Wanting and Ability in Hawaiian

In Brief

Use makemake + subject + e + action to say that someone wants to do something: Makemake au e ʻai (“I want to eat”). Ability normally uses hiki + iā/ia + person + ke + action: Hiki iā ʻoe ke hele? (“Can you go?”). Use pono + subject + e + action for what someone should or must do.

Overview

Hawaiian does not simply place a word equivalent to English can, want, or should immediately before an unchanged verb. Each idea has its own sentence pattern. Learning the whole frame—not just makemake, hiki, or pono—will make your sentences much more natural.

These patterns also show a basic feature of Hawaiian sentence structure: the predicate (the part that says what is happening or what is true) commonly comes first. In Makemake au e hele, makemake comes before au, the person who wants. In an ability sentence, the person able to act is introduced with iā/ia, rather than appearing like an ordinary English subject.

At A1, focus on three reliable frames: makemake … e …, hiki … ke …, and pono … e …. They let you talk about plans, ask whether something is possible, and give everyday advice or instructions. Later sections explain distinctions that English often leaves to context.

How It Works

Wanting to act: makemake … e …

The basic pattern is:

Makemake + person + e + action

• Makemake au e hele. — I want to go.
• Makemake ʻo Kaleo e hiamoe. — Kaleo wants to sleep.
• Makemake lākou e aʻo i ka ʻōlelo Hawaiʻi. — They want to learn Hawaiian.

The person who wants follows makemake. The particle e introduces the desired action. A particle is a short grammatical word that marks the job of what follows; here, e links the desire to the action.

Do not add an English-style to as a separate translated word. In this construction, e does the linking work. The action itself does not change for I, you, or they.

Wanting a thing

When the desired item is a noun (a word for a person, place, thing, or idea), use i rather than e:

• Makemake au i ka wai. — I want water.
• Makemake ʻo ia i kēia puke. — He or she wants this book.

This distinction is useful from the beginning:

Meaning	Hawaiian frame	Example
want to do something	makemake + person + e + action	Makemake au e ʻai.
want or like something	makemake + person + i + thing	Makemake au i ka poi.

Because makemake i can express either wanting or liking a thing, context often supplies the best English translation. The separate topic on likes and dislikes develops that contrast further.

Being able: hiki … ke …

For a person’s ability to perform an action, use:

Hiki + iā/ia + person + ke + action

• Hiki iaʻu ke hana. — I can do it / I am able to work.
• Hiki iā ʻoe ke hele. — You can go.
• Hiki iā Leilani ke kōkua. — Leilani can help.

The person after hiki is marked by iā before pronouns such as ʻoe and before names. With some pronoun combinations, conventional spelling joins the elements, as in iaʻu (“to me”) and iā ia (“to him/her”). Learn these as complete forms rather than trying to build them from English word order.

Person	Form after hiki	Example meaning
me / I	iaʻu	Hiki iaʻu… — I can…
you (one person)	iā ʻoe	Hiki iā ʻoe… — You can…
him, her / he, she	iā ia	Hiki iā ia… — He/she can…
us / we	iā kākou or iā mākou	Hiki iā kākou… — We can…
them / they	iā lākou	Hiki iā lākou… — They can…
a named person	iā + name	Hiki iā Malia… — Malia can…

Hawaiian distinguishes inclusive kākou (“we, including you”) from exclusive mākou (“we, not including you”). That distinction remains present after hiki.

The action after an ability expression is introduced by ke, not e:

• Hiki iā ʻoe ke heluhelu. — You can read.
• Hiki iā māua ke kali. — The two of us can wait.

A yes/no question can keep exactly the same order and use question intonation in speech or a question mark in writing: Hiki iā ʻoe ke hele? There is no need to move a word to the front as English does with Can you…?

Saying that someone cannot

Put ʻaʻole at the beginning of the ability pattern:

ʻAʻole + hiki + iā/ia + person + ke + action

• ʻAʻole hiki iaʻu ke hele. — I cannot go.
• ʻAʻole hiki iā lākou ke noho ma ʻaneʻi. — They cannot stay here.

If the action is already understood, it may be omitted:

• ʻAʻole hiki iaʻu. — I cannot / It is not possible for me.

This shorter form is useful as a response, but a complete sentence is clearer when the listener does not already know the action.

Saying what should or must happen: pono … e …

The core pattern is:

Pono + person + e + action

• Pono ʻoe e hana. — You should/must work.
• Pono kākou e mālama i ka ʻāina. — We should/must care for the land.
• Pono ʻo ia e hoʻi i ka hale. — He or she needs to return home.

Like makemake, pono takes e before the following action. English often forces a choice among should, must, and need to. Hawaiian pono can cover a range from appropriate or advisable to necessary. Situation, tone, and any added words determine the strength.

