Aloha,

This is the season for Christmas parties and family get-togethers. I hope you’re surrounded by the people that you can talk-story and enjoy good food with. (Even better if you can practice your Hawaiian with them.)

To keep you in the habit of using the language in practical...

Welina kakou me ke aloha,

This time of year, your Hawaiian might take a back seat to the holidays (it’s okay, I get it), but remember that consistency is the key to your progress. 

So I’m offering you a few different Hawaiian phrases you can use this Holiday...

Aloha kakou i keia mahina hope o ka makahiki!

How do you feel about holidays? Do you get into it or do you just kind of go along with it all because your family enjoys it? (I’m more of a Grinch than a Christmas Elf, myself…)

You might have a lot going on this month but...

Aloha mai,

In order to stay motivated and progress in the language you really need someone to speak with. (Even better if they speak the language a little more fluently than you). If you don’t have a member of your family or a friend to learn with, then find/go make a friend to...

Aloha no kakou! Here’s my thoughts for this week.

Have you ever played a video game and got to a point where you’re kind of stuck and not sure how to unlock the next level? Or maybe you’re more into puzzles - have you ever been unable to figure out what piece goes where?...

Aloha nui e ko’u poe heluhelu,

Why do you feel compelled to learn Hawaiian? Learning a language can sometimes feel daunting and overwhelming but when we know WHY we’re learning, it will inspire us to keep going day after day. 

Last week, I told the story of how my...

Aloha no kakou,

No matter what we’ve committed to do, we all need ways to stay motivated. We all run into struggles and it can be easy to want to stop… and learning Hawaiian is no exception. Having compelling reasons to continue with the language will be a big part of your...

Aloha e ka poe haumana olelo Hawaii,

Years ago I wanted to know what the Hawaiian word for selfish was and learned that there is no one word equivalent in Hawaiian. Like so many other words, I had first understood what selfish meant at its core and then found the word(s) in Hawaiian that...

Aloha kakou! Pehea mai nei oukou i keia pule?

Years ago, in one of my Hawaiian classes, we (the students) were trying to figure out what the word manao meant in a sentence. 

Most students thought it meant “think”. 

The teacher told us that given the...

Aloha pumehana kakou,

I want to help you broaden your ability to express yourself in Hawaiian. 

When I was learning the language, I would get confused about how to use plenty of the traditional words and phrases I came across because they are used in ways that, as English...

Aloha e kuu poe heluhelu,

Pretend for a minute that you’ve never heard English spoken.

If you saw the word “psych” written, how would you know how to pronounce it? You might try something like, “puh-s-eye-ch,” right? This is a very real dilemma for 2nd...

Anoai kakou,

Another reason pronunciation is important is to perpetuate the language of native speakers.

In my very first Hawaiian class at a college (Hawaiian 401), we all introduced ourselves in Hawaiian. After class, one of the students asked me, “How did you learn to speak like...