For those of you not from Hawaii, here are some Hawaiian expressions that you might encounter should you have a chance to visit here. Except for the last two, I took all of the following from Jill Kozak in the May 14, 2015 issue of matador.com, a travel website:
- Locals don’t cheer when they’re excited. They shout “Cheehoo!”
- When everything is all messed up, things are definitely “hamajang.”
- You don’t get hurt in Hawaii, you get “buss (bust) up.”
- A Hawaii local never has a lot of something, but always has “choke” amounts.
- Example: “Punaluu beach has choke turtles.”
- A Hawaii local never travels seaside, but always goes “Makai.” Likewise, a local never goes toward the mountains, but “mauka.”
- If something is bad, a local will most definitely call it “junk.”
- You might think you just got in a fight, but really, you got “in one scrap.”
- A mainland mother might tell you to change your underwear every day, a local mom will remind you to change your “bibidees.”
- You don’t go to the bathroom to make number 1, you always make “shi-shi.”
- Others will question whether or not you’re a local if you don’t call soy sauce “shoyu.”
- Anything that’s a pain in the butt is mostly definitely “humbug”
- When your nose is runny, auntie might scold you to blow out your”hanabata.”
- If your tan needs work and your pale skin is noticeable, someone might call you “Daikon legs.”
- Sitting on a hard surface too long or dealing with hamajang situations is certainly a pain in the “okole.”
- A Hawaii local doesn’t smoke marijuana, but smokes “pakalolo.”
- Locals don’t’ ask if you’re finished, they ask if you “stay pau.”
- And if I may add my own to the above…
- When locals eat, they “kaw kaw” and food is “grindz”
- “Grindz” that tastes good is very “ono.”
- Hawaiians go not to the supermarket but to “da store.”
- A disagreement is a “pilikia.”
Shown above is part of the Big Island’s Ahalanui county park which boasts of a palm-fringed thermally heated hot pond right next to the ocean. I saw a rainbow on the horizon one afternoon I was there and took this shot.
Another view of the warm pond. Photo source: google.com
Looking at the warm pond from the ocean side. Photo source: google.com