Ka Leka o Ka Pule
A weekly newsletter for anyone learning Hawaiian language. Each issue covers practical lessons on words, expressions, and sentence structures, alongside cultural insights and real stories from the community. This newsletter aims to help you build language skills influenced by native speakers, one issue at a time.
No Be Hookiekie
Aloha — to have compassion, empathy, or grace
Hookiekie — lord it over others, disrespectful to seniors, conceit
Aloha e ko'u poe heluhelu,
Once I became fluent in Hawaiian, my wife and mentors encouraged me to take classes at UH Manoa to further my study of olelo Hawaii.
On the first day of cla...
Sep 17, 2026
Pomai Is Not Hawaiian?
Aloha,
I have put out some heavy newsletters recently so let's lighten the mood a little this week.
I want to talk about shortening Hawaiian names. Most people are not aware of this, and if that is you, your mind is about to be blown.
It is not uncommon to hear locals shorten the names of family ...
Sep 10, 2026
Did You Mean Waewae?
Aloha,
Last year I was hired to work on a project teaching Hawaiian directly to staff members. After an initial assessment I started them off with pronunciation because at that point they were butchering words like waiwai, pau, and kuleana.
Months in, some of their pronunciation began to slip, so...
Sep 03, 2026
"I la maikai" is Not Hawaiian
Aloha kakou,
Before reading this newsletter you need to know what a native speaker and 2nd language speaker are. Do not skip the definitions.
Native speaker — a person whose first language is Hawaiian, passed down through an unbroken line of native speakers stretching back to the very origins o...
Aug 27, 2026
Translating: Not as Simple as You Think
Aloha mai kakou,
Idiom: an expression in the usage of a language that has a meaning that cannot be understood from the combined meanings of its elements. Merriam-Webster Dictionary
Keep that definition in mind as you read this one.
I heard my wife calling me from the living room and when I walked...
Aug 22, 2026
Maui and Pimoe
Aloha e ka poe heluhelu,
I hope you have enjoyed the legend of Maui Akalana because this is where our story ends. For future reference, this is just one version of the moolelo of Maui, so do not be surprised if you hear a different one. I recently heard a Tongan version called Maui Atalanga. Can ...
Aug 16, 2026
Maui and the ka La
Aloha no kakou,
Maui was speaking with his mother Hina, who shared about the difficulty of making kapa. She would go through the strenuous work of making it and finally kaulai (hang dry) it, only to find that after a day, a week, even a whole month, "aole e maloo" (it would not dry). The length o...
Aug 06, 2026
Maui and the Alae Ula
Aloha no kakou,
Maui makes his journey to Waianae, Oahu, in search of ahi (fire). There he comes across a group of Alae gathered around a flaming fire. Seeing his opportunity, Maui moved to hopu (grab) one of them.
The Alae scrambled and lele (took flight) to escape, all except one who was not so...
Jul 16, 2026
Maui: A Hawaiian Demigod
Aloha mai,
Tomorrow the live action film of Moana releases. When Moana came out in 2016, I was part of many conversations with friends and family. A lot of people were learning for the first time that Maui the demigod is a legend found across many Polynesian islands.
This week I thought I would p...
Jul 10, 2026
Maui no ka oi! What It Really Means
Aloha e ka poe kanaka o Maui,
I wanted to talk about the phrase Maui no ka oi in hopes of shedding some light on it and helping people avoid misusing it.
Ina malihini oe i keia olelo (if you're unfamiliar with this phrase), here are some things to know. It is a phrase about the island of Maui and...
Jul 03, 2026
The Word You Never Want to Be Called
Aloha e ka poe heluhelu,
Sorry for missing last Wednesday. I was sick in bed all week. Something must be going around.
Once I recovered, I met with a student for some online tutoring. During our session she asked about the word hookano. We use this word for people who think they are superior to o...
Jun 25, 2026
Niihau: Alive and Well
Aloha mai,
Mahalo to all of you who joined Ka Punana. This week's lesson covers the proper pronunciation of the word aloha. It is a word many use and many think they know how to say, but I have learned otherwise as a kumu. Please take time to record your pronunciation, compare it to mine, and mak...
Jun 11, 2026
Ka Leka o Ka Pule
