Idioms, Catch Phrases, Expletives and Interjections

He Mau `Ikeoma, `Ôlelo pôkole hopu, `Ôlelo mâpuna, A Me `Ôleloho`ôho

Ahahana!

[ah hah hah' nah !]

Variations of this taunting singsong phrase: ahana [ah hah' nah], ahana kôkô lele [ah hah' nah KOH' KOH' leh' leh].

[AH' HEH' ! ]

`Âhê means to exclaim, to "oh and ah"; "yes", "so that's it", "so", "oh".

[ai' (y)ah NOH' (y)ee (Y)AH' oe]

Up to you! Your call!
Whatever you want!

[ai (Y)AH' !]

Used when something goes wrong. Sometimes to express surprise from sudden unexpected pain.

[ai' ah !] [ei' ah !]

What is said when something is suddenly found.

[ai' (y)ah hoh' ee !]

Behold! Ta da! Lo!

[ai' koh lah !]

`Aikola is an interjection of scorn or derision, especially rejoicing over others' misfortunes. Hô`aikola is to be sarcastic, contemptible.

[AH' (y)ee vai' vah !]

Amazing! Fantastic! Mystifying! Marvelous! Wonderful (because of divinity)! Inexplicable!

[ah loh' hah !]

Click here to learn more Aloha greetings and here to learn more about aloha.

[ah loh' hah ee' noh !]

How unfortunate!
What a pity!

[ah loh' hah NOH' !]

Also, aloha with emphasis.

[ah oh' heh lau' nah!]

"No fit!"
Inappropriate. Not a match.

[ah oh' leh hee' kee keh ah' loh (y)ah' eh]

"No can help,`as life."
It can't be helped; that's life.

[au (W)EE'!]

Ouch!

[eh]

Note: no kahakô. It really should have an `okina at the end, `E`! , as it is said staccato-like. Hawaiian syllables, however, do not end with consonants, and the `okina is a consonant. So pretend it is there, when you say, " `E!"

[EH', EH'. EH' ]

Informal speech. As in mild agreement and indicating that one has heard.

[eh koh' moh mai!]

Literally, enter hither (to this place, here).

[HAH' mau!]

See Kulikuli!

[hah' nah hou' !]

Literally, do it again.

[heh ah' hah keh ah' noh?]

`Ano means type, kind. Sometimes said scornfully. Literally, "What is the kind?"

[heh ah' hah NOH' LAH' kou ah' noh ?]

`Ano also means personality, mood. Literally, this means "What's wrong with your personality?"

[heh meh' (y)ah ee' kee !]

Literally, "A little thing." Figuratively, "You're welcome," in response to Mahalo (Thanks). A variant is He mea `ole kêia, "It's nothing."

[heh' leh PEH' LAH' !]

Beat it! Scat! Bug off!

[heh' loo eh kah' hee !]

Number one! First rate!

[heh' moh leh' leh !]

Perfection! Flawless!

[heh MOO' !]

Shoo! Be gone! Scat!

[HOH' oi' (y)oh !]

Hô`oio means to show off, boast; to assume an air of superiority; conceited; affectation, conceit. Hô`oio le`a is to (childishly) show off with delight.

[hoh' oh mah nah vah nui' !]

Ho`manawanui means patience, steadfastness, fortitude; to have patience, fortitude; patient, steadfast, courageous and persevering.

[HOO' POH' oh NAH' HOO' POH' !]

Fool of fools! Ignoramus!

[OO' (w)ee !]

More polite to call this out than knock on the door.

[ee moo' (w)ah]

Mua means before, ahead, front, first, in advance.

[ee kai' kah kah (y)ee' vee]

Fig., good health in old age.

Used to express mild disapproval, annoyance, disgust, frustration or surprise.

[KAH' HAH' HAH' !]

An interjection of surprise, wonder, displeasure.

[kah' mah hah' oh !]

Wonderful! Astonishing! Marvelous! Wondrous! Remarkable! Surprising! Incomprehensible!

[KAH' poo loo !]

Kâpulu means careless, slovenly, unclean, gross, slipshod, untidy, disgusting, unkempt. Môkâkî also means messy or disheveled, but does not imply carelessness.

[KEH' NAH' !]

"Just li' dat!" That! (Used disparagingly for "you."

[kee' heh (y)ah mau' lee (y)oh lah !]

Literally, "sneeze and live." An exclamation to one who has sneezed to ward off ill effects. Often shortened to Ola!

[kee' loh hah' nah !]

Kilohana is the name of the outside, decorated sheet of kapa in the ku`inakapa, bed coverings; the four inner layers were white, contrasting with the decorated kilohana. Hence, extended meanings: best, superior, excellent.

