1. Saying "Left" (hema) and "Right" (ʻākau) when it comes to telling directions works the same way as it does in English:

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E huli i ka hema.

[Turn to the left.]

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E huli i ka ʻākau.

[Turn to the right.]

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E huli hema.

[Turn left.]

 

E huli ʻākau.

[Turn right.]

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Recall the use of "i" as meaning to or toward.

 

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2. Hema can also mean "South" and ʻākau can also mean "North." Both of these Hawaiian words can act as Adjectives to the noun ʻaoʻao ("side"), just like in English:

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E hele i ka ʻaoʻao hema.

[Go to the left side.]

[Go to the south side.]

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Aia ka pāka ma ka ʻaoʻao ʻākau.

[The park is on the right side.]

[The park is on the north side.]

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Hema and ʻākau are both examples of a larger Hawaiian grammar concept/group of words known as Locatives. Like the name implies, these types of Hawaiian words describe location. This Duolingo category introduces a lot of these terms, seen in the vocab section above.

Locatives can be used in two different ways:

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1. Locatives can come directly after a noun, to tell where (or, the "location") of that noun. For example:

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Aia ka hale kūʻai ma kai o ke alanui.

[The store is seaward of the road.]

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Aia ke kinipōpō ma luna o ka hale.

[The ball is on top of the house.]

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Aia ke kī ma lalo o ke pākaukau.

[The key is under the table.]

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As you can see, when a Locative comes after a noun, they generally are involved in Aia sentence structures.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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2. Locatives can come directly after a verb, to tell where (or the direction) that verb is going. For example:

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E komo i loko o ka hale.

[Come inside (of) the house.]

[Come in the house.]

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E puka i waho o ka hale.

[Go outside (of) the house.]

[Exit the house.]

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For all of these examples, whether the Locative is after a noun or a verb, we see a pattern here: "ma [Loc] o" or "i [Loc] o." Again, you can use "ma" and "i" interchangeably, Duolingo will always mark either correct. This pattern is very common and pretty easy to recognize, as it is almost translated literally into English! Get used to the Hawaiian pattern with Locatives (like mentioned in the vocab section above, try memorizing the Locatives in this pattern), and you shouldn't have any problems!

 

However, there are times, just like in English, where the sentence is short and therefore the "o" (or "of") isn't needed. The phrase is just pointing the verb in a simple direction:

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E piʻi i luna.

[lit. Go up upward.]

[Climb up.]

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E piʻi i uka.

[Climb upland.]

[Climb inland.]

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Especially with verbs, Hawaiian uses Locatives a lot more often than would seem normal in English, even if it sounds redundant in English (E piʻi i luna = "Go up upward"). This is just part of the language and might take some time and practice getting used to.

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Up to (and including) now, we've learned that for the most part "ma" and "i" can be used interchangeably, especially in your answers on Duolingo. However, if you care to know further, there is a slight difference between the two. This difference has largely to do with the action of the main verb. Let's look at a couple of the aforementioned examples:

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E komo i loko o ka hale.

[Come in the house.]

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E piʻi i luna.

[Climb up.]

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Both of these example sentences contain verbs of action. Komo translates to "enter," as in, someone heading forward, walking toward a place, from outside to inside. Likewise, Piʻi translates to "climb," as in, someone heading from somewhere on the ground to another place upward. Therefore, Duolingo chose "i [Loc] o" for the Locatives of each of these verbs/sentences. "i" implies more of a sense of movement, of going from one place to another.

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Consider these other aforementioned examples:

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Aia ke kinipōpō ma luna o ka hale.

[The ball is on top of the house.]

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Aia ke kī ma lalo o ke pākaukau.

[The key is under the table.]

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Both of these examples contain a stationary verb (Aia does count as a verb here). In the first example, "The ball" isn't moving from one place to another, it is simply sitting "on top." Likewise, in the second example, "The key" isn't moving, just sitting "under." Both of these objects are still and unmoving. Therefore, Duolingo chose "ma [Loc] o" for the Locatives of these sentences. "Ma" implies more of a sense of idleness, of inactivity.

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This is the main, albeit small, difference between "ma" and "i," and it spans beyond Locatives to even when we first introduced these words as interchangeable, including when we learned how to ask "Where is__?" (Aia ma hea? or Aia i hea?).

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The Locatives uka and kai, even if you know their translations, might seem a little unfamiliar to you if you don't live on Hawaiʻi.

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Uka, as mentioned in the vocab section, means upland or inland. But if you live on the mainland, this means very little to you. This essentially means "away from the sea" or "towards the mountains."

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Kai, as mentioned in the vocab section, is the noun for sea but also the Locative meaning "seaward" or "towards the sea."

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Since Hawaiʻi is made up of islands, it makes sense for those that live on Hawaiʻi to refer to the sea (or the opposite: inland) often. If you live in a place that isn't surrounded by water, you're less likely to use these phrases in your daily life. This shows how close language, region, and culture are intertwined!

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Both Laila and ʻō  are the Hawaiian words that mean "there." But which do you use?

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On Duolingo, you can use either interchangeably. Much like "ma" and "i," the difference is minimal and Duolingo will accept either one! But if you're wanting to look more into it, read the following explanation.

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Laila refers to a place that has already been mentioned during the conversation, so the speaker and listener both know where "there" refers to. This is usually a place that's "invisible" to the people talking, that is, not a place where they can point to. For example: "My mom's at the store, I need to go there too." The word there refers to "the store," mentioned already in the conversation. Laila would be used in this sentence.

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ʻō, however, refers to a place easily visible to the speaker and the listener. It's frequently used with a gesture, like a point. For example: "Becka is over there, next to that store." You can imagine the speaker pointing to "over there," not previously mentioned before in the conversation. ʻō would be used in this sentence.

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This Duolingo category introduces a couple sentences that start with the word Ke, preceding the Verb and its Subject. This word will translate to "When..." For example:

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Ke hiki ʻoe i laila...

[When you arrive there...]

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