No matter where in the world you live, summer is a time that makes us picture bright sunshine, blue skies, beautiful plants blooming, and even beaches, lakes, and swimming pools! There are some places where it feels like summer all year long, and the Hawaiian Islands are one of those places!

To help get us into the spirit of summertime, we thought it would be fun to learn a few Hawaiian terms!

The first one – kau wela (pronounced KAH-oo WEH-luh) – means “summer” in Hawaiian!

Did you know:

Summer happens at a different time in the Northern Hemispheren (everywhere on Earth above the Equator) and the Southern Hemisphere (everywhere on Earth below the Equator)? This means that in one country it might be winter, and summer somewhere else! It also means that no matter what it’s like outside where you live, it is probably summertime somewhere in the world! 

Hawaii does have a winter season (without any snow, of course), but the temperatures aren’t much different between summer and winter. So all year long, you can find pretty flowers and luscious plants growing. How cool is that?!

Hawaiian Vocabulary

There are lots of really cool words in the Hawaiian language, and here are a few to get you started:

Word                                       Meaning

Aloha                                   hello, goodbye and love.

Mahalo                               thank you.

Ohana                                 family.

Keiki                                    child or children.

E komo mai                         welcome.

Hale                                     house or home.

Did you know:

The Hawaiian language has fewer letters than the English language, with only 7 consonants! (English has 21!)
The letters in the Hawaiian alphabet are: a e i o u (vowels) and h k l m n p w (consonants)
People’s names and other words translated from English to Hawaiian therefore have a slightly different pronunciation.

Hawaiian Names

In Hawaii, Hawaiian people often have their own beautiful names from the Hawaiian language. Here are some neat examples:

Name                             Meaning

‘Alohilani           –         Bright Sky

Kahōku             –         The Star     

Wainani             –         Beautiful Water   

You can translate your name into Hawaiian, too! Here are some examples! (PS – If your name isn’t on the list, you can do a quick internet search and find out what your Hawaiian name is!)

Aaliyah               – Aliiaha                           Beth            – Peka                        Kaitlyn       – Kaikeline
Adrianna            – Akaliana                        Breanna      – Paleana                   Laura         – Lala
Aimee / Amy      – Eme                              Brittany       – Palikane                   Lisa           – Lika
Alex                     – Alika                             Brooke        – Paloke                      Lyndsey    – Linekekei
Alison                 – Alekona                        Candace     – Kanakake                 Madeline   – Makelina
Amanda             – Amanaka                      Caroline      – Kalolaina                  Madison     – Makikonu
Angela                – Anela                            Claire          – Kalala                       Marie           – Malia

What do you notice about the names listed here in English and in Hawaiian? Can you figure out which letters are different, based on the Hawaiian alphabet?

People have so many different names, we couldn’t list them all here, but we hope you will do some exploring of your own and discover what your name translated into Hawaiian sounds like!

We hope you have fun using these fun Hawaiian terms, and enjoy some fun summer adventure wherever you are!