maikaʻi loa
The Hawaiian word for "excellent" is maikaʻi loa.
maikaʻi loa is used to describe something that is of the highest quality.
Meaning: of the highest quality (adj)
What does it mean word for word?
The phrase is composed of maikaʻi (good) and the intensifier loa (very/much).
Which one should you use?
In colloquial speech, you may hear maikaʻi loa loa to mean "extremely excellent," where the intensifier is repeated for even greater emphasis.
How does it change in a sentence?
The intensifier loa follows the adjective it modifies.
Did you know?
- The word loa is used in Hawaiian to describe both intensity and physical length, such as a very long road.
- In Hawaiian culture, the concept of maikaʻi often extends beyond quality to encompass moral goodness and righteousness.
- The word maikaʻi is a linguistic cousin to the Māori word maitai, showing how interconnected the different islands of the Pacific actually are.
Examples in context
- The performance of the hula dancers was maika'i loa.The performance of the hula dancers was excellent.
- Maikaʻi loa kēia meaʻai.This food is excellent.
- He hana maikaʻi loa kēia.This is excellent work.
Example conversation
Keanu and Noelani are looking at a piece of art.
- KeanuHe kikoʻo maikaʻi loa kēia.This is an excellent piece.
- NoelaniʻAe, he nani loa ia.Yes, it is very beautiful.
- KeanuUa hana pono ʻia.It was made well.
- NoelaniHe hana maikaʻi loa.It is excellent work.
Sources
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries loa, maikaʻi, CC BY-SA 4.0.
