KA`IHAW 101

KA`I

• Ka and ke are two of a group of words called ka`i because they alaka`i (lead) most nouns. Thus, you can think of a ka`i as a noun announcer.

HE a, an KA the

KE the KĒIA this

KĒLĀ that (far)KĒNĀ that (near)

KO`U my KOU your

KONA his/her* KEKAHI a/an, another, the other, a

certain

*Note that kona does not indicate whether the person being spoken about is male or female. You can usually tell from the context whether it should be translated as “his” or “her.”

Only ONE ka`i should be used per noun.For example:  HE PĀPALE a hat

KA PĀPALE the hatKĒIA PĀPALE this hatKĒLĀ PĀPALE that (f) hatKĒNĀ PĀPALE that (n) hatKO`U PĀPALE my hatKOU PĀPALE your hatKONA PĀPALE his hat, her hat

KEKAHI PĀPALE a hat, the other hat, a certain hat

KĒLĀ vs. KĒNĀ • There are two Hawaiian words translated as “that”

in English. Hawaiian thinking is more specific than English thinking in this instance.

KĒLĀ vs. KĒNĀ that (far) that (near)

Far from the person Near to the person

you are speaking to you are speaking to

 

KĒLĀ vs. KĒNĀ

• Specifically, “kēlā” means that (far), as in the person/place/thing that you are referring to is not near (hence far) to the person you are speaking to. For example, you would point to the sky and say to a friend, “What kind of bird is that (kēlā)?”

 • The other word for “that” is “kēnā.” Specifically, kēnā

means that (near), as in the person/place/thing that you are referring to is near to the person you are speaking to. For example, you notice that your friend has something green on his front teeth. You would say, “Hey, what is that (kēnā) on your teeth?”

KEKAHI

KEKAHI ___ A __, a certain __, another __, the other __

KEKAHI O NĀ ______ One of the ________

kekahi manu kekahi o nā manu

a bird, a certain bird one of the birds

kekahi penikala kekahi o nā penikala

a pencil, a certain pencil one of the pencils 

KA`I NOTES• Ka`i are often used even if there is no equivalent in English. See the

following examples: – Aloha, e ke kumu! Hello, (the) teacher!– Aia ke keiki ma ke kula. The child is at (the) school.– Hele au i ka halepule ma ka lāpule. I go to (the) church on (the)

Sunday.

• Even though it sounds odd to include “the” before words like “teacher,” “school,” “church,” and “Sunday” in English, it is incorrect to leave it out in Hawaiian sentences.

• Note that the word kahakai (beach) is an exception and is not

typically preceded by ke as shown in the following example. – Ua `ike wau iā `oe ma kahakai. I saw you at the beach.

PLURAL: MAU• The word “mau” is used before a word to make it a

helunui (plural). You may think of “mau” as a way to add “-s” to the end of a word in English.

Helukahi (singular) Helunui (plural)ko`u hoaaloha my friend ko`u mau hoaaloha my friends

kēia hale this house kēia mau hale these houses

kona puke his/her book kona mau puke his/her books

kēlā keiki that child kēlā mau keiki those children

he peni a pen he mau peni pens (some pens)

kekahi pepa a (certain) paper kekahi mau pepa some papers

  

SPECIAL NOTES

• Note: Some words have an added kahakō when made plural, as in the following:

 Helukahi (singular) Helunui (plural)ka makua the parent nā mākua the parents kona mau mākua his/her parents

ke kanaka the person nā kānaka the people kēlā mau kānaka those people

SPECIAL NOTES Continued…

Helukahi (singular) Helunui (plural) ka wahine the woman nā wāhine the

women

ka `elemakule the old man nā `elemākule the old men

ka luahine the old woman nā luāhine the old women

ke kaikamahine the girl nā kaikamāhine the girls