The Hawaiian Alphabet

Unlike the English language with it's 26 letters, the Hawaiian alphabet has only 13 letters. (5 vowels and 8 consonants)

5 vowels, A E I O U

In addition the vowels can be long or short. The addition of the Kahakō (called a macron in other languages) causes the vowel sound to be drawn out/longer and stressed.
Vowels with their kahakō:

Ā ā Ē ē Ī ī Ō ō Ū ū

8 consonants, H K L M N P W and the ʻokina. (ʻ)

The ʻokina, also called a 'glottal stop' is considered a consonant in it's own right, and causes a slight pause in the word, sounding similar to the pause in the English 'oh-oh'.

A popular example of how an ʻokina and a kahakō can change the meaning of a word is "pau":

pau = finished, ended, all done
paʻu = soot, smudge, ink powder
paʻū = moist, damp
pāʻū = skirt

(The letters of the Hawaiian alphabet were established in 1826 by a committee of missionaries who used letters to represent the sounds as they heard them. Thus the letters R, T and V were dropped and replaced by L,K and W. However T is still used in some words, such as Tūtū, and W is often pronounced V, depending on the accompanying words to 'sound best'.)

Hawaiian Natural Order
The natural order in Hawaiian, as in the Māmaka Kaiao, is this:

A, Ā (i.e. A comes before Ā which comes before E, etc.)
E, Ē
I, Ī
O,Ō
U, Ū
H, K, L, M, N, P, W
‘ (‘okina)
Non-Hawaiian letters in roman-alphabet order.

About Keaoonline.com

History

ʻAnoʻai käkou! (Greeting to two or more people)

While trying to learn to speak and read the Hawaiian Language I needed a way to organize my thoughts. As my knowledge and understanding evolves I intend to add to these pages, with vocabulary, grammar and observations that have helped me with my travels through Ka ‘Ōlelo Hawai‘i (The Hawaiian Language).

I am currently making my way through the online Hawaiian course at Duolingo, which I can highly recommend. I have also compiled a list of grammar and story books that are helping me, you can find it here.

E mälama pono!