MĀLAMA MAUI: Glossary

GLOSSARY FOR FOODS AND FOOD TERMS COMMONLY USED IN HAWAIʻI:

Bento (BEN tow) – Box lunch, Japanese style.

Malasada (mah luh SAH duh) – Portuguese donut; no hole.

Manju (man JOO) – Japanese dessert, center filled with sweet beans.

Plate lunch – Hot meal with two scoops white rice, one scoop macaroni salad and meat.

Pūpū (poo poo) – Hawaiian appetizers.

Sashimi (sa SHEE mee) – Raw fish.

GLOSSARY FOR PIDGIN WORDS COMMONLY USED IN HAWAIʻI:

Note: Pidgin is a language that evolved during plantation days in Hawaiʻi, in the late 19th century. Labor immigrants from many ethnic backgrounds learned to communicate with one another by simplifying grammatical rules and mixing words from various languages including English. Over time, pidgin evolved into a true language. Below are some of the pidgin words that are commonly used today.

Any kine (EH nee kain) – Anything.

Bumbye (bum BAI) – Soon enough.

Choke – Abundance, lots.

Good fun – FUN is okay but GOOD FUN is better.

Howzit (HOW zit) – Pidgin for "aloha."

Humbug (HUM bug) – Bother, hassle.

Junk – Lousy, terrible.

Local style – Anything typical of the way people do things in Hawaiʻi.

Mo' bettah (mo BEH duh) – Better than better.

Nah – Depending on the context or inflexion: just kidding; no need; really.

No shame – Don't be shy; Wow, doesn't anything embarrass you?

Shaka (SHAH ka) – Hand signal meaning "Howzit."

Talk story (talk STOW ree) – Talk, shoot the breeze, lengthy conversation.

Pau – Finished, end.