Ngā Tohutohu
Ka Pilina ʻŌlelo ʻO
This grammatical structure discusses specific things, such as names and relationships, who and what we are.
ʻO Hiʻilei koʻu inoa. My name is Hiʻilei.
ʻO au ʻo Hiʻilei. I am Hiʻilei.
ʻO Makahiapo ke kāne lōʻihi. Makahiapo is the tall man.
ʻO Laniākea ke kāne ʻōhule. Laniākea is the bald man.
ʻO Hiʻikua ka muli loa. Hiʻikua is the youngest.
ʻO ia koʻu māhoe. She is my twin.
This pilina ʻōlelo will begin with the word ʻO, which does not have a translation, but which signifies that some thing or person is going to be identified. When you want to ask “who” someone is (or perhaps “what” their name is), the word wai is used. This word wai can be thought of as a “question word,” and is filled in with the answer when responding. Word order does not change between questions and answers in Hawaiian, although there is a slight intonation change in yes/no questions.
Here are some examples of how wai is used (note the differences in the English translation):
Nīnau: ʻO wai kou inoa? What (or “who”) is your name?
Pane: ʻO Hiʻilei koʻu inoa. Hiʻilei is my name.
Nīnau: ʻO wai kona inoa? What (literally, “who”) is his name?
Pane: ʻO Makahiapo kona inoa. Makahiapo is his name.
Nīnau: ʻO wai kēlā kāne? Who is that man?
Pane: ʻO Laniākea kēlā kāne. Laniākea is that man.
Nīnau: ʻO Makahiapo kēlā kāne? Is Makahiapo that man?
Pane: ʻAʻole. ʻO Makahiapo kēia kāne. No. Makahiapo is this man.
This grammatical structure is composed of two māmala ʻōlelo. Either of these māmala ʻōlelo could be a pani inoa (au, ʻoe, ia, lāua, kākou), a haʻi inoa pili kanaka (Hiʻilei, Makahiapo), a haʻi inoa pili wahi (Mānoa, Nānākuli), or a haʻi inoa laulā (ka inoa, ke kāne, ka muli loa).
Manaʻo Haʻi Kumu Haʻi
For example: ʻO au ka muli loa. ʻO au ka muli loa.
I am the youngest child.
ʻO au ʻo Hiʻilei. ʻO au ʻo Hiʻilei.
I am Hiʻilei.
ʻO Hiʻilei ka muli loa. ʻO Hiʻilei ka muli loa.
Hiʻilei is the youngest child.
ʻO Mānoa kēia. ʻO Mānoa kēia.
This is Mānoa.
Be careful not to confuse the pani inoa (au, ʻoe, ia) and the pili mua ʻauikōhaʻi that show possession (koʻu, kou, kona). Thinking about and understanding the Hawaiian grammatical terms can help with this. Pani inoa (known as pronouns in English) take the place of names and so they stand alone. Look at the examples below to see how the pani inoa takes the place of a name.
ʻO Makahiapo ka hiapo. ʻO au ka hiapo.
ʻO Laniākea kēia kāne. ʻO ʻoe kēia kāne.
ʻO Hiʻilei koʻu mahoe. ʻO ia koʻu mahoe.
The pili mua, as indicated by the Hawaiian grammatical name, must precede any haʻi inoa laulā. As it must be pili, or connected, to the haʻi inoa laulā that comes after it, the pili mua can not stand alone. See in the examples below how the pili mua maʻa mau and the pili mua ʻauikōhaʻi perform the same functions grammatically.
ʻO Hiʻilei ka inoa. ʻO Hiʻilei koʻu inoa.
ʻO kēlā wahine ka mahoe? ʻO kēlā wahine kou mahoe?
ʻO ʻoe ke kaikuaʻana. ʻO ʻoe kona kaikuaʻana.
If one of these māmala ʻōlelo is a haʻi inoa laulā, it must be preceded by a pili mua (ka, ke, nā, kēia, kēnā, kēlā, koʻu, kou, kona).
For example: ke kāne the man
ka makua kāne the father
koʻu makua kāne my father
Sometimes, haʻi inoa laulā will appear in both māmala ʻōlelo.
For example: ʻO kēlā kāne koʻu kaikunāne.
That man is my brother.
ʻO ka hiapo kēia kāne.
The oldest is this man.
Here are the māmala ʻōlelo for these sentences.
Manaʻo Haʻi Kumu Haʻi
ʻO kēlā kāne koʻu kaikunāne
ʻO ka hiapo kēia kāne
The ʻo will precede a haʻi inoa pili kanaka and the pani inoa ia
when they appear in the Kumu Haʻi.
Manaʻo Haʻi Kumu Haʻi
For example: ʻO ia ʻo Kaliko. ʻO ia ʻo Kaliko.
She is Kaliko.
ʻO ke kumu ʻo ia. ʻO ke kumu ʻo ia.
He is the teacher.
English uses the verb “to be” (be, is, am, are, was, were, been) to connect these two phrases. However, this type of verb does not exist in the Hawaiian language. This is similar to what we hear in Pidgin, “Who dat?” for “Who is that?” In English, the time information is given by the verb (“is” vs. “was”). For example, “Kalani is my friend (now),” as opposed to “Kalani was my friend (in elementary school).” As there is no verb “to be” in the Hawaiian language, there is no time reference in this basic Hawaiian sentence. For instance, ʻO Kalani koʻu hoa aloha could mean “Kalani is my friend” or “Kalani was my friend.” In the Hawaiian, the difference in meaning is evident by the context in which the conversation is taking place or by the inclusion of a specific phrase, such as “in elementary school.”
Although these sentences range in complexity from simple and basic (ʻO Hiʻilei koʻu inoa) to more complex (ʻO Makahiapo lāua ʻo Laniākea koʻu mau kaikunāne), there are still only two māmala ʻōlelo, as in the examples shown below.
For example: Manaʻo Haʻi Kumu Haʻi
ʻO Loka lāua ʻo Nāleialoha koʻu mau mākua.
Loka and Nāleialoha are my parents.
ʻO Makahiapo lāua ʻo Laniākea koʻu mau kaikunāne.
Makahiapo and Laniākea are my brothers.
ʻO Laniākea ke kāne ʻōhule.
Laniākea is the bald man.
Ka Haʻawina
E unuhi mai i ka māmala ʻōlelo a me ka hopuna ʻōlelo.
