kāmaʻa
/kaːˈma.ʔa/
The Hawaiian word for shoe is kāmaʻa.
kāmaʻa is a noun used to refer to a protective covering for the foot.
Meaning: protective covering for the foot (noun)
What does it mean word for word?
The word kāmaʻa is a single noun and does not have a breakdown into smaller constituent parts.
How do you pronounce it?
The word has three syllables, with the stress on the second syllable: /kaːˈma.ʔa/.
Did you know?
- Traditional Hawaiians did not historically use kāmaʻa in the sense of closed-toe shoes, as they typically went barefoot or used simple wraps.
- The word kāmaʻa is a cognate with the Tahitian word tamaʻa, showing how seafaring ancestors carried the terminology for sandals across the ocean.
- The glottal stop in kāmaʻa, represented by the symbol ʻ, is a full consonant that creates a distinct break in the sound of the word.
Example sentences for Hawaiian are not verified yet.
Example conversation
Ikaika and Malia are getting ready to go outside.
- IkaikaAia kou kāmaʻa, Malia.Here is your shoe, Malia.
- MaliaMahalo, Ikaika.Thank you, Ikaika.
- IkaikaHe kāmaʻa hou paha kēia?Is this perhaps a new shoe?
- MaliaʻAe, he kāmaʻa hou kēia.Yes, this is a new shoe.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “shoe” translations and entries kāmaʻa, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries kāmaʻa, CC BY-SA 4.0.
