Hawaiian Pidgin Dictionary

No. Not.

Also: A'ole

I don't care. Doesn't matter to me.

Also: I no kea

Smart. Clever. Sharp.

Also: So akamai

Broken. Torn up. Destroyed.

Hello. Goodbye. Love. The spirit of Hawaii.

Any older local person. Not actually your aunt or uncle.

Also: Anteh

A fool. An idiot.

Also: Baboose

Big. Huge. Extra large.

Also: Bumbucha

Bald. A bald person.

Brother. Dude. Bro. Universal pidgin friend-word.

Also: Bra, Bruh

Incredibly delicious. So good it breaks your mouth.

Also: Broke the mouth, Brok da mout

Later. By and by. Eventually. Or else.

Also: Bumby, Bum bye, Bum-by, Bumbai

The local hype call. A cheer. A yell of excitement.

Also: Chee Who

Goosebumps. Chills from something spooky or moving.

A lot. Tons. Loads of something.

Also: Get choke

Turn off the light. Turn on = open da light.

Also: Open da light, Pew da light

The universal placeholder word. Means 'that thing' or 'whatchamacallit' — but it can mean almost anything from context.

Also: Dakine, Da Kine, Dah kine, Da kin

$3.80. The pidgin way to say it, because 'three' becomes 'tree.'

Also: Dolla tree eighty, Dolla 3 80, Dollah 3 80

Really awesome. Or an exclamation of disbelief. Depends on context.

Also: Fakamean, Faka Mean

To sucker-punch. Hit someone unexpectedly.

Guaranteed. For sure. 100%.

Also: garanz ball baranz, Garans, Garanz, Garrenz

Food. A meal. To eat.

Also: Grindz, We go grind, We go grindz

Messed up. Broken. All jacked up. A total disaster.

Also: Hammajang, Hammajag, Hamajeng, Hemojangs

One more time. Encore. Do it again.

Also: Hana ho

Snot. Also used for the 'snotty-nosed kid' days — your childhood.

Also: Hanabatta, Hana batta, Hannabutta, Hanabuttah

A white person. Non-Hawaiian foreigner.

Stinky. Foul-smelling.

Also: Haboot

Let's go. Move along. Keep going.

Going out for fun. Cruising around. A casual outing.

Also: Holo holo

Hello. How's it going. What's up.

Also: Howz it, Howsit, Huz it

To flip. To turn over. To overturn.

Also: Huli maka flip

If it works out, great. If not, oh well. The pidgin philosophy of life.

Also: If can, can. If no can, no worry.

OK then. Alright then. Said to wrap things up.

Also: K-den, Kden, Ok den, N den

A local. Someone who lives in Hawaii. The opposite of a tourist.

Also: Kamaina

The food coma after a big local meal.

Also: Ho kanak

Crooked. Lopsided. Uneven.

Taboo. Forbidden. Off-limits.

Sloppy. Careless. Done without effort.

Food. Eating. Lunch time.

Also: We go Kau Kau, buta kau kau

Like that. In that way.

Also: Lidat, Lai dat, Laddat, L'dat

A spanking. A beating.

Also: Lickings, Gonna give u lickins

Want to fight? Nothing to do with cattle.

Also: You like beef, You like beef bra

Passion fruit.

Also: Liliko'i

Crazy. Stupid. Out of your mind.

Also: LoLo, Lolo kukai, Waz up Lolo

Thank you.

Dead. Really, really dead. Triple emphasis.

Also: Make (dead)

The Hawaiian version of Chinese char siu bao. Steamed or baked bun filled with BBQ pork.

Also: Manapua buns, Mana pua

Small. Stingy. Not a big deal.

Awesome. Cool. Really good.

Better. Much better. The preferred option.

Also: Mo' betta, Mo Betah

Sleep. Bedtime.

Also: Moi-moi

Can't. Not possible.

Also: No can dat, Wat can or no can

Butt. Rear end.

Also: ʻŌkole

Bottoms up. Cheers. The Hawaiian toast.

Delicious. Tasty. Good eats.

Also: Onolicious, Ono grinds, Ono kine

Marijuana. Weed.

Also: Paka lolo

Done. Finished. Over.

Also: Pouw, All pau

Done with work. Quitting time. Happy hour.

Also: Pay Hana, Pua Hana

Stinky. Rotten. Nasty.

Also: Hauna pilau

A hole. Any hole.

Crazy. Out of your mind.

Also: Pupule'

Got it. Taken care of. You're good.

Also: So safe, Ho safe

The hand sign. Thumb and pinky out, middle three fingers curled. Means hello, goodbye, thanks, aloha, all good.

Pee. To urinate.

Also: Shishi

OK. Cool. Sounds good. Let's do it. Goodbye.

Also: Shootz, Shuts, Shoots den, Shoots brah

Flip-flops. The official footwear of Hawaii.

Also: Slippers, Get the slippa

Going. In the process of going. Currently doing.

Also: You stay-go, We stay go, Go stay go, You stay go or you go stay

The dirty look. A hard stare meant to intimidate.

Also: No sting eye

Hang out and chat. Shoot the breeze. Catch up.

A tough local girl. Not someone you want to mess with.

Come here please. Come over.

Hold on a second. Wait.

Also: Try wait laddat

Past tense marker. Means 'did' or simply turns a verb into past.