The Story Behind Our Letters
Before we dive into the sounds and symbols that make up ʻōlelo Hawaiʻi, we need to understand the remarkable story of how our spoken language became a written one. This isn't just history—it's the foundation that supports every word we write and read today.
For centuries, everything our people knew lived in their voices. Genealogies stretching back to the beginning of time, navigation techniques that could guide a canoe across thousands of miles of open ocean, healing practices, stories of gods and heroes—all of it passed from one generation to the next through chants, songs, and spoken stories.
Then, in 1820, American missionaries arrived with a goal that would change everything. They wanted to translate the Bible into Hawaiian, which meant they needed to create a way to write our language down.
From Complex to Simple
Hawaiian alphabet chart showing all 13 letters with pronunciation guide
The first attempt in 1822 was a small eight-page primer, just four by six inches. Missionary printer Elisha Loomis probably had no idea he was starting a revolution. That little booklet marked the birth of Hawaiian literacy.
What amazes me most about this story is how eagerly our aliʻi embraced this new technology. Queen Kaʻahumanu's words from July 1822 still give me chicken skin: "makemake mākou i ka palapala, o naʻauao auaneʻi mākou"—"we want literacy, it may make us wise." Within a month, Governor Kuakini had mastered the primer and was writing letters in Hawaiian.
The word pīʻāpā itself comes from how they taught the alphabet. Students would sound out "b, a – ba," which in Hawaiian pronunciation became "pī ʻā pā."
The missionaries' first alphabet was a mess—21 letters trying to capture every sound they heard. They used k and t interchangeably, same with l and r, and p and b. Imagine trying to learn that system!
By 1826, Hawaiian scholars working with missionaries and even some Tahitian advisors streamlined everything. They voted to keep p instead of b, k instead of t, and l instead of r. This brought us to our elegant 13-letter system that works so beautifully today.
This efficiency reflects something deeply Hawaiian—our value of balance and harmony. Why use 21 letters when 13 can do the job perfectly?
🔤 The 13 Letters
Vowels (Nā Woela)
Consonants (Nā Koneka)
🎵 Vowel Sounds
- A "ah" like father
- E "eh" like bet
- I "ee" like machine
- O "oh" like ocean
- U "oo" like moon
📏 Three Rules
- Every word ends in a vowel
- Every syllable ends in a vowel
- Consonants must be separated by vowels
🧭 Study Guide
Our Modern Alphabet and Getting the Sounds Right
Today's Hawaiian alphabet includes five vowels and eight consonants:
Vowels (Nā Woela): a, e, i, o, u
Consonants (Nā Koneka): h, k, l, m, n, p, w, ʻ
Notice how we put vowels first? That's not an accident. It reflects the musical nature of our language.
Getting the Sounds Right
The key to speaking Hawaiian authentically lies in the vowels. Each one has a pure, clean sound:
A - "ah" sound
Like "ah" in "father."
Examples: aloha, ʻāina
E - "eh" sound
Like "eh" in "bet."
Examples: Pele, hele
I - "ee" sound
Like "ee" in "machine."
Examples: Hawaiʻi, maikaʻi
O - "oh" sound
Like "oh" in "ocean."
Examples: Kona, pono
U - "oo" sound
Like "oo" in "moon."
Examples: Puna, kumu
Special Consonants
The consonants mostly match English, but watch out for these:
- K sits somewhere between English "k" and "g"—softer than you might expect.
- L can sound closer to "d" or even "r" sometimes.
- P is gentler than English "p"—less explosive, more like the "p" in "spin."
- W is the shape-shifter. After i and e, it sounds like "v." After u and o, it's like English "w." After a or at the start of words, it can be either. So Hawaiʻi can be "hah-WAI-ee" or "hah-VAI-ee"—both are correct.
The Rules That Make Music
Hawaiian follows three simple but absolute rules that give our language its flowing, melodic quality:
- 1. Every word ends in a vowel. No exceptions.
- 2. Every syllable ends in a vowel. No consonant clusters like "str" or "pl."
- 3. Consonants must be separated by vowels. Two consonants can never sit side by side.
These rules create the rhythm that makes Hawaiian sound like music. When you hear someone pronounce Kamehameha as "Ka-me-ha-me-ha," they're following this natural syllable pattern.
When Vowels Dance Together
When two vowels appear together, they form what we call diphthongs. Unlike English, where vowel sounds often merge, in Hawaiian each vowel keeps its identity while flowing smoothly into the next:
ai
sounds like the "i" in "ice"
Example: kai (ocean)
ao
sounds like "ow" in "how"
Example: maoli (true)
au
sounds like "ou" in "house"
Example: au (I)
The Soul of Our Sound: ʻOkina and Kahakō
Here's where many people stumble, but these marks are crucial. They're not decorations—they're letters and sounds that change meaning completely.
The ʻokina (ʻ)
Our eighth consonant. It represents the glottal stop—that catch in your throat between the syllables of "uh-oh." You'll see it typed as a backwards apostrophe or filled-in 6 shape.
The kahakō (ā, ē, ī, ō, ū)
The straight line over vowels. It tells you to hold that vowel twice as long and shows you where to put the stress.
These aren't optional. Look at these word pairs:
Miss the marks, say the wrong word entirely.