keiki kāne
The Hawaiian word for boy is keiki kāne.
keiki kāne is used to refer to a male child. The term keiki alone is a gender-neutral word for a child and can include both boys and girls.
Meaning: male child (noun)
What does it mean word for word?
The phrase is composed of keiki meaning child and kāne meaning male.
Which one should you use?
While keiki kāne refers to a boy, keiki wahine is used to refer to a girl.
How does it change in a sentence?
To say 'the boy', you add the article ka before the phrase, resulting in ka keiki kāne.
Did you know?
- In Hawaiian mythology, Kāne is the name of the great father and creator god, the source of all fresh water and life.
- The word keiki is often used in Hawaii as a loanword in English, such as in 'keiki menus' for children at restaurants.
- In some traditional contexts, the term keiki can be used affectionately to refer to a person who is younger than the speaker, even if they are no longer a child.
Examples in context
- He keiki kāne kēia.This is a boy.
- Ua ʻike ʻia ka keiki kāne.The boy was seen.
Example conversation
Ikaika and Kiana are talking about a new neighbor.
- IkaikaHe keiki kāne hou ka mea e noho ana ma kona pili.The one living next door is a new boy.
- KianaHe keiki kānealoha anei ʻo ia?Is he a lovable boy?
- IkaikaʻAe, he keiki kāne pololei ʻo ia.Yes, he is a good boy.
- KianaMaikaʻi kēlā.That is good.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “boy” translations and entries keiki kāne, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
