Introduction

"He Aha Sentences" are statements that tell what something is. For example, one could ask, "What is this?" or "What is that?" and the person spoken to would respond, "This is an apple." "That is a dog." or whatever.

This extremely simple sentence is easy to form, and very helpful. To ask the question, one says:

He aha kēia?

"He" means "A/an"

"Aha" means "What"

"kēia" means "this"

Literally: "A what, this?"

Kēiā, of course, can always be substituted for kēlā (that), or any personal pronoun.

One would respond with:

He hale kēia. He wai kēia. He kama'a kēia.

(This is a house. This is water. This is a shoe)

Literally: A house, this. Water, this. A shoe this.

Practice

Translate the following:

Vocabulary

There now, you see? Not that difficult at all! Now for the new vocab for this lesson.

Colors

If you have time in your busy schedule, check out this link to a song on Youtube of children learning their colors. It's a little silly, but it's a good song to get stuck in your head when learning the colors!

[Song!]

Hawaiian	English
'ula'ula	Red
Melemele	Yellow
Poni	Purple
Polū	Blue
'Ele'ele	Black
'Akala	Pink
'Alani	Orange
Ke'oke'o	White
Ahinahina	Grey
Oma'oma'o	Green
Palaunu/Maku'e	Brown

Animals and Family

-Nā Holoholona a me Ke 'Ohana-

English	Hawaiian
Parent	Ka Makua
Father	Ka Makua kāne
Mother	Ka Makuahine
Child	Ke Keiki
Son	Keiki kāne
Daughter	Kaikamahine
Grandparent	Kupuna
Grandfather	Kupuna kāne
Grandmother	Kupuna wahine
Uncle	'Anakala
Aunt	'Anake
Cousin	Hoahanau

English	Hawaiian
Bear	Pea
Bird	Manu
Cat	Pōpoki
Chicken	Moa
Dog	Ilio
Elephant	Elepani
Fish	I'a
Horse	Lio
Monkey	Keko
Pig	Pua'a
Rabbit	Lāpaki
Rat	'iole
Tiger	Kika
Turtle	Honu

Basic animals are always good things to know, and here are some that might come in handy. These are the common words that are most used in Hawaiian. Try to visualize the animal and place the word with your mental picture. Seeing the animal helps a lot when working on memorization.

Also, there are family members here. Later, we will see them in a family tree, and it will be easier to process all the information! Don't worry, it's not that hard!... until we get to siblings! (Maybe I shouldn't have told you that) But with a little practice, the language will come naturally to you. Just wait. And begin practicing those words! Try to form sentences with words you already know using adjectives and nouns. We'll learn verbs next, and then your whole world will open up, creating new and interesting phrases and thoughts. But for now, be patient and practice with these words.

Reading Practice

Read the following story, then answer the questions to see how much you understood:

'O James ke keiki o ka 'ohana. 'O Maria ā me (and) 'o Paul nā makua o James. 'O Paul ka makuakāne. 'Olu'olu Paul. 'O Maria ka makuahine o James. 'O Robert ka 'anakala o James me kāna keiki 'o Leslie. 'O kēiā lā (today), ma'i 'o Robert. Kaumaha 'o Leslie.

Hawaiian/Lesson Three

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