aloha nani
/aˈlo.ha ˈna.ni/word by word
The English phrase "hello beautiful" can be said in Hawaiian as aloha nani.
aloha nani is a friendly greeting used to address someone the speaker finds attractive.
What does it mean word for word?
The phrase is composed of aloha, meaning love, greeting or affection and nani, meaning beautiful, bright or splendid.
How does it change in a sentence?
In more grammatically complete Hawaiian, the particle e is often inserted between the greeting and the person being addressed to indicate a vocative, as seen in aloha e nani.
How do you pronounce it?
The pronunciation is /aˈlo.ha ˈna.ni/. It has 5 syllables and the stress is on the 2nd syllable.
Did you know?
- The word aloha shares a common ancestor with the word wave or beckon in Proto-Austronesian languages. It suggests that the greeting began as a physical gesture of calling someone toward you.
- While nani means beautiful, it is also used to describe a bright or splendid landscape. In Hawaiian culture, the concept of beauty is often tied to the radiance and light of the natural world.
- The word aloha has close relatives in other Polynesian languages, such as aroha in Māori and alofa in Samoan. These words all maintain similar meanings of love and affection across the Pacific.
Example conversation
Malia greets Ikaika at a beach party.
- MaliaAloha nani!Hello beautiful!
- IkaikaAloha! Mahalo iā ʻoe.Hello! Thank you.
- MaliaHe lā maikaʻi kēia, ʻio?It is a beautiful day, right?
- IkaikaʻAe, he lā nani loa.Yes, it is a very beautiful day.
Sources
- IPA marked “word by word” joins the Wiktionary pronunciations of each word (aloha, nani) and can differ in connected speech.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries aloha, CC BY-SA 4.0.
