If you've ever stumbled over a word like humuhumunukunukuāpuaʻa or wondered why "Hawaiʻi" has that little mark in the middle, you're not alone. Learning how to pronounce Hawaiian words isn't as hard as it looks once you know a few simple rules. The Hawaiian alphabet has only 13 letters, and once those click, most words become much easier to sound out.
The Hawaiian Alphabet
The Hawaiian language (ʻōlelo Hawaiʻi) uses just 12 letters plus one special mark: A, E, I, O, U, and the consonants H, K, L, M, N, P, W. Vowels are pronounced more like Spanish or Italian than English — each one has a single, consistent sound:
- A — "ah" like in father
- E — "eh" like in bed
- I — "ee" like in see
- O — "oh" like in go
- U — "oo" like in moon
The ʻOkina and Kahakō
Two marks change how a word sounds. The ʻokina (ʻ) looks like a backwards apostrophe and represents a glottal stop — the little catch in your throat between the two "oh" sounds in "uh-oh." It's a real letter in the Hawaiian alphabet, not decoration, and it changes meaning: "Hawaii" and "Hawaiʻi" are pronounced differently. The kahakō is a line over a vowel (ā, ē, ī, ō, ū) that stretches the sound longer and often shifts the stress of the word.
Sounding Out Common Words
Once you know the vowel sounds, try these familiar words:
- Aloha — ah-LOH-hah
- Mahalo — mah-HAH-loh
- ʻOhana — oh-HAH-nah (the ʻokina before "O" adds that small throat catch)
- Mauka/Makai — MOW-kah / mah-KAI (toward the mountains / toward the sea)
- Keiki — KAY-kee (child)
A good general rule: every vowel gets pronounced, and syllables usually break between vowel sounds, so a word like "Kailua" becomes Kai-LU-ah rather than one mashed-together sound.
Why It's Worth Learning
Hawaiian is an official state language, and place names, street signs, and everyday words all carry real meaning rooted in the culture. Taking a moment to say a name or word correctly is a small but genuine way to show respect when you visit — or even from home. If you want to wear a piece of that language every day, our Hawaiian Phrases & Slang collection turns favorite local words and sayings into everyday tees.
Bring the islands home: Explore our Hawaiian Phrases & Slang collection — original designs from our Native Hawaiian–owned studio in Kailua-Kona, Hawaiʻi. Here are a few of the newest additions:
Brah Hawaii Local Slang Tee — a nod to the word that says it all, island-style.
Talk Story Tee — for the slow-down, share-a-story side of island life.
No Rain No Rainbow Tee — Hawaiʻi's most beautiful wisdom, five words at a time.