Word of the Day · Archive
The Hawaiian word for October 1, 2026
Archive · October 1, 2026
HULI
say it: HOO-lee
To turn, to change course — and also to seek, search, study. The word that turns a wave over and turns a mind toward learning.
What it means
Huli is one of the hardest-working little words in the language. Pukui and Elbert give its first sense as “to turn, reverse; to curl over, as a breaker; to change, as an opinion or manner of living.” A wave that curls over is huli. So is a person who changes their mind, or their whole way of life.
The second sense opens a different door: “to look for, search, explore, seek, study; search, investigation; scholarship.” To turn things over until you find what you are looking for — that is huli too. Modern Hawaiian builds on it: Māmaka Kaiao uses huli for searching in a computer program or a search engine, and huli- as the prefix for a scientific field of study, the Hawaiian equivalent of -ology.
And there is a third, rooted in the loʻi: huli is the taro top cut and kept for planting — the piece of this year’s kalo that becomes next year’s crop. Andrews (1865) and Parker (1922) record the same range: to turn, to change, to seek, and the kalo top for planting.
How to use it
Every phrase below is documented in the dictionary record on Wehewehe Wikiwiki.
Kai huli
“A sea that dashes and recedes” (Pukui-Elbert). Ocean water that turns back on itself — worth knowing before you paddle out.
E huli i ka manaʻo
“To change the mind or opinion; hence, to repent and change the life” (Andrews, 1865). Turning your thinking around.
Huli hope
“Turn back” (Parker, 1922). Hope is behind — for when the trail, or the plan, needs turning around.
Ua loli ka huli o ka makani i ka pō
“The direction of the wind changed during the night” (Māmaka Kaiao). Here huli is a noun: direction.
Why this word matters
Most languages keep “turn” and “search” in separate drawers. Hawaiian lets them share one word, and the overlap says something: you find things by turning them over, and learning changes the direction you face. The same huli that names a breaker curling over also names scholarship.
Huli: turn it over, and you will find something.
The kalo sense may be the deepest of all. A huli is the part of the plant that is not eaten — it is set aside and put back in the mud so the next generation can grow. Every loʻi carries forward through its huli. Andrews also records e huli i ka naʻau, “to give attention to a thing” — to turn your insides toward it.
UH News featured huli as its Hawaiian Word of the Week in January 2025, glossing it simply: to turn, reverse, to curl over.
Today is Pōʻahā, Thursday, and the first day of October — the calendar turns over into a new month and the last quarter of the year. A good day to huli: to turn the page, and to go looking for something new to learn.
Sources
Huli — to turn, reverse; to curl over, as a breaker; to change, as an opinion or manner of living; to look for, search, explore, seek, study; search, investigation; scholarship; taro top, as used for planting — with the example kai huli, a sea that dashes and recedes, is from the Hawaiian Dictionary (Pukui & Elbert, 1986). The computer-search sense, the huli- “-ology” prefix, and the example ua loli ka huli o ka makani i ka pō are from Māmaka Kaiao. E huli i ka manaʻo and e huli i ka naʻau are Andrews (1865); huli hope, turn back, is Parker (1922). The gloss “to turn, reverse, to curl over” is from UH News, “Hawaiian Word of the Week: Huli” (January 14, 2025). Pōʻahā, Thursday, is Pukui-Elbert (1986). All dictionary entries consulted via Wehewehe Wikiwiki (wehe.hilo.hawaii.edu) and wehewehe.org.