mele nani
/ˈme.le ˈna.ni/word by word
The English phrase "beautiful song" is mele nani in Hawaiian.
What does it mean word for word?
The phrase is composed of mele meaning song and nani meaning beautiful, following the Hawaiian word order of noun followed by adjective.
How does it change in a sentence?
In Hawaiian, nouns do not change form to indicate plurality. mele nani can mean both "beautiful song" and "beautiful songs" depending on context.
Did you know?
- Certain ancient mele were considered sacred and could only be performed by specific people. Performing these chants incorrectly was sometimes believed to bring bad luck or spiritual danger.
- Historically, some types of mele were used to record genealogy and land boundaries. These functioned as living archives in a society that did not use a written alphabet for centuries.
- The word mele may be derived from the word for 'honey'. This suggests a linguistic link between the sweetness of a taste and the sweetness of a sound.
Examples in context
- He mele nani kēia.This is a beautiful song.
Example conversation
Kai and Noelani are listening to music together.
- KaiE nani loa kēia mele, ʻē?This song is very beautiful, right?
- NoelaniʻAe, he mele nani loa kēia.Yes, this is a very beautiful song.
- KaiO wai ka mea i hana?Who made it?
- NoelaniHe kumu mele ka mea i haku.A songwriter composed it.
Sources
- IPA marked “word by word” joins the Wiktionary pronunciations of each word (mele, nani) and can differ in connected speech.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries mele, CC BY-SA 4.0.
