Wehewehe Wikiwiki Hawaiian language dictionaries

interjection, Why? What? For what reason? To do What? To ask what? (Aha frequently follows he and is often written heaha; cf. Gram. 4.6, 8.5.)

• Examples:
  • He aha? What is it? What?
  • He aha kēlā? What is that?
  • He aha kāna? What has he got there? What does he have to say about it? What business is it of his [sarcastic]?
  • I ke aha? Why? What for?
  • He aha ia mea? What of it [frequently spoken with an outward gesture of the right hand with palm upwards]?
  • He … aha? What kind of? For what purpose? He hale aha kēlā? What kind of a house is that? What is it used for? He mea aha? What's it used for [annoyance]? Why?
  • He aha ihola lā, no one knows why, for no apparent reason.
  • He aha ihola lā ʻo ka ua nō ia, for no reason it's raining. To what? Why?
  • E hele ana ʻoe i ke aha? Why are you going?
  • No ke aha? Why?
  • E aha ana ʻoe? What are you doing?
  • E aha ʻia ana? What is being done?
  • E aha ana lā lāua nei? (FS 231) What are the two doing here?
  • I aha ʻia ke kaʻa? What happened to the car?
  • I aha ai ka hele ʻana? (pronounced iahai), Why go?
  • E kamaʻilio ā e aha? What's the use of talking?
  • Aha maila ke kahuna, “He mea aha?” (Kep. 21) The priest asked, “What's that?”
  • O aha? Lest what? What will happen then?
  • O ahaʻina (contraction of o aha ʻia ana)? Lest what happen?
• References:
  • PPN haa and probably hafa, PEP afa.

1. s., A cord braided from the husk of the cocoanut.

2. A cord braided from human hair.

3. Strings made from the intestines of animals; ka naan i mea aha moa, the intestines for strings to tie fowls with; he aha, pulu niu; he aha waa a me ka aha hoa waa, a cord for tying and strengthening a canoe in a storm; he aha palaoa, he lauoho i hili nilo ia.

1. v., To stretch the cord by which the first posts of a house were put down or set straight; e kii i ke kaula e aha ai, fetch the rope to make straight with.

2. FIG. Aha, oia ka ana a me ka aha pololei no ke anpuni, aha, that is, to measure and direct straightly the government.

adj., The numeral four. Same as eha.

(ke) aha what? why?

braided cord of coir, hair or intestines, prayer based on braided coir, assemblage of priests, edge or border, measure in single line.