Word of the Day · Archive
The Hawaiian word for October 17, 2026
Archive · October 17, 2026
PILIKIA
say it: pee-lee-KEE-ah
Trouble of any kind, great or small — and the everyday answer when there is none: ʻAʻole pilikia, no problem.
What it means
Pilikia means trouble of any kind, great or small. The dictionary’s English glosses run wide: problem, nuisance, distress, adversity, difficulty, accident, even tragedy. It also covers being in trouble, being crowded, and being unsafe.
Its everyday companion is the phrase ʻAʻole pilikia, “no trouble, no problem.” It is the Hawaiian way to say “no worries,” and you will hear it all over the islands.
Say it in four beats with the stress on the third: pee-lee-KEE-ah. The ʻokina-free spelling can fool you: every vowel is sounded, so the last two syllables are kee-ah, not a single sound.
How to use it
Every phrase below is documented in the Pukui-Elbert dictionary entries on Wehewehe Wikiwiki.
ʻAʻole pilikia
“No trouble, no problem.” The easy, generous answer when someone thanks you or apologizes.
Ke noho kāua a pilikia ʻia au
“When we live together and I get into difficulties.” A sentence recorded in the dictionary, showing pilikia ʻia, to be afflicted with trouble.
Hoʻopau pilikia
Literally “to put an end to trouble.” The dictionary records it as a polite euphemism for attending the calls of nature. A gentle reminder that the language has humor too.
Why this word matters
Yesterday the word was kahiko, the old and the ancient. Today we come back to the present moment, where trouble shows up the way it always has: small, large, and usually when we least expect it.
The way you answer pilikia says a lot about the one answering.
The dictionary’s entry is wide on purpose. One word holds a spilled drink and a hard season of life. Pilikia does not rank the trouble; it simply names it, and leaves room for how we meet it.
That is why ʻAʻole pilikia carries so much weight in daily life. When a neighbor says it, they are telling you the burden is light, that you do not owe them an apology, that the door is still open.
Today is Poʻaono, Saturday. When someone thanks you for a small favor today, try answering ʻAʻole pilikia, and mean it.
Sources
Pilikia — trouble of any kind, great or small; problem, nuisance, distress, adversity, difficulty; to be in trouble, crowded or unsafe — with ʻAʻole pilikia (no trouble, no problem), the example sentence Ke noho kāua a pilikia ʻia au, and hoʻopau pilikia (to attend the calls of nature) are from the Pukui-Elbert dictionary entries on Wehewehe Wikiwiki (wehe.hilo.hawaii.edu). Poʻaono, Saturday, is standard Hawaiian usage.