Ngā Tohutohu
Pilina ʻŌlelo
Pili Mua & Haʻi Inoa Laulā
In Hawaiian, haʻi inoa laulā (common nouns, like keiki, ʻāina)) are almost always preceded by a pili mua (determiner), even when there is not one in the English. The most basic pili mua are ke and ka, both of which are the singular form of “the.” Ke is used before haʻi inoa laulā that begin with the letters A, E, O, and K (these letters are often arranged to spell KEAO, as a reminder of when to use ke). All other haʻi inoa laulā will have ka as the pili mua. As with any language, there will be exceptions to the rules of Hawaiian grammar, including the inclusion and form of the pili mua.
Here are some examples of the use of ke.
ke ao the cloud
ke ea the breath, life, independence
ke ola the life
ke kāne the man
Here are examples of ka being used with words that begin with the other letters of the alphabet, I, U, H, L, M, N, P, W, and the ʻ (ʻokina).
For example: ka iʻa the fish
ka ulu lāʻau the forest
ka hale the house
ka lani the heavens, the royal one
ka mana the power
ka niu the coconut
ka pua the flower
ka wahine the woman
ka ʻāina the land
“No” with Haʻi Inoa Laulā
Remember, this grammatical structure relates where things are from or to whom they belong. Let’s look at some examples of the Pilina ʻŌlelo-No with pili mua and haʻi inoa laulā.
No Kūkiʻi ke kanaka. The person is from Kūkiʻi.
No Kalae ke keiki. The child is from Kalae.
No ka ʻāina kepanī mai koʻu tūtū. My grandpa is from Japan.
No Kalihi Uka mai kēia wahine. This woman is from Kalihi Uka.
“No” with Haʻi Inoa Kanaka and “ia”
When the Kumu Haʻi is a Haʻi Inoa Kanaka (personal noun, person’s name), then an ʻo will appear in the Kumu Haʻi to indicate that the Kumu Haʻi is person’s name. See the examples below and not the difference in meaning (and spelling) when the Kumu Haʻi is a name as opposed to when the Kumu Haʻi is a regular noun.
No Kohala ʻo Kealiʻi. Kealiʻi is from Kohala.
No Kohala ke aliʻi. The chief is from Kohala.
No ka ʻāina kepanī mai ʻo Keiki. Keiki is from Japan.
No ka ʻāina kepanī mai ke keiki. The child is from Japan.
In addition to Haʻi Inoa Kanaka, the ʻo will also appear when the Kumu Haʻi is “ia,” (“he” or “she”). Note the following examples:
No Mānoa mai au. I am from Mānoa.
No Kauaʻi mai ʻoe? Are you from Kauaʻi?
No kēia mokupuni mai ʻo ia. She is from this island.
No Waialua, Oʻahu mai ʻo ia. He is from Waialua, Oʻahu.
Grammatical Structure
Remember, this grammatical structure is composed of two poke (sentence phrases). The first poke is called the Manaʻo Haʻi (the main thought/idea of the sentence). In this case, the Manaʻo Haʻi contains information on the place of origin. The second poke is called the Kumu Haʻi and contains information on the central source of the sentence (who or what we are describing). In this case the Kumu Haʻi identifies who or what belongs to that place.
Here is the grammatical breakdown for some of the examples from above.
Manaʻo Haʻi Kumu Haʻi
No Kohala ʻo Kealiʻi. No Kohala ʻo Kealiʻi.
No Kohala ke aliʻi. No Kohala ke aliʻi.
No ka ʻāina kepanī mai ʻo Keiki. No ka ʻāina kepanī mai ʻo Keiki.
No ka ʻāina kepanī mai ke keiki. No ka ʻāina kepanī mai ke keiki.
No Waialua, Oʻahu mai ʻo ia. No Waialua, Oʻahu mai ʻo ia.
