Māʻona

vs. Satisfied after eating, full, satisfying; to have eaten, to eat one's fill. Fig., intoxicated. For a rare use of māʻona as a noun, see kuenenuʻu. Ua māʻona ʻoe? Have you eaten? Have you had enough? Are you full? Māʻona maikaʻi, to have had enough to eat, but not to have overeaten. Māʻona piha, māʻona loa, completely full. He lau māʻona (For. 4:43), a leaf that gives plenty to eat. Inu mai nei a māʻona, a laila hoʻohakakā, drinking until drunk, then starting fights. Māʻona ka ʻuhane i ka ʻōlelo a ke Akua, the spirit is sustained by the word of God. ʻhoʻo.mā.ʻona To eat all one wants, to feed all that is wanted. (PPN maakona.)

     Growing up we didnʻt really use this word, māʻona, when we were full. It was always "piha ka ʻōpū" - the stomach is full. I donʻt know why we didnʻt use it but I like it much better. It is usually pronounce māʻana. A native thing. So you should say it that way, too, because seriously, I donʻt hear anyone use the "o" sound in māʻona.

     I like the fact that māʻona refers to being satisfied rather than being FULL. Being full, to me, means overeating. Just a bit too much. Māʻona is like just right. And having lived with a habit of overeating (maybe the piha ka ʻōpū thing was a foretelling of the future?) I am now focusing on living a māʻona lifestyle.