I stared hard at the word, written in Magic Marker on colored cardstock and tacked up on the bulletin board of my mom’s first-grade classroom, until it dawned on my 11-year-old brain that it wasn’t English. In Hawaii, honu especially refers to the Hawaiian green sea turtle, a threatened species of hard shelled turtle that is protected under the Endangered Species Act (it is illegal to harass or touch a sea turtle in Hawaii).Pau. You’ll sometimes see signs saying “mahalo for your kōkua,” which basically means “thank you for complying.” You will also probably hear “windward,” and “leeward, which refer to the directions that Hawaii’s trade winds usually blow, the former referring to the windier east side of the island and the latter meaning the drier west side. Locals often give directions this way, with “mauka'' meaning toward the mountains (inland) and “makai” meaning toward the sea.

For example, as visitors to Hawaii, it is our kuleana to leave its beautiful places just as pristine as we found them. Kuleana goes further than one’s work responsibilities, however, describing a broader sense of one’s personal responsibility to their communities and to themselves. If you’re hiking along a trail in Hawaii for example, and see a sign that says “kapu,” be respectful and move on.

Kapu is used to designate private land or sacred sites in Hawaii (it is basically the Hawaii equivalent of “keep out”). As a tourist, you may run across “Kamaʻāina discounts” at certain attractions, but these prices are reserved for Hawaiian residents with a valid Hawaii state ID.

Kamaʻāina literally translates into “child or person of the land,” and is also used to refer to longtime Hawaii residents.

Hawaiian pidgin phrases