wahine uʻi
/waˈhi.ne ˈu.ʔi/word by word
The Hawaiian phrase for "beautiful woman" is wahine uʻi.
wahine uʻi is used to describe a woman who is physically attractive.
What does it mean word for word?
The phrase is composed of the noun wahine (woman) and the adjective uʻi (beautiful/handsome/lovely).
How does it change in a sentence?
To say "the beautiful woman", add the article ka before the noun to get ka wahine uʻi. To make the phrase plural ("beautiful women"), add the plural article nā before the noun, resulting in nā wahine uʻi. Note that the adjective uʻi does not change in the plural form.
How do you pronounce it?
The pronunciation is /waˈhi.ne ˈu.ʔi/. It has 5 syllables, and the stress is on the 2nd syllable.
Did you know?
- In traditional Hawaiian culture, beauty was often linked to 'mana', a spiritual power or life force, rather than just physical appearance.
- The word wahine descends from the Proto-Austronesian word bahi, which was used by ancient seafaring peoples thousands of years ago.
- The 'okina in uʻi is a glottal stop, a physical sound produced by closing the vocal cords, which is a consonant in Hawaiian.
Examples in context
- He wahine uʻi ʻo ia.She is a beautiful woman.
- Ua ʻike ʻia ka wahine uʻi.The beautiful woman was seen.
- He wahine uʻi kēia.This is a beautiful woman.
Example conversation
Leilani and Keanu are at a community gathering.
- KeanuHe wahine uʻi ʻoe, Leilani.You are a beautiful woman, Leilani.
- LeilaniMahalo nui, Keanu.Thank you very much, Keanu.
- KeanuʻO wai kēlā wahine uʻi?Who is that beautiful woman?
- LeilaniʻO kaʻu kuʻuʻu kēlā.That is my sister.
Sources
- IPA marked “word by word” joins the Wiktionary pronunciations of each word (wahine, uʻi) and can differ in connected speech.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries wahine, CC BY-SA 4.0.
