1 Way to Mastery Vocabulary

Aloha mai,

If you are just starting out, vocabulary is going to be a major focus. Learning to identify words is easier than some believe. Why do I say that?

In English, the word “live” changes depending on the context, such as living or lived. What’s great about Hawaiian is that words are consistent and don’t undergo as much change. Let’s look at the word noho, which is similar to the word “live.” It is present in every example below, but the word itself has not been altered at all. This makes the word easily identifiable.

E noho ana makou i Puako—We were living in Puako.

Noho au i Kaleponi—I live in California.

Oluolu ko’u noho ana—My lifestyle is comfortable.

In the early days, I would highlight, underline, make notes, and then look up the word on wehewehe.org. Whenever I read and encountered an unknown word, I'd mark it. Over time, I made fewer marks because I had memorized these words. It's a practical method to build your vocabulary.

Let’s try this approach together. I have selected a newspaper article about La Kuokoa (Hawaiian Independence Day). I may refer back to this article throughout the month. 

 Vocabulary Exercise

1. As you read through it, mark words you don’t know.
2. Look them up on wehewehe.org.
3. Type out what the paragraph is saying.

Finally, send me an email with your interpretation of the paragraph and I’ll provide feedback.

Aloha,

Malu

Please note that wehewehe.org offers several dictionaries, but I don’t recommend “Mamaka Kaiao.”