Translate ideas in Hawaiian not just words

Aloha,

Each language has its own way of expression. The way you express yourself in English won’t always make sense in Hawaiian if you use direct translation. You will quickly learn to express yourself in Hawaiian when you understand that translating the idea/concept is the right way to translate.

But, learning common phrases is helpful when getting started, so let’s “translate” a common English phrase…

“I’m done with my food.” What does this phrase really mean?Maybe, “I’ve eaten the food on my plate” or simply, "My food is finished".

Let's move on to translating this phrase. I’ll give you 1 example of how this sentence is mistranslated. Then I will give you 2 possible ways to translate the phrase.

Pau au me ka’u mea ai. (I am done along with my food)

This is the way this phrase is often mistranslated and not what we are looking for. This is why we don’t do direct translations.

This is more so what we want…

Pau ka mea ai. (The food is finished/done.)

Pau ka’u mea ai. (My food is finished/done.)

As you’re learning the language, challenge yourself to think of different ways of expressing the same idea. As you learn Hawaiian sentence structures, it will help if you know the idea you want to express, not just the words you want to say. 

If this email was helpful, consider sending it to a friend, or sharing what you’re learning on social media (and remember to tag me, okay?)

Keep learning. Make it a priority.

Aloha,

Malu 

ka-alala.mykajabi.com