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VOCAB: Thanksgiving

Happy Thanksgiving! Here, you'll find terms related to this holiday, but they can prove useful to remember for the rest of the year too. 

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Please note that Thanksgiving is culturally an American/mainland holiday, as are many of its activities and associations, so Hawaiian (among other languages, Western and non) will often simply translate literally or transcribe these words ("Hawaiianize").

Before jumping straight into the vocab list, let's first look at how to say the greeting "Happy Thanksgiving!" You have two options to choose from:

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Hauʻoli Lā Hoʻomaikaʻi!

 Here is a breakdown of the word:

Hoʻo = "to make [adj]" (common prefix)

Maikaʻi = nice, good, fine [adj]         

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Put these morphemes together, and you get: Hoʻomaikaʻi = To give nice/good/fine-ness; In other words: To thank/give thanks. Therefore: Lā Hoʻomaikaʻi = Day of Giving Thanks!

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Set #1

"Dinner" and Verbs

There are three ways to say dinner:​

  • Dinner = ʻ​aina ahiahi

    • ​Distinguishes itself from breakfast and lunch

  • Dinner = Pāʻ​ina​​

    • Implying a small get-together, including going with family to a restaurant

    • Small dinner party

    • Party that includes food

  • Dinner = ʻ​ahaʻ​aina

    • Large dinner party​

    • Feast, banquet

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  • To feast, give a feast = Hōʻ​ahaʻ​aina

    • Note that this is the same as the Noun above, with an added prefix!​

  • To cook = Kuke / Hoʻ​omoʻ​a

    • Kuke is the Hawaiianization of "Cook"​

    • Ho'omo'a is the Adjective mo'a = cooked with our usual prefix

  • To prepare = Hoʻ​omākaukau

    • Mākaukau = prepared, ready [yourself, or food]​

  • To carve [meat] = ʻ​okiʻ​oki

We'll use this last one, ʻ​ahaʻ​aina, to refer to a Thanksgiving Dinner

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"E hoʻomaikaʻi kākou no kēia ʻahaʻaina nui loa!"

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Hoʻomākaukau ʻo Chichi i ka mea ʻai, a hōʻahaʻaina ʻo Goku

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Hoʻomākaukau lākou i ke pākaukau ʻahaʻaina Hoʻomaikaʻi

Set #2

Foods

  • Turkey [animal and food] = Pelehū

  • Gravy, sauce = Kai

  • Stuffing = Mea hoʻ​opihapiha

    • Piha means full, so this word literally means "thing that makes [one's stomach] full"​

  • Sweet potato = ʻ​​​​uala

    • This is a staple food in Hawaii, and are often purple as well as orange!​

  • Potato = ʻ​uala kahiki

  • Mashed potatoes = ʻ​uala kahiki hoʻ​owali ʻ​ia​

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  • Pumpkin pie = Pai palaʻ​ai

  • Apple pie = Pai ʻ​āpala

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  • Cider = Wai ʻ​ōhiʻ​a or Kaika/Saida

    • Kaika / Saida are Hawaiianizations of Cider​

  • Soda = Koloaka

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ʻO ka pelehū kēia. ʻO Lance kona inoa.

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" ʻAʻole ʻo ia makemake i ka ʻuala?" " ʻAʻole i nā ʻuala apau!"

" ʻAe, hoʻokae nō au, hoʻopaʻa nō ka ʻuala."

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"Paoa maikaʻi kou lauoho. Like me ka mea hoʻopihapiha."

*Honi*

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"Maikaʻ​i loa kēia saida."

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"He champagne paha kēnā."

Set #3

Useful Phrases

  • Hungry = Pōloli

  • Thirsty = Makewai

  • Full [from food] = Māʻ​ona

    • ​Piha is also used for "full," but māʻ​ona has a "full and satisfied" connotation. Neither hint at overeating.​

  • Quenched [thirst] = Kena

  • My mouth is watering! = Moni ka hāʻ​ae!

  • Done eating! = Pau ka ʻ​ai!

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"Pōloli, makewai, manakā!"

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"Hū, māʻona au, piha ka ʻōpū."

"Eia nā kuki hou!"

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Makewai ke kāne.

Inu ʻo ia i ka wai.

Kena ʻo ia.

Prompt ~

1. In the Forum, tell us how you celebrate Thanksgiving! What foods do you and your family eat, or not eat? Whose house do you go to? Who usually prepares the turkey? What do you personally like to prepare?

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2. What are you thankful for? Be detailed!

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3. Take a picture of your Thanksgiving table, or any/all foods that were prepared this year. Label the picture with as much vocab from this list as possible!

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