ʻelepani
/ʔe.leˈpa.ni/
The Hawaiian word for elephant is ʻelepani.
ʻelepani is a noun used to refer to the mammal.
Meaning: mammal (noun)
What does it mean word for word?
The word ʻelepani is a transliteration of the English word 'elephant'.
How do you pronounce it?
The word has 4 syllables, with the stress on the third syllable: /ʔe.leˈpa.ni/.
Did you know?
- The word ʻelepani uses the ʻokina, a glottal stop represented by the symbol ʻ, which is a full consonant in Hawaiian.
- The word ʻelepani follows the strict Hawaiian rule of ending every syllable with a vowel, which is why an extra 'i' was added to the end of the English word.
- The word ʻelepani is a perfect example of how Hawaiian adapts foreign sounds to its own limited set of consonants, specifically replacing the 'f' or 'ph' sound with a 'p'.
Examples in context
- He ʻelepani kēia.This is an elephant.
Example conversation
Two friends are looking at a book about animals.
- KaiHe aha kēia?What is this?
- NoelaniHe ʻelepani kēia, e Kai.This is an elephant, Kai.
- KaiHe mea nui loa ia!It is very big!
- NoelaniʻAe, he mea nui ka ʻelepani.Yes, the elephant is big.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “elephant” translations and entries ʻelepani, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
