Hauʻoli Lā Mei
/hau̯ˈʔo.li ˈlaː ˈmei̯/word by word
To say "happy may day" in Hawaiian, use Hauʻoli Lā Mei.
Hauʻoli Lā Mei is a greeting used to wish someone a happy May Day holiday.
What does it mean word for word?
The phrase is composed of hauʻoli (happy), lā (day) and Mei (May).
How do you pronounce it?
The pronunciation is /hau̯ˈʔo.li ˈlaː ˈmei̯/. It has 5 syllables, with the stress on the second syllable.
Did you know?
- May Day in Hawaii is celebrated as the 'Lei Day', where the tradition is to wear and exchange flower garlands called lei.
- The term lā traces back to a Proto-Austronesian root layaʀ, which is related to the Malay word layar meaning 'sail'.
- While Hauʻoli Lā Mei wishes someone a happy day, the word lā also means 'sun' in Hawaiian. This creates a linguistic link between a calendar day and the celestial body that defines it.
Examples in context
- Hauʻoli Lā Mei iā ʻoe!Happy May Day to you!
Example conversation
Ikaika and Leilani meet at a community festival.
- IkaikaHauʻoli Lā Mei, Leilani!Happy May Day, Leilani!
- LeilaniMahalo, Ikaika, hauʻoli Lā Mei iā ʻoe.Thank you, Ikaika, happy May Day to you.
- IkaikaUa nani kou lei.Your lei is beautiful.
- LeilaniMahalo loa.Thank you very much.
