small, hard, red playground balls are wicked!

(shave ice)

(n) Hawaiian-style snow cone on steroids.

Example:

‘The shave ice shocked my tongue and the roof of my mouth and trickled down the back of my throat, tingling like a mixture of lime soda and strawberry pop rocks.’ ~ Zader

(sleep-pahs)

(n) Hawaiian Pidgin for flip flops.

Example:

Eleven years ago, Uncle Kahana walked toward the ocean, his slippahs flip, flip, flipping sand behind him

(summer fun)

(n) A seven week summer day camp sponsored by Hawaii Parks and Recreation for kids K – 6th grade.

Example:

It was the last day of our last year of Summer Fun and I wanted to go home already. ~ Zader

(TOO-TOO wah-HE-nay)

(n) Hawaiian for Grandmother.

Example:

“Wait, try wait, my Tūtū Wahine Kaulupali wen tell me about this.”

(talk story)

(v) to relax and enjoy another’s company, to visit, to share ideas, experiences, thoughts, and feelings.

Example:

“Me and Aunty Amy was just fishing and talking story, yeah, when we wen hear the guy yell shark!” ~ Niuhi Shark Saga

(U-who)

(n) Hawaiian for parrot fish.

Example:

“What you think, eh, ‘Ilima? Good day for spearing one uhu?”

(wha EV ahz)

Pidgin word used as a response that can mean almost anything from I don’t want to deal with/talk about it, I don’t know/care, or you’re a liar. Similar to a teenager’s English use of whatever and usually as annoying.

Example:

No talk: “Lili! Your hula solo got canceled?” “Whatevahs.”

No care: “Jay, you like go movies or bowling?” “Whatevahs.”

Bulai:  “I wen skateboard down Ragsdale Avenue eyes closed!” “Whatevahs, Char Siu.”

(winter)

(n) On the mainland, the condition of living in shave ice without the benefits of azuki beans or Malolo syrup. In Hawaii, more rain and bone crushing North Shore surf.