Da kine
/dah KYNE/
The universal placeholder word. Means 'that thing' or 'whatchamacallit' — but it can mean almost anything from context.
"Da kine" is the most famous and most useful word in Hawaiian pidgin. It fills in for any noun, verb, or adjective you can't remember or don't want to say directly. Context tells the listener what you actually mean. It comes from "the kind" in pidgin English, but carries way more weight. Two locals can hold a whole conversation using "da kine" a dozen times and understand each other perfectly. Outsiders have no chance.
Examples
- Eh, you get da kine? (Do you have the thing?)
- She stay da kine with da kine, you know? (She's doing that thing with that person.)
- Brah you know dakine dakine? (You know that particular thing?)
Origin
Pidgin English
Alternate spellings
Dakine, Da Kine, Dah kine, Da kin
essential universal top-10
Da kine is the Swiss Army knife of pidgin. Master it and you can survive a whole conversation in Hawaii.