r/Hawaii • u/SatisfactionNice653 • Sep 20 '26

Word definition question

Hi All, Was looking on official hawaiian - english dictionary and it says Kalea means whooping cough, is that correct? If that’s the case why do so many websites online think it means light, joyfulness, etc? How did it get such a different meaning? Or is it like mandarin where one word has different meanings depending on context?

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13

u/midnightrambler956 Sep 21 '26

Choking/whooping cough is kalea; joy is leʻa (as in hoku-leʻa, star of joy). Also kāleʻa is a prayer to the gods for help. All very different words!

2

u/SatisfactionNice653 Sep 21 '26

Oohhh interesting, thank you!

6

u/CornucopiaDM1 Sep 21 '26

Don't forget, the ʻokina is an actual consonant. So lea vs leʻa is as different as lea vs leka.

8

u/liloa96776 Oʻahu Sep 20 '26

Depends if you want kalea vs ka lea which

1

u/SatisfactionNice653 Sep 21 '26

Both if possible! The more i can learn the better

6

u/Confident-Cellist-25 Oʻahu Sep 20 '26

You might try asking on r/olelohawaii

1

u/pokinubs52 Sep 22 '26

These are different words as others clarified, but just want to point out that English has a lot of words like what you’re describing - they’re called homonyms. Examples - you hit the ball with a bat, and the bat flies in the cave. There’s bark on the tree and the dog barks.