haole
/ˈhao̯.le/
In Hawaiian, the phrase for "white girl" is haole.
The term haole is used to refer to a person of European descent, such as a girl or woman.
How does it change in a sentence?
To specify "the white girl" or "the white woman" as a noun phrase, you use the article ka followed by wahine (woman) and haole, resulting in ka wahine haole.
How do you pronounce it?
/ˈhao̯.le/. The first of two syllables is stressed.
Did you know?
- The term haole is often mistakenly explained as meaning 'without breath' because foreigners did not perform the traditional 'honi' greeting, which involves a nose-to-nose breath exchange.
- The word wahine refers to both 'girl' and 'woman', as Hawaiian traditionally does not distinguish between age groups in the same way English does.
- Using haole to describe someone's behavior, such as 'acting haole', refers to adopting Western customs rather than their actual race.
Examples in context
- He haole wahine kēia.This is a white girl.
- He haole wahine kēlā.That is a white girl.
Example conversation
Kiana and Kai are talking about a new classmate.
- KianaMai kaulana mai kēlā haole.That white girl is very famous.
- KaiʻAe, he nani loa ʻo ia.Yes, she is very beautiful.
- KianaHe kīkī ʻo ia.She is very small.
- KaiʻOiaʻo, he liʻiliʻi ia.True, she is little.
Sources
- Pronunciation: Wiktionary entry haole, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries haole, CC BY-SA 4.0.
