iho

1. to go down, descend; downhill, towards the sea.
2. core, as of an apple, breadfruit, or pandanus.
3. directional, down, below; used with words describing activities of ones own body, as eating, drinking, etc. ('ai iho - to eat. No'ono'o iho, to think) "self" personally.  

E hana ana 'o ia nona iho - he will work for himself.  Used with words of time, usually present or future, or just past.

WOW. The first two are pretty straightforward.

Iho i lalo - go down.

Ua iho a i ke kai - (It) descended until it reached the ocean.

He iho ko ka 'ulu - the 'ulu has a core.

The third translation is a bit more tricky.  In an English teacher's term, it is a particle, and its placement usually (but not always) follows the verb:

hele iho - go down, descend

makewai iho 'o Kaniela - Daniel was thirsty.

'O au iho nö me ka ha'aha'a - I am yours, humbly

ma hope iho - right afterwards

kēia lāpule iho - this coming Sunday

There are four directional words: mai, aku, iho, a'e. Iho is not as straightforward as mai (since mai is generally a direction towards the speaker). Iho is used in reference to a downwards motion, such as rain or tears, a motion unto oneself, such as inu iho, drinking, reflecting unto oneself, pa'akiki me kāna iho - stubborn with his own self, and has a time reference, such as i kēia mau lā iho nei - a few days ago (though the other directionals has a reference to time, also). Not always an easy concept to grasp, the unconscious use of directionals in speaking Hawaiian is hard to explain by a native speaker and very difficult to understand and use by a second language speaker. As with anything, practice makes almost perfect.  Pay attention to Hawaiian songs, which tend to use the directionals a lot. if you don't know what the whole line is referring to, at least you'll have an idea of what direction it's happening in!

Ke iho la ka ua - The rain is falling

Iho i lalo! - get down!

'O au iho nō me ke aloha nui no ka 'ōlelo makuahine (just me, with great aloha for the mother tongue)

Wali

Smooth, thin, as poi; fine, mashed, soft, powdery, supple, limber, as a dancer's body.

 

Ho'owali is the word used when mixing something, like poi or dough, because your main goal when doing this is to get to that smooth, fine consistency. NEVER a good thing to have lumpy poi.  You MUST ho'owali until it is wali. Bad karma to have lumpy poi.

Ua wali ka poi - The poi is smooth.

'uala ho'owali 'ia - mashed sweet potatoes.

Nā mea ho'owali o loko - digestive organs (literally "the smoothing things inside)

Puaʻa Hame

Ham

And what's Thanksgiving without ye ole pua'a hame?  Can't live without that word!  I'm sure many of you recognized the word pua'a in there because where do we get the ham from?  That's right!  Porky Pig!   Other words for ham include 'ūhā hame ('ūhā means hindquarters) or ''ūhā pua'a or just plain hame.

He pua'a hame nui kā mākou no ka Lā Ho'omaika'i - We have a big ham for Thanksgiving.

Kai

Gravy, sauce, dressing, soup, broth

Yes, gravy.  Of course kai also means sea or sea water but I didn't want to "water" down the focus on FOOD!  Kai, or gravy, because it always has a nice salty taste to it, is referred to as kai.  And nothing goes better on pelehū or pua'a hame or palaoa that has been puhi 'ia than kai.

'Ono loa ke kai ma luna o ka 'i'o pelehū - Gravy is very delicious on top of the turkey.

Loa'a ke kai no ka lau'ai? - Is there dressing for the green salad?

Pelehū

Turkey

        Gearing up for the big Thanksgiving Day festivities!  So I want to equip you with some vocabulary words that you can use in your food preparation. Teach the kids (or grandkids!), make vocabulary placecards.    Another word for turkey is pōkeokeo.  Some areas say palahū (like Waimea, Hawai'i).
        We've got lots of pelehū roaming wild here in Hāmākua but fortunately for them, it's easier to pay $5.00 for a ready to cook one from Sack n Save than to have to shoot, pluck, clean, and cook for DAYS our own for free.  Maybe not as fun, but a heck of a lot less work.  Plus those pelehū know not to come around in November! We did (and by we I mean my son and my brother, John) shoot a couple of pelehū for Motherʻs Day last year and just used the breast meat. It made a wonderful turkey burger for our meal! The rest of the carcass was returned to the earth way up in the pasture only to be recovered by my lab, Loku. Three days worth of feathers flying around her kennel. Sheʻs like a vulture.

E 'ai ana kākou i ka pelehū - We are going to eat a turkey

Nui ka pelehū ma Hawai'i - There are a lot of turkeys on Hawai'i

Piliwaiwai

Gambling, betting, gambler; to bet, gamble.

        Literally piliwaiwai means to wager wealth.  Thought this might be a good word for you to learn during this football season (I know what happens at those parties during the super bowl!) and since trips to Las Vegas (alias Lost Wages) are SO AFFORDABLE (they appear to be but it's all an illusion) I know that many of you can find piliwaiwai useful.  But maybe if you break the word into its parts (pili = to wager.  waiwai = wealth) it might slow you down a bit.
        Don't you think it's funny that when we go to Las Vegas we don't think twice about throwing down $20 at one time for a wager but we walk miles for a cheap meal?
      
Nui ka piliwaiwai ma LV - There's a lot of gambling in LV

Ho'opāpā 'ia ka piliwaiwai ma Hawai'i - It is forbidden to gamble in Hawai'i.

hua

1.  fruit, tuber, egg, produce, yield, ovum. 
2. round object, as pill or bead.  
3.  result, effect. 
4. Tesitcles. 
5. a vulgar gesture. 
6. word,letter,figure.  
7.  Name of the thirteenth night of the lunar month.  
8.  Name of a star.  
9. The bulging of the broadest part of a paddle blade.

Wow, that was a lot!  But the main meaning I would like to focus on is the 7th one.  Name of the thirteenth night of the lunar month.  Last night's moon is named appropriately Hua.  One night after Mōhalu. It is during the Hua moon that one should plant any fruiting plant.  This helps us to remember that Hua actually means fruit!  Here's another easy way to remember Hua the moon with hua the fruit.  This moon is in the shape of an egg and hua also means egg!  Hua moa - chicken egg.  So think of an egg as you go outside to look at tonight's moon and notice the resemblance.  Then remember that this is the time to plant fruiting trees, plants.  Hawaiians once again showing their "oneness" with nature and their environment.