wahine
/waˈhi.ne/
The Hawaiian word for wife is wahine.
While wahine is used to mean wife in many contexts, its primary and most common meaning is simply woman. It can refer to any adult woman, regardless of whether she is married or not.
Meaning: female partner in a marriage (noun)
How does it change in a sentence?
To specify 'the wife', you add the article ka before the word, resulting in ka wahine.
How do you pronounce it?
The word has 3 syllables, with the stress on the second syllable: /waˈhi.ne/.
Did you know?
- In traditional Hawaiian culture, the role of wahine in a household often carried significant authority over the management of land and resources.
- The word wahine shares a common ancestor with the word 'bahi' from the Austronesian language family, which is one of the most widespread language families in the world.
Examples in context
- ko'u wahineMy wife
Example conversation
Koa is introducing Kiana to a friend.
- KoaE nānā, ʻo Kiana kēia, koʻu wahine.Look, this is Kiana, my wife.
- KianaAloha kāua, Kiana.Hello to us, Kiana.
- KoaHe wahine ʻakikiki ʻo ia.She is a clever wife.
- KianaHe mea maikaʻi kēlā.That is a good thing.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “wife” translations and entries wahine, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries wahine, CC BY-SA 4.0.
