Hawaiian phrasebook

Pronunciation guide

The Hawaiian alphabet has just 13 letters: the vowels are A, E, I, O, and U, and the consonants are H, K, L, M, N, P, and W. The remaining letter (also a consonant) is ʻ which is called the ʻokina, and represents a glottal stop, a short pause like before each syllable of English "uh-oh". You will find these at the beginnings of words or in between vowels. When you see a glottal stop, don't let the syllables run into each other; instead, pause for a very brief moment and continue with the word. In addition, a macron (straight line over vowel, called a kahakō) indicates a long vowel. When you see a macron, draw out the vowel for a little longer than you would a normal vowel. The ʻokina and kahakō are sometimes omitted; this is very common on street signs. While this can make some words ambiguous, if you're not a professional linguist studying Hawaiian it's unlikely to cause any problems.

Vowels a is pronounced "ah" - like the "a" in "father". e is pronounced "eh" - like the "e" in "hello". i is pronounced "ee" - like the name of the English letter "e". o is pronounced "oh" - just like the English "o". u is pronounced "oo" - like the "oo" in "food".

Consonants All consonants in Hawaiian are pronounced like their English counterparts, with the exception of w, which is pronounced both like the English "w" and like the English "v", changing the "wuh" sound to a "vuh" sound.

Common diphthongs Diphthongs in Hawaiian can be tricky. You must make sure that there is not a glottal stop between the vowels - if there is, you do not blend the vowels, but instead insert a pause between them. If there is no glottal stop, however, just blend the vowels together in most cases. aa, ee, ii, oo, and uu are not pronounced differently than their single forms. "aa" is pronounced the same as "a". ae is pronounced like the English "I". ai is pronounced by saying "Eye-ee". ao is pronounced "Ah-oh". au is pronounced like the English "ow" - like what you say when you're hurt. ea is pronounced "Ey-ah". (like a long "a" followed by ahhh) ei is pronounced "Ey-ee". eo is pronounced "Ey-oh". ia is pronounced "Ee-ah", but you can get away with saying "Ya". ie is pronounced "Ee-ey", but yo

Phrase list

Basics

Hello. Aloha. (ah-LO-ha) Hello. (informal) Aloha. (ah-LO-ha) How are you? Pehea ʻoe? (pey-HEY-ah OH-ey) Fine, thank you. Maikaʻi, mahalo. (my-KAI-ee, ma-HA-lo) What is your name? ʻO wai kou inoa? (oh vy KO EE-no-ah) My name is ______. ʻO _____ ko'u inoa.(oh _____ KO-oo EE-no-ah) Nice to meet you. Ua maika'i ko kaua hui 'ana (OO-ah my-KAI-ee ko COW-ah HOO-ee AH-na) Please. ʻOluʻolu. (OH-loo-OH-loo) Thank you. Mahalo. (ma-HA-lo) You're welcome. He me iki ia/Me pu oe. (HAY may EE-kee EE-ah/MAY poo OH-ey) Yes. ʻAe. (eye) No. ʻAʻole. (AH-oh-lay) Excuse me. (getting attention) E ia nei. (EY EE-ah NAY-ee) Excuse me. (begging pardon) Noi kou kala. (NO-ee KO-oo KA-la) I'm sorry. E kala mai iaʻu. (ey KA-la my YA-oo) Goodbye. A hui hou. (AH HOO-ee HO-oo) Goodbye. (informal) Aloha. (ah-LO-ha) I can't speak Hawai'ian [well]. []. ( []) Do you speak Hawai'ian? ʻOlelo Hawaiʻi ʻoe? (OH-leh-lo ha-VY-ee OH-ey) Is there someone here who speaks English? ʻOlelo Pelekania kekahi? (OH-leh-lo peh-leh-ka-NEE-ah kay-KA-hee) Help! Kōkua! (KO-koo-ah) Look out! E akahele! (EY ah-ka-HAY-lay) Good morning. Aloha kakahiaka. (ah-LO-ha ka-ka-hee-AH-ka) Good evening. Aloha ahiahi. (ah-LO-ha AH-hi-AH-hi) Good night. Aloha pō. (ah-LO-ha PO) Good night. (to sleep) Pō maikaʻi. (PO my-KAI-ee) I don't understand. ʻAʻole maopopo. (AH-oh-lay MA-oh-po-po) Where is the toilet? Ma hea ka lua? (ma HAY-ah ka LOO-ah)

Problems Leave me alone. Haʻalele koʻu hoʻokahi. (HA-ah-lay-lay KO-oo ho-oh-KA-hee) Don't touch me! ʻAʻole pā koʻu! (ah-OH-lay PA KO-oo) I'll call the police. E hea mākaʻi ana au! (EY HAY-ah MA-ka-ee ah-na ow) Police! Mākaʻi! (MA-ka-ee) Stop! Thief! Hoʻopau! ʻAihue! (HO-oh-pow! AY-hoo-ey) I need help. Kōkua pono au. (KO-koo-ah PO-no ow) It's an emergency. Ulia pōpilikia. (oo-LEE-ah PO-pee-lee-kee-ah) I'm lost. O lilo au. (oh LEE-lo ow) I lost my bag. ʻEke koʻu lilo au. (EY-kay KO-oo LEE-lo ow) I lost my wallet. ʻEke kālā koʻu lilo au. (EY-kay KA-LA KO-oo LEE-lo ow) I'm sick. O maʻi au. (oh MA-ee ow) I'm injured. O ʻālina au. (oh AH-lee-na ow) I need a doctor. Kauka pono au. (KOW-ka PO-no ow) Can I use your phone? Kou kelepona hoʻohana au? (KOU kay-lay-PO-na HO-oh-HA-na ow)

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