Numbers in Hawaiian

In Brief

The basic Hawaiian numbers begin ʻekahi, ʻelua, ʻekolu, ʻehā, ʻelima and continue to ʻumi (ten). To state a quantity, a useful beginner pattern is he + number + mau + noun: He ʻekolu mau puke means “There are three books” or simply “Three books.” Larger numbers are built in ordered parts, as in ʻumikūmākahi (eleven) and ʻelua haneli (two hundred).

Overview

Numbers are among the first tools you need at A1. They let you give a phone number, count people, buy several items, say an age, and later tell the time. Hawaiian number words are regular enough to learn as a system, but they are not formed by copying English word order piece by piece.

Two spelling details matter from the start. The ʻokina (the letter ʻ, representing a glottal stop—a brief closure in the throat) appears in forms such as ʻekahi and ʻumi. The kahakō (a macron showing a long vowel) appears in forms such as ʻehā. These marks belong to the words; leaving them out is not the same as omitting optional pronunciation help.

English generally puts a bare number immediately before a noun: “three books.” Hawaiian can package a quantity as an indefinite statement with he, and mau can make plurality explicit. Start with the dependable pattern he + number + mau + noun. Once the basic numbers are automatic, you can notice the shorter patterns and the conventions used in particular kinds of counting.

How It Works

The numbers from one to ten

Hawaiian	English	Note
ʻekahi	one	Keep the initial ʻokina.
ʻelua	two	Begins with ʻokina.
ʻekolu	three	Begins with ʻokina.
ʻehā	four	The final ā is long.
ʻelima	five	Begins with ʻokina.
ʻeono	six	Pronounce the vowels clearly.
ʻehiku	seven	Begins with ʻokina.
ʻewalu	eight	Begins with ʻokina.
ʻeiwa	nine	Begins with ʻokina.
ʻumi	ten	Base for eleven through nineteen.

Learn these aloud in both directions: recognize ʻewalu as eight, but also be able to produce ʻewalu when you see 8. Hawaiian vowels remain audible, so do not compress a sequence such as ʻe-o-no into one English-like syllable.

Eleven through nineteen

The everyday modern pattern is ʻumi-kū-mā- + unit. In standard spelling, the parts are normally written together:

Hawaiian	English	Note
ʻumikūmākahi	eleven	ten plus one
ʻumikūmālua	twelve	ten plus two
ʻumikūmākolu	thirteen	ten plus three
ʻumikūmāhā	fourteen	ten plus four
ʻumikūmālima	fifteen	ten plus five
ʻumikūmāono	sixteen	ten plus six
ʻumikūmāhiku	seventeen	ten plus seven
ʻumikūmāwalu	eighteen	ten plus eight
ʻumikūmāiwa	nineteen	ten plus nine

You may encounter pedagogical material that visually separates the components, such as ʻumi kūmā kahi or ʻumi kumamākahi. Treat the joined modern spelling ʻumikūmākahi as the practical form to learn unless your course follows a different published convention.

The tens

The multiples of ten after ʻumi have forms worth memorizing. They show a strong pattern, though twenty is distinctive.

Hawaiian	English	Note
ʻumi	ten	10
iwakālua	twenty	20; memorize this form
kanakolu	thirty	30
kanahā	forty	40
kanalima	fifty	50
kanaono	sixty	60
kanahiku	seventy	70
kanawalu	eighty	80
kanaiwa	ninety	90

To add a unit to a multiple of ten, use kūmā + unit: iwakāluakūmākolu (twenty-three), kanahākūmāiwa (forty-nine), and kanalimakūmāono (fifty-six). Long compounds can look intimidating, so first identify the tens portion and then the final unit.

Hundreds

The common word for one hundred is haneli. A number can come before it to show how many hundreds:

Hawaiian	English	Note
hoʻokahi haneli	one hundred	hoʻokahi is commonly used for “one” before a counted unit.
ʻelua haneli	two hundred	number + haneli
ʻekolu haneli	three hundred	number + haneli
he ʻelua haneli	two hundred	A quantity presented with he.

For a beginner, it is more useful to master one through one hundred than to memorize rare or historical counting vocabulary. Modern Hawaiian also uses adapted decimal terms in extended number systems; reference works may vary in how a long number is spaced or joined.

Counting nouns

A noun is a word for a person, place, animal, or thing, such as keiki (child) or puke (book). Use this clear introductory frame:

he + number + mau + noun

• he introduces an indefinite quantity rather than a particular identified set;
• the number gives the exact quantity;
• mau explicitly marks the following noun phrase as plural;
• the noun itself does not need an English-style plural ending.

Thus, He ʻelua mau keiki can be understood as “There are two children” or, depending on context, “two children.” Hawaiian nouns do not normally change form merely because there is more than one: keiki remains keiki, not an invented plural form.

In real Hawaiian, number phrases are not limited to one rigid template. Exact numbers themselves already signal plurality, so you will also meet shorter constructions without mau, especially inside a larger sentence. The he + number + mau + noun frame is a safe, transparent starting point—not a claim that every number phrase must contain all four elements.

When possession is involved, the words expressing the possessor fit around the quantity in a Hawaiian pattern rather than following English “have” word order:

• He ʻelua aʻu keiki. — “I have two children.”

Possessive forms are their own topic. At this stage, learn such sentences as useful models rather than trying to derive every part from the counting rule alone.

Numbers used as labels

A number does not always count objects. It may identify a time, a room, a bus, or a page. In those settings, the surrounding noun tells you what is being numbered. For example, ka hola ʻekolu is “three o’clock,” literally the hour associated with three. Ordinals such as “first” and “second” use a related but different system and should not be substituted automatically for cardinal numbers (the ordinary counting numbers taught here).

