Word of the Day · Archive
The Hawaiian word for September 28, 2026
Archive · September 28, 2026
NOʻEAU
say it: noh-eh-OW
Clever, skillful, wise, artistic — the word behind ʻōlelo noʻeau, the wise sayings of Hawaiʻi.
What it means
Noʻeau is skill with wisdom in it. Pukui and Elbert define it as “clever, skillful, dexterous, wise, artistic, talented, expert, technical.” It is a stative verb — a quality you carry, not a thing you do once.
The older dictionaries say the same. Andrews (1865) gives “wise; prudent” and “skillful; dextrous,” and lists it as a synonym of maiau. Parker (1922) has “wise; prudent; skillful; dextrous.” Judd, Pukui and Stokes (1943) put it most simply: “art, i.e. skill.”
That is the heart of the word. Being wise and being good with your hands are the same word here. Pukui-Elbert’s English-Hawaiian section gives noʻeau for “artistic,” and a street on Wilhelmina Rise in Honolulu carries the name too — Place Names of Hawaiʻi glosses it “literally, clever.”
How to use it
Every phrase below is documented in the dictionary record on Wehewehe Wikiwiki.
ʻŌlelo noʻeau
“Wise or entertaining proverb, saying” (Pukui-Elbert). ʻŌlelo is speech or language — words that carry skill.
He wahine noʻeau i ka haku lei hulu
“A woman skillful at making feather leis” — the Pukui-Elbert example. Note the pattern: noʻeau i ka + the craft.
ʻIke hana noʻeau
Given with plain noʻeau for “artistic” in Pukui-Elbert’s English-Hawaiian section. ʻIke is knowing; hana is work.
O ka poe akamai i ka olelo ame ka hana maoli, he noeau ia.
Andrews’ 1865 example, spelled as printed, without ʻokina or kahakō. Roughly: those who are skilled in speech and in the real work — they are noʻeau.
Why this word matters
This word named one of the most important books in Hawaiian. Mary Kawena Pukui’s ʻŌlelo Noʻeau: Hawaiian Proverbs & Poetical Sayings (Bishop Museum Press, 1983) gathers nearly 3,000 sayings, translated and annotated. When someone says “there’s an ʻōlelo noʻeau for that,” this is the word they mean.
Wise words, skilled hands — Hawaiian doesn’t split them.
Andrews’ old example says it plainly: the ones who are akamai in speech and in the real work, they are noʻeau. Knowledge that shows up in what you make. A feather lei, a well-built wall, a sentence that lands — all of it counts.
It follows yesterday’s word. Haʻahaʻa is the humility of not needing the high seat. Noʻeau is what lets you sit low and still be known: skill that speaks for itself. Today is Pōʻakahi, Monday — the first day of the work week, a good day to be noʻeau at your own craft.
Use it the way the dictionary does: noʻeau i ka, then the craft. And the next time you reach for a proverb, call it by its name — an ʻōlelo noʻeau.
Sources
Noʻeau — clever, skillful, dexterous, wise, artistic, talented, expert, technical — is from the Hawaiian Dictionary (Pukui & Elbert, 1986), which also gives ʻōlelo noʻeau, wise or entertaining proverb, saying, and the example he wahine noʻeau i ka haku lei hulu; noʻeau and ʻike hana noʻeau for “artistic” are from its English-Hawaiian section. “Wise; prudent,” “skillful; dextrous,” the synonym maiau, and the example sentence are Andrews (1865); “wise; prudent; skillful; dextrous” is Parker (1922); “art, i.e. skill” is Judd, Pukui & Stokes (1943). Noʻeau Street, “literally, clever,” is from Place Names of Hawaiʻi (1974). The proverb collection is Mary Kawena Pukui, ʻŌlelo Noʻeau: Hawaiian Proverbs & Poetical Sayings (Bishop Museum Press, 1983). Pōʻakahi, Monday, is Pukui-Elbert (1986). All dictionary entries consulted via Wehewehe Wikiwiki (wehe.hilo.hawaii.edu) and wehewehe.org.