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Lu’a
lu’a (v.) to chant (n.) chanting (adj.) chanted He lu’a ue ie eili kau.“Let us chant the sun down.” Notes: Today’s iku is a bit odd. Using the Kamakawi “head” glyph base, the syllabic glyph for ha is...
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Utaka
utaka (adj.) ordinary, common, commonplace, usual (n.) a plant or animal that is common to a particular region (not necessarily native/indigenous) (v.) to be common, to be ordinary, to be usual (v.)...
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Fene
fene (adj.) brief (n.) brevity (v.) to be brief A fene hala’i.“Life is short.” Notes: Brevity seems like a concept central to human experience, as it defines just about everything we can experience....
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Una
una (adj.) gentle (n.) gentleness (v.) to be gentle Una ia!“Be gentle!” Notes: This iku is a bit of a mystery. It contains neither u nor na, and almost kind of looks like fupu. I’m pretty sure the two...
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Fape
fape (adj.) smooth (n.) smoothness (v.) to be smooth Ale fape ia ima!“Because you’re so smooth!” Notes: Heh, heh. From that Santana song that came out a few years back. Of course, the Kamakawi word...
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Loi
or loi (n.) square (adj.) square (v.) to be square Loi lipo.“The box is square.” Notes: Ha, ha! You can say a box is “square” as opposed to “rectangular”; you don’t need to say “cubical”. (Referring...
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Fate
fate (n.) hole, gap (v.) to put a hole in (something), to punch a hole (adj.) full of holes (n.) window Ka lalau nea i amo poiu fate.“She threw it out the window.” Notes: Today’s iku featured in a...
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Kakulu
kakulu (num.) zero (pron.) nothing Ei i kakulu tou!“I am the mighty zero!” Notes: Zero is, indeed, the mightiest of numbers—the archnemesis of one. Multiple anything by zero, and all you get is more...
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Puo
puo (expr.) an answer to an unfair yes or no question (whether neither “yes” nor “no” is technically correct) (n.) refusal Puo.“I refuse to answer the question.” Notes: That, of course, is Keli’s...
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Meuto
meuto (adj.) difficult (v.) to be difficult (n.) difficulty A meuto mawa i’i oku.“Swimming isn’t difficult for me.” Notes: This iku is a bit of a mystery. It’s clearly built off of me, so there’s a...
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