Examples in Context

Hawaiian	English	Note
ʻEkahi, ʻelua, ʻekolu, ʻehā, ʻelima.	One, two, three, four, five.	Basic counting sequence
He ʻelua mau keiki.	There are two children.	Beginner quantity frame
He ʻekolu mau puke.	There are three books.	mau makes plurality explicit
He ʻehā mau pua.	There are four flowers.	The noun does not change form
He ʻelima mau noho.	There are five chairs.	Everyday object count
He ʻumi mau manamana lima.	There are ten fingers.	The full beginner quantity frame
ʻUmi kūmākahi.	Eleven.	Components shown separately for clarity
ʻumikūmālua	twelve	Standard joined spelling
iwakāluakūmākolu	twenty-three	twenty plus three
kanahākūmāiwa	forty-nine	forty plus nine
He ʻelua haneli.	Two hundred.	Quantity with haneli
He ʻelua aʻu keiki.	I have two children.	Number in a possessive sentence
Ka hola ʻekolu.	Three o’clock.	Number used in a time expression
ʻEkolu mau lā.	Three days.	A shorter number phrase without initial he

The translations sometimes need a full English clause even where Hawaiian is compact. Do not assume that every Hawaiian he corresponds to the English article “a/an”: in quantity statements, it helps introduce the whole indefinite expression.

Common Mistakes

Dropping the ʻokina or kahakō

• Wrong: ekahi, eha, umi
• Right: ʻekahi, ʻehā, ʻumi
• Why: The ʻokina and kahakō are meaningful parts of Hawaiian spelling and pronunciation. Type and learn them from the beginning rather than treating them as decoration.

Giving the noun an English plural ending

• Wrong: He ʻekolu mau pukes.
• Right: He ʻekolu mau puke.
• Why: Hawaiian does not form noun plurals by adding English -s. The number and words such as mau or nā show plurality.

Translating “three books” word for word

• Wrong: assuming that English word order is the only possible order and omitting every marker
• Right: He ʻekolu mau puke.
• Why: Hawaiian packages this as an indefinite quantity expression. Use the complete beginner frame until shorter patterns are familiar from reliable examples.

Separating every part of a compound number

• Less standard in continuous modern prose: ʻumi kū mā kahi
• Preferred practical spelling: ʻumikūmākahi
• Why: Teachers may separate components to show their structure, but dictionaries and edited modern text commonly present numbers such as eleven as compounds. Follow the spelling standard of the text you are using consistently.

Confusing cardinal and ordinal numbers

• Wrong: ka puke ʻelua when you specifically mean “the second book” in a sequence
• Right: ka puke ʻalua
• Why: ʻelua counts two; ʻalua identifies the second item. The distinction is similar to English “two” versus “second,” even though the Hawaiian forms look closely related.

Usage Notes

In careful learning materials, always notice the diacritics. Digital keyboards do not always make Hawaiian input obvious, but that is a technical inconvenience, not a spelling rule. Copying forms from a reliable Hawaiian dictionary can help you build accurate habits.

You will see variation in how multi-part numbers are written. Older texts, school materials, and modern edited sources may segment compounds differently. Pronunciation and internal structure remain important even when spacing conventions differ. When writing for a course or community, follow its stated orthographic practice rather than mixing systems in one paragraph.

The frame with he is especially useful when asserting that some quantity exists. In an already established noun phrase, after another marker, or in label-like use, a number can occur without it. Likewise, mau is useful for explicit plurality but is not mechanically inserted into every phrase containing a number. Pay attention to whole phrases used by fluent speakers instead of reducing he and mau to one-word English translations.

Beyond the Basics / Advanced Use

You do not need to master the historical system yet, but Hawaiian number vocabulary has more depth than the modern decimal patterns used in beginner lessons. Traditional counting could group particular goods in units larger than one, including paired and four-based groupings. As a result, older texts may contain number words whose value depends on what is being counted. Do not interpret an unfamiliar traditional term by applying the modern decimal pattern without checking a specialist dictionary or the text's notes.

You will also encounter hoʻokahi alongside ʻekahi. Both relate to one, but hoʻokahi is common when “one” functions as a quantity before a larger unit, as in hoʻokahi haneli, and in expressions emphasizing a single or unified item. Usage is broader than a simple one-to-one English distinction, so learn it from phrases rather than replacing every ʻekahi with hoʻokahi.

Cardinal numbers connect to several later systems. Ordinals use forms such as mua (first), ʻalua (second), and ʻakolu (third). Time expressions combine hola with a number. Dates, money, measurements, arithmetic, and telephone numbers each add their own framing conventions. The number words remain recognizable, but the grammar around them changes with the task.

For advanced reading, treat spelling variation as evidence about a source's period and editorial choices, not automatically as an error. Hawaiian newspapers and archival documents may not mark every ʻokina or kahakō, and historical numerical expressions may reflect a different counting practice. Modern learners should still use contemporary marked spelling unless quoting such a source.

Practice Tips

1. Build numbers instead of memorizing a random list. Recite one through ten, then choose a tens word and attach different units: kanakolu, kanakolukūmākahi, kanakolukūmālua. Say each part slowly before saying the compound naturally.
2. Count real objects in full phrases. Point to books, chairs, flowers, or people and make five sentences with he + number + mau + noun. Then compare them with reliable examples of shorter number phrases.
3. Practice accurate input. Create flashcards that require you to type ʻekahi, ʻehā, and ʻumi. Accuracy with ʻokina and kahakō is easier to build now than to repair later.

Related Concepts

• Next step: Time Expressions — use number words to tell the hour and discuss days and dates.
• Next step: Ordinal Numbers and Sequencing — distinguish counting forms such as ʻelua from sequence forms such as ʻalua.