Language Preservation
Hawaiian
Companion: Sefina
"Sefina Faleolo is a Pacific navigation researcher and navigator who guides all nine Polynesian languages including Hawaiian. She carries traditional wayfinding knowledge across the Pacific."
What You'll Learn
11
story arcs
30,493
vocabulary entries
A1–C2
CEFR levels
Story Arcs
He Moana Pana — The Sea Remembers
Mai Uka a kai — From Mountain to Sea
Ka Hula — The Word Made Movement
Ka Lāhui Hawaiʻi — The Hawaiian Nation
Aloha ʻĀina — The Land Is Not Separate
+ 6 more arcs
Wisdom from this tradition
Aia no i ka po'e e mele ana
aia nō i ka poʻe e mele ana
Literal: "It is for those who sing"
The treasure belongs to those who participate, not those who merely observe — engagement is ownership.
— ʻŌlelo Noʻeau #148
Ma ka hana ka ike
ma ka hana ka ike
Literal: "In the doing is the knowledge"
Understanding comes from practice, not from theory — you learn by doing.
— ʻŌlelo Noʻeau #2088
O ka mea i loa a pono e hana ai
o ka mea i loaʻa pono e hana ai
Literal: "That which is rightly obtained, work with it"
Use what has come to you legitimately — do not waste the gift of rightful possession.
— ʻŌlelo Noʻeau
Aloha aku, aloha mai
aloha aku, aloha mai
Literal: "Give aloha, receive aloha"
Love and care flow in reciprocal cycles — what you give returns to you.
— ʻŌlelo Noʻeau
He ali'i ka aina, he kauwa ke kanaka
he aliʻi ka ʻāina, he kauwā ke kanaka
Literal: "The land is chief; man is its servant"
Land is not owned by people — people belong to the land; humans are stewards, not possessors.
— ʻŌlelo Noʻeau #531
Start Learning Hawaiian
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