Word of the Day · Archive
The Hawaiian word for September 27, 2026
Archive · September 27, 2026
HAʻAHAʻA
say it: hah-ah-HAH-ah
Humble, modest, unassuming — literally low, and one of the five values written into Hawaiʻi’s Aloha Spirit law.
What it means
Haʻahaʻa starts close to the ground. Pukui and Elbert define it as “low, lowly, minimum, humble, degraded, meek, unpretentious, modest, unassuming, unobtrusive; lowness, humility,” and mark it as a reduplication of haʻa — the short word doubled.
The same word covers height and heart. Andrews (1865) gives the adjective as “low; short, as a man,” and figuratively “humble; meek.” Parker (1922) has “not high; of low station; humble; unpretentious.” Both also give a verb sense that is easy to love: “to live quietly” — e noho malie.
The dictionary is honest that low can go too far. Pukui-Elbert includes “degraded,” and haʻahaʻa loa is “minimum, servile, abject.” In everyday use it can simply mean the least amount: he hoʻolimalima makahiki haʻahaʻa, “minimum annual rental.” Humility is the low place you choose; the word also remembers the low place people are pushed into.
How to use it
Every phrase below is documented in the Pukui-Elbert dictionary record.
ʻO wau nō me ka haʻahaʻa
“I am, humbly yours” — Pukui-Elbert notes this was formerly a common closing to a letter.
Kūlou haʻahaʻa
“A reverential bow” (Pukui-Elbert, English-Hawaiian, under bow). Kūlou is to bow the head; haʻahaʻa sets the posture.
Hoʻohaʻahaʻa
The causative: “to lower, debase, humiliate, humble, disgrace, underrate, belittle; humble, lowly, modest.” Hoʻohaʻahaʻa aku is “to condescend.”
Haʻahaʻa loa
“Minimum, servile, abject.” Loa means very — and the dictionary shows that very low is no longer a virtue.
Why this word matters
Haʻahaʻa is written into Hawaiʻi law. The Aloha Spirit statute, Hawaii Revised Statutes §5-7.5, spells out five traits of character carried in the word aloha: akahai, lōkahi, ʻoluʻolu, haʻahaʻa, and ahonui. Its gloss for this one is “humility, to be expressed with modesty.” Lōkahi, ʻoluʻolu, and ahonui have already been words of the day here; haʻahaʻa makes four of the five.
Not small. Low — close to the ground, where things take root.
It also follows yesterday’s word. Hoʻokupu is the offering given upward, with honor. Haʻahaʻa is the posture you give it from — the kūlou haʻahaʻa, the reverential bow. Today is Lāpule, Sunday, and the dictionary itself names church offering as one sense of hoʻokupu.
Notice what the law pairs it with: modesty, not shame. The dictionary holds both sides of the word — humble and humiliated, lowly and abject — so the difference is who chooses the low place. Haʻahaʻa is choosing it yourself: letting your work speak, not needing the high seat.
Use it the old way. The next time you close a note to someone you respect, ʻo wau nō me ka haʻahaʻa — I am, humbly yours.
Sources
Haʻahaʻa — low, lowly, minimum, humble, degraded, meek, unpretentious, modest, unassuming, unobtrusive; lowness, humility — is from the Hawaiian Dictionary (Pukui & Elbert, 1986), which also gives haʻahaʻa loa, ʻO wau nō me ka haʻahaʻa, he hoʻolimalima makahiki haʻahaʻa, and the causative hoʻohaʻahaʻa with hoʻohaʻahaʻa aku; kūlou haʻahaʻa, reverential bow, is from its English-Hawaiian section under “bow.” “Low; short, as a man,” “humble; meek,” and “to live quietly; e noho malie” are Andrews (1865); “not high; of low station; humble; unpretentious” is Parker (1922). The five values and the gloss “humility, to be expressed with modesty” are from Hawaii Revised Statutes §5-7.5, “Aloha Spirit.” Lāpule, Sunday, is Pukui-Elbert (1986). All dictionary entries consulted via Wehewehe Wikiwiki (wehe.hilo.hawaii.edu) and wehewehe.org.