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Hawaiian/Lesson 4.5

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To help get one in the mood of learning the Hawaiian Language- Kamoa Point, Kona.

It seems a bit silly to give this short little topic its own page of notes, but yet most of the items on this page are review and practice for the learner.

First of all, making a sentence negative, if you hadn't figured it out, inserts the words "not" or "no", as in... I do not make my bed. or I have no money. This, in Hawaiian, is possible with the word for no, which is a'ole. This word works a lot like it does in Spanish.

Ex) No hablo a nadie.- I don't talk to anyone.

No tengo dinero.- I don't have (any) money.
El no quiere ir.- He doesn't want to go.


When using this word, it is positioned at the beginning of the sentence, followed by a pronoun if there is one, and the rest of the sentence stays the same. To explain this, we will translate: I do not work at the library.

For starters, the negation goes first:

A'ole...

Then, the pronoun if there is one. In this case, there is: I.

A'ole au...

Next, the verb:

A'ole au hana...

And finally, the rest of the sentence:

A'ole au hana ma ka hale waihona puke.

Note: Hale waihona puke means library.



Notes/Reminders Questions
  • Remember the difference between

come and go. Go is "hele" and come is

"hele mai". The mai is a word that indicates

that the action is happening toward the

speaker, as in "here". Litterally, hele

mai is saying, "go here, toward me."



  • Up until now, all we have learned was

a'ole with verbs, and now you can use

it with to be and a noun. It's just as simple

as before: "not" + "pronoun" + "noun".

(Same for an adjective)


  • Also, don't forget the colors, family, and

animals. It will come in handy to remember them.





  • 'O wai kou inoa? means "What is your name?"

If you take out a few words, it can be said

'O wai au? which would be, "Who am I?"

1 What is the translation of: A'ole 'oe hele mai i ke ka'a.

You don't come to the car.
You don't come to the house with the car.
He does not come to the car.
You do come to the car.

2 (4 points- All or nothing) Match each phrase to the English ones given:

A - I am not a pig!
B - I am not an uncle.
C - I am not an aunt.
D - I am not pink.

A B C D
A'ole au 'akala.
A'ole au he 'anakala.
A'ole au he 'anake.
A'ole au he pua'a.

3 Read the following story:

Hana au ma ke kula. Hana au me nā keiki li'ili'i, a me 'ōlelo me nā haumāna. Nā lā āpau (every day) a'o (teach) au i nā keiki. 'O wai au?

He kahuna au (a priest).
He kanaka puhi palaoa au (a baker).
He lawai'a au (a fisherman).
He kumu au (a teacher).