pehea ʻoe?
In Hawaiian, 'how are you?' is said as pehea ʻoe?
pehea ʻoe? is a common greeting used to ask someone about their current well-being or state.
What does it mean word for word?
The phrase is composed of pehea (how) and ʻoe (you).
Which one should you use?
Use pehea ʻoe? when addressing a single person, but use pehea ʻoukou? when addressing a group of people.
How does it change in a sentence?
To ask 'how are you?' to a group of people, replace the singular pronoun ʻoe with the plural pronoun ʻoukou.
When do people say it?
A common response to pehea ʻoe? is maikaʻi, meaning 'good' or 'fine' or maikaʻi loa, meaning 'very good'.
Did you know?
- In traditional Hawaiian culture, a greeting like pehea ʻoe? is often accompanied by a honi, where two people touch noses and foreheads to share a breath.
- The glottal stop marked by the ʻokina in ʻoe is a full consonant, not just a punctuation mark, and must be pronounced to be understood.
- The word pehea is a linguistic cousin to the word pēhea in Māori and pehea in Rapa Nui, reflecting the shared ancestry of these Polynesian languages.
Examples in context
- Pehea ʻoe? / Maikaʻi nō au, ʻo ʻoe?How are you? / I'm good, and you?
- Aloha, pehea ʻoe?Hello, how are you?
Example conversation
Leilani meets Keanu at a local park.
- LeilaniAloha, Keanu! Pehea ʻoe?Hello, Keanu! How are you?
- KeanuMaikaʻi loa au, mahalo.I am very good, thank you.
- LeilaniHauʻoli i ka ʻike ʻana iā ʻoe.I am happy to see you.
- KeanuMahalo, Leilani.Thank you, Leilani.
Sources
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries pehea, ʻoe, CC BY-SA 4.0.
