Hawaii Magazine
38 Hawaiian and Pidgin Phrases Every Visitor Needs to Know
Here’s a pocketbook dictionary on some of the most useful, and common, Pidgin and Hawaiian words used in Hawaii.
Sep 9, 2019
EDITOR’S NOTE: For the sake of clarity, we will be using Hawaiian diacritics, such as okina (ʻ) and kahako (āēīūō) in this article.
If you’re coming to Hawaiʻi for the first time, prepare to be blasted with phrases and words that might not make any sense to you. Hawaiian Pidgin English, known locally as Pidgin, is spoken by many Hawaiʻi residents, and words and phrases from ʻōlelo Hawaiʻi (Hawaiian language) has also become the norm here in the Islands. So, if you’re worried about not knowing the lingo, here’s an alphabetical list of 38 Pidgin and Hawaiian phrases that will help you not get lost in translation.