melemele
/ˌme.leˈme.le/
In Hawaiian, the English phrase yellow is expressed as melemele. Wiktionary also lists lenalena.
Meaning: having yellow as its color (adj)
Ways to say it
| Hawaiian | IPA |
|---|---|
| melemele | /ˌme.leˈme.le/ |
| lenalena | /ˌle.naˈle.na/ |
Both melemele and lenalena are used to describe the color yellow, either as an adjective meaning "having yellow as its color" or as a noun meaning "the color yellow."
Which one should you use?
While melemele is the standard term for yellow, lenalena is used to describe a more specific hue, such as a yellowish-orange or a golden-yellow.
Related words
How do you pronounce it?
/ˌme.leˈme.le/. It has 4 syllables, with the stress on the 3rd syllable.
Did you know?
- In Hawaiian, the same word mele can mean 'yellow' or 'song' and 'chant' depending on the context.
- The word melemele is formed through reduplication, a process where a word is repeated to change its meaning or intensity. In this case, the root mele is doubled to create the color name.
- Hawaiian often uses reduplication, like in melemele and lenalena, to intensify a meaning or describe a physical characteristic like color.
Examples in context
- Melemele ka pua nui.The big flower is yellow.This sentence is useful for seeing how to use melemele as an adjective to describe a flower.Tatoeba #4858579 by nonong, translation #10565508 by ToxicFriu
- Melemele ka hale hou.The new house is yellow.
- Ua ʻike aku au i ka ʻaoʻao melemele.I saw the yellow side.
Example conversation
Malia and Ikaika are looking at a garden.
- MaliaHe pua melemele kēlā!That is a yellow flower!
- IkaikaʻAe, nani loa ia.Yes, it is very beautiful.
- MaliaMakemake ʻoe i ka melemele?Do you like yellow?
- IkaikaʻAe, he kala nani kēlā.Yes, that is a beautiful color.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “yellow” translations and entries melemele, lenalena, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries lenalena, melemele, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