[KOO' kah pai' lah !]

Literally, a big pile (of work to do). Paila, from English for pile.

[koo' lee koo' lee !]

Kuli means knee. A mother would rap a disobedient child on the knee. Mai hana kuli (Refrain (your) noisy activity) is politer. Pa`a ka waha (Shut the mouth) and Hâmau! (Silence!) are more direct.

[koo pai' (y)ah nah hah !]

Amazing! Fantastic! Wonderful! Phenomenal! Surprising! Marvelous! Extraordinary! Astonishing!

[lah' kee !]

Transliterated from lucky.

[lah' nah kee' lah !]

Mea lanakila is winner, champion, victor.

[lah' poo vah' leh !]

Lapu means ghost, phantom.

[LOH' LOH' !]

Lôlô means paralyzed, numb, feeble-minded, stupid. Lolo [loh' loh], without kahakô, means brains.

[loo (w)ah oh' leh] [lau' nah oh' leh] [ah' nah oh' leh]

Unequaled! Unsurpassed! Incomparable! Second to none!

[mah hah oi' !]

An offensive trait to Hawaiians.

[mah' kah hee (y)ah moe' !]

Sleepyhead!

[mai' kah ee !]

Maika`i means good, fine, all right, well; good-looking, good looks; handsome, beautiful; goodness, righteousness, benefit, well-being, morality, good health.

[MAH' kau kau]

Mâkaukau means prepared, ready. Literally, in the right, not left, place/position.

[mah nah KAH' !]

Manakâ means boresome, tiresome, dull, monotonous, wearied.

[mah nee' nee !]

Manini is slang for stingy, and has nothing to do with the striped reef fish. Manini is the transliterated name of a well-known Spanish immigrant, Francisco de Paula Marin, who knew Kamehameha for more than 25 years, who introduced many fruit trees to Hawai`i and was not inclined to share his bounty with others.

[mee kee oi' !]

Miki`oi means dainty and neat in craftsmanship, or in doing anything; deft, excellently made, as a result of skilled workmanship.

[mee' lee ah' pah !]

Mili`apa means slowpoke, slow, dilatory. Mili means slow, inefficient at work, `apa is to delay, waste time, keep others waiting.

[mee' nah mee' nah !]

Minamina means regret, sorrow; to grieve for something that is lost; to regret, be sorry, deplore; to prize greatly, especially of something in danger of being lost; to value.

Moloâ!
[moh loh (W)AH' !]

Moloâ means lazy, indolent.

[nah' oo (w)eh oo' koo]

My treat, I'll pay.

This. Namely this. Thus, That's it. That's right. Go ahead. Start. Go (as shouted by referee at beginning of games).

[oi (Y)AH' nah !]

Usually shortened to `oiana pr `oliana.

[oi' (y)ah ah neh' ee !]

Is that so! So that's it!

[oi' (y)ah hoh' ee HAH' !]

`Oia kâ!

That's it!

[AH' oi' (y)ah !]

That's right!

[oi' (y)ah pah' hah]

Maybe so. All right (as in reluctant acquiescence).

[oh' lah]

Ola means life, health, well-being, living, livelihood, means of support, salvation.

[oh' leh vah' leh !]

Useless!

[pah' ah kee KEE' !]

Pa`akikî means hard, tough, unyielding, arbitrary, inflexible, difficult, stubborn, obstinate.

[pau]

Pau means finished, ended, through, terminated, completed, all done, over.

[pau' kah poh' noh !]

Hopeless!

[peh heh' (y)ah hoh' ee !]

How, I don't know. Who knows?

[peh' lah peh' lah !]

Pelapela means filthy, dirty, nasty, indecent, unclean, vulgar, lewd, obscene.

Pilau means rot, stench, rottenness; putrid, foul, spoiled, decomposed.

[POH' EE' noh NOH' !]

How unfortunate!

[poh HOH' !]

Pohô means loss, damage; out of luck; vain, no use doing something, wasted effort; lose out.

[poh loh lei' !]

Pololei means straight, upright, direct, correct, right, O.K., accurate, all right.

Frequently [POO' poo kah] for emphasis. When said with a friendly or admiring intonation among friends, it means the opposite, i.e., beautiful, attractive; this was due to the reluctance to express admiration for fear a sorcerer would in jealousy bewitch the admired person.

Sometimes used to describe a beautiful baby, to curb jealousy.

[OO' !]

`Û also means to mourn, grieve, an exclamantion of delight or assent; to grunt 'yes, yes (saying that you are listening)!

[oo' (w)ee HAH' !]

Yeah! Yippee!

[oo (w)oh' kee !]

Idiom used only in commands.

[veh' lah kah hao' !]

Strike when the iron is hot!

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