A few building blocks to help the words you are learning click into sentences. Not a full course, just enough to get you talking.
Making sentences
The action comes first
Hawaiian usually starts with the verb, then who, then what.
Hele au — go I — I go.
Makemake au i ka wai — want I the water — I want water.
There is no word for "is" or "are"
To describe something, just put the quality first. No "to be" needed.
Maikaʻi au — good I — I am good.
Nui ka hale — big the house — The house is big.
Saying who someone is
Use ʻo before a name or before ia (he/she) to say what something is.
ʻO wai kou inoa? — What is your name?
ʻO Pua koʻu inoa — My name is Pua.
Asking a question
Put the question word at the front of the sentence.
Pehea ʻoe? — How are you?
ʻEhia? — How many? Aha? — What?
Two words for "the"
Usually ke before words starting with k, e, a, or o (remember KEAO), and ka for everything else. A few words break the pattern, so treat it as a guide.
ke keiki — the child ka hale — the house
"My" and "your" come in two flavors
Use koʻu / kou for things close to you like family, body, and home. Use kaʻu / kāu for things you make or get. Starting with koʻu and kou is just fine.
Word types (the tags you see on each card)
Kikino (noun)
People, places, and things, like hale (house) or keiki (child). Often takes ka or ke in front.
Hamani (transitive verb)
An action done to something, like ʻai (to eat) or makemake (to want).
Hehele (intransitive verb)
An action or motion with no direct object, like hele (to go) or noho (to sit, to live).
ʻAʻano (stative verb / adjective)
A state, condition, or quality, like maikaʻi (good), nui (big), or hauʻoli (happy). These act as both the adjective and the "to be."
Special characters
The ʻokina (ʻ) is a glottal stop and acts as a consonant, like the catch in "uh-oh." The kahakō (ā) is a macron that holds a vowel longer. They can change meaning, so they matter, but typing without them still counts here.