The Hawaiian Alphabet

When Captain Cook discovered the Hawaiian Islands in 1778, he also discovered that Hawaiians had a totally oral tradition. There was, up until western contact, no written version of the Hawaiian language. In 1820 western missionaries living in the islands first standardized a written version of the Hawaiian language.

The written Hawaiian language is based on English letters. There are 8 consonants and five vowels - much simplier than English! (Or so it appears at first glance.)

Consonants
H	As in English
K	As in English
L	As in English
M	As in English
N	As in English
P	As in English
W	After i and e pronounced v After u and o pronounced like w At the start of a word or after a pronounced like w or v
'	'Okina - a glottal stop (more on this below)
Vowels (hit your browsers back button after listening to the sounds below to return to this page)
A	Like the a in far
E	Like the e in bet
I	Like the y in city
O	Like the o in sole
U	Like the oo in moon
Source: Hawaiian Dictionary

Special Symbols - the 'Okina and Kahakō

Two symbols appear frequently in Hawaiian words... the 'Okina and the Kahakō. These two symbols change how words are pronounced.

The 'Okina is the apostrophe mark and is a glottal stop - or a brief break in the word. The break is very fast, and if you're not careful listening you may miss it. As an example, think of the English oh oh - the small break, or silence, between the first oh and the second oh is the same break you would make if an 'Okina appeared in the word (for example... oh'oh).

The 'Okina is an official consonant - just as any of the other consonants. An 'Okina will appear in front of a vowel, never before another consonant. Additionally, an 'Okina will never be the last letter in a word - but will always appear between letters or at the beginning of the word.

The Kahakō is a stress mark (macron) that can appear over vowels only and serve to make the vowel sound slightly longer. The vowels ā, ē, ī, ō, and ū sound just like their non-stress Hawaiian vowels with the exception that the sound is held slightly longer.

Missing the 'Okina or Kahakō can greatly change not only the how a word sounds, but also its basic meaning. For example, the word kāne (kaa-nay) means male while the same word without the Kahakō, kane (ka-nay), means skin disease. Likewise the word moa (mo-ah) is a chicken while mo'a (mo ah) means cooked.

Simple Secrets

The sections above gave you some of the basics behind the language itself and how it appears and sounds. However, there are a couple of simple tricks to help you figure out Hawaiian words quickly and pronounce them properly:

Hawaiian words may start with any letter, vowel or consonant.

Hawaiian words will never end with a consonant.

Syllables in Hawaiian words are only one or two letters, never longer.

Syllables must end with a vowel, or can be a single vowel, but can never be a single consonant.