hale kūʻai
/ˈha.le kuːˈʔai̯/word by word
The Hawaiian word for shop is hale kūʻai.
Hale kūʻai is the standard term used to refer to a retail establishment or a shop.
Meaning: establishment that sells goods (noun)
What does it mean word for word?
The phrase is composed of hale (house/building) and kūʻai (to sell).
How does it change in a sentence?
The word kūʻai specifically means to buy or to purchase.
How do you pronounce it?
/ˈha.le kuːˈʔai̯/. The stress is on the first of the three syllables.
Did you know?
- The word for 'sell' in hale kūʻai is composed of the words for 'to stand' and 'food'.
- In Hawaiian, the same word kūʻai is used for both buying and selling.
- The glottal stop in kūʻai, represented by the symbol ʻ, is a full consonant that creates a distinct break in the sound.
Examples in context
- He hale kūʻai kēia no nā meaʻai.This is a shop for food.
- E hele ana māua i ka hale kūʻai.We are going to the shop.
Example conversation
Kai and Leilani are walking down the street.
- KaiE nānā i kēlā hale kūʻai!Look at that shop!
- LeilaniHe aha nā mea e kūʻai ana lā?What things are they selling?
- KaiHe hale kūʻai kīkē kēlā.That is a clothing shop.
- LeilaniE hele kākou i loko.Let's go inside.
Sources
- IPA marked “word by word” joins the Wiktionary pronunciations of each word (hale, kūʻai) and can differ in connected speech.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries hale, hale kūʻai, kūʻai, CC BY-SA 4.0.
