koaʻe

1.  The tropic or boatswain bird, particularly the white-tailed tropic bird which inhabits cliffs of the high islands.  
2.  a variety of banana.  
3.  A variety of taro.  
4.  A snapper, probably onaga.  
5. A variety of sweet potato.

You will find other birds which may have a counterpart, either in the ocean or on land.  Koaʻe is just one fine example.  I saw many koaʻe flying in Borabora when I went there a few years ago.  They are a beautiful, sleek bird. There are koaʻe kea (white koa'e) and koaʻe ʻula (red-tailed).   I am particularly fond of the koaʻe because the Hāmākua coast of Hawai'i island is known poetically as ka pali lele koaʻe, or the cliff where tropic birds fly.

He koaʻe, manu o ka pali kahakō - It is the koaʻe, bird of the sheer cliffs (An expression of admiration for an outstanding person.  The koa'e build their nests on cliffs.)

'Ōlelo ke kupa o ka 'āina ua mālie; ua au koaʻe - The natives of the land declare that the weather is calm when the tropic bird travels afar.

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Mōkākī

Scattered, littered disheveled; disorder, untidiness, mess, chaos.

     Mōkākī ko'u hale!  My house is a MESS!  Okay, now you know what generated today's word.

    In English when something is messy, we might want to say it's dirty or lepo, but really, that's not the case (unless you live in Mākaha next to the highway, with lots of louvered windows that have to stay open because it's so hot, then it IS lepo!).  We might want to say kāpulu which means the same as mōkākī and more.  But generally speaking, if your house is in need of some tidying up, it's mōkākī.  If it's downright disgusting (and mine is bordering that state) then it's kāpulu.

'A'ole mōkākī kona hale - Her house is not untidy.

'A'ole au makemake i ka lumi mōkākī - I don't like a messy room.

Pohō

1.  Loss, damage; out of luck; vain.  
2.  Bog, swamp, mire, slough; sunken, sinking, to settle, as earth.

Those of you familiar with this word surely know it wasn't commonly used to refer to #2 above.  More likely it was used in the context of #1, that is, when something is "waste time."  Pohō.  Neva mind.  Now this is a word that I always heard, especially from my dad.  It hasn't lost its steam, like many other Hawaiian words that were used a lot in small kid time.  Not every Hawaiian word can stand on its own in the midst of an English sentence.  Pohō definitely can.

"Pohō help you guys!"  "Das pohō already."  "Pohō clean dis yard wit all da weeds!"

Here's an interesting 'ōlelo no'eau using pohō:

Pohō i ka mālama i ko ha'i keakea!
A waste of effort to take care of someone else's semen!
(Usually said in anger by one who cares for the children of another.  Also expressed "Pohō i ka mālama i ko ha'i kūkae!"  A waste of effort to take care of someone else's excreta.

Well, hopefully all is not pohō in today's word!

Ukupau

Piece labor, pay by the job rather than according to time, as on sugar plantations; used in pidgin for any work that everyone should pitch in gladly to finish; contract labor.

        The word was brought to my attention by a very dear friend of mine, Lisa Wood. She was gathering together common phrases and words used in ranching and this is a word that she heard being used by the cattlemen many times.

        Ukupau is comprised of two words: uku=to pay, and pau=finished.  Finished pay. In other words, you are paid by the job, much like the plantation workers who had to clear out a certain section of land before getting paid, or complete a certain task, whether it took them all day or two days. This enticed the workers to work as hard and as fast as they could!

Hana kākou a ukupau - We work until the task is completed.

kelepona

Telephone

When my family rides in the car together, everyone has their own cell phones, except of course the moʻopuna.  The age of technology is upon us.   Now our cell phones, instead of just making and receiving calls, allow us to text one another, take and send photos and videos, search on the internet, play games and much more.
        Kelepona is the transliteration of the English word telephone.  Along the lines of "tele" communication we also have:

kelepona lawe lima - cordless phone (phone to take by hand)
kelepaʻi - fax phone (kele=tele; pa'i=print)
kelekaʻaʻike - telecommunication (ka'a'ike-transferred knowledge)
keleō - beeper/pager (ö=tinkling, tolling or chime of a bell)
kelulā - cellular

ʻOma

1.  Oven, baking pan; to roast, bake; roasted. 
2. To open the mouth, as though to speak. 
3. Female mahimahi fish. 
4. Concave. 
5. small adze. 
6. Space between opposing armies where sacrifices were offered; preparations for war; first men killed in war.

    Here's a word you can use everyday, especially those who cook in the kitchen.  So go and make a post-it note, stick it on the 'oma, and, starting today, begin using 'oma instead of oven!  I'm sure the people in your house will not get it confused with the other meanings of 'oma. After all I'm sure there are no wars in your household (well, not of the magnitude where sacrifices are offered).

pelehū 'oma - roast turkey

'oma wawe - microwave oven (wawe=quick)

Mākaukau ka 'oma - The oven is ready.

Wela ka 'oma - The oven is hot.

E ho'ohana i ka 'oma wawe - Use the microwave oven.

hipa

sheep

Now in English, the world of sheep is quite extensive.  I mean how many of you know the real difference between a lamb, sheep, and mutton?  But in Hawaiian there's one word for all of these and that word is hipa.  Though hipa are being raised on the different islands, the only island where you may find wild sheep and mouflon (a relative of hipa) is on Hawai'i Island.  Unfortunately these cutie animals are quite destructive to native growth (particularly the mamane trees, one of my favorites).  In 1980 the Sierra Club won a lawsuit which prompted the state to eliminate most wild hipa from Mauna Kea.  Have you ever saw that horrible gorse that has devastated the upper slopes of Mauna Kea, near Hakalau?  It's the most awful looking plant, with horrible thick long spines that has ruined the landscape and killed everything in its way.  I do believe it was the hipa that was brought in by Parker Ranch (perhaps from New Zealand) that spread this seed (it was stuck in their thick wool) on those upper slopes.

Kahuhipa - Shepherd (sheep guardian)

hulu hipa - wool (sheep fur)

'ili hipa - sheepskin

'īlio kia'i hipa - sheep dog

Iesū nō ke kahuhipa - Jesus is the shepherd