The three beginner frames side by side

Idea	Frame	Model
desire	makemake + person + e + action	Makemake au e hele.
ability	hiki + iā/ia + person + ke + action	Hiki iaʻu ke hele.
advice or necessity	pono + person + e + action	Pono au e hele.

The fastest way to avoid confusion is to remember the linking particle together with the first word: makemake—e, hiki—ke, pono—e.

Examples in Context

Hawaiian	English	Note
Makemake au e ʻai.	I want to eat.	Desire followed by an action
Makemake ʻo Nani e hoʻi i ka hale.	Nani wants to return home.	A named person takes ʻo as the subject marker
Makemake mākou e aʻo i ka ʻōlelo Hawaiʻi.	We want to learn Hawaiian.	Mākou excludes the listener
Makemake ʻoe i wai?	Do you want water?	A desired thing follows i
Hiki iā ʻoe ke hele?	Can you go?	Yes/no ability question
Hiki iaʻu ke kōkua iā ʻoe.	I can help you.	Iaʻu marks the person able to help
Hiki iā Leilani ke heluhelu i kēia puke.	Leilani can read this book.	Ability of a named person
Hiki iā kākou ke hoʻomaka i kēia manawa.	We can start now.	Kākou includes the listener
ʻAʻole hiki iaʻu ke hele i kēia lā.	I cannot go today.	Full negative ability pattern
ʻAʻole hiki iā ia.	He/She cannot.	The understood action is omitted
Pono ʻoe e hana.	You should/must work.	Strength depends on context
Pono kākou e mālama i ka wai.	We should conserve water.	Shared responsibility
Pono au e hoʻi i kēia manawa.	I need to go back now.	Personal necessity
Pono anei au e kali?	Should I wait?	Anei clearly marks a yes/no question

Common Mistakes

Using e after hiki

• Wrong: Hiki iaʻu e hele.
• Right: Hiki iaʻu ke hele.
• Why: In the standard ability frame, hiki introduces the action with ke. Save e for the core makemake and pono patterns.

Treating the able person as an ordinary subject

• Wrong: Hiki au ke hele.
• Right: Hiki iaʻu ke hele.
• Why: The person able to act is expressed with an iā/ia form. English says “I can,” but Hawaiian structures the relationship differently.

Dropping i before a desired thing

• Wrong: Makemake au ka wai.
• Right: Makemake au i ka wai.
• Why: Use i before the thing wanted or liked. Use e only when another action follows.

Copying English question order

• Wrong: Rearranging the sentence as if Hawaiian needed English-style can + person inversion.
• Right: Hiki iā ʻoe ke kōkua?
• Why: Hawaiian can turn the regular ability frame into a question through intonation, punctuation, or a question particle such as anei. The frame itself stays intact.

Translating pono as only should

• Misleading: Assuming Pono ʻoe e hele can only mean “You should go.”
• Better: Read it as “You should go,” “You must go,” or “You need to go,” according to the situation.
• Why: Pono expresses appropriateness or necessity, and English divides that range among several modal verbs.

Ignoring Hawaiian spelling marks

• Wrong: Aole hiki iau.
• Right: ʻAʻole hiki iaʻu.
• Why: The ʻokina (the letter ʻ, representing a glottal stop) and the kahakō (a macron showing a long vowel, as in iā) can distinguish pronunciation and words. Treat them as part of the spelling, not optional decoration.

Usage Notes

Makemake can mean want or like

With an action, makemake … e … normally expresses wanting to do it. With a noun, makemake … i … can mean either wanting or liking that thing. Compare Makemake au e inu i ke kope (“I want to drink coffee”) with Makemake au i ke kope (“I want/like coffee”). Context resolves the second sentence.

Can may ask about ability or practical possibility

A question such as Hiki iā ʻoe ke hele? can ask whether the person is able to go or whether going works for them in practice. As in English “Can you go?”, real conversations do not always draw a sharp line between physical ability, circumstances, and a polite request.

Pono depends strongly on context

Between friends, pono may sound like advice. In rules, duties, urgent situations, or instructions, it can carry the force of must. Do not choose an English translation before considering who is speaking, to whom, and why.

Beyond the Basics / Advanced Use

You do not need to master these details at A1, but they explain forms you will encounter later.

Hiki also describes general possibility, not only a person’s skill. The short expression Hiki nō can confirm that something is possible or workable. The particle nō adds confirmation or emphasis; its exact English rendering changes with context.

At higher levels, ability, permission, appropriateness, and obligation are distinguished more carefully. Hiki may overlap with permission in a suitable context, while kūpono concerns what is fitting or appropriate. Pono itself can function beyond the beginner action frame and has broader meanings connected with necessity, correctness, and proper condition. Avoid reducing each Hawaiian word to one fixed English modal.

Negation also deserves fuller study. You may encounter more than one natural placement around predicate expressions, especially with makemake. At this stage, build dependable complete sentences such as ʻAʻole makemake au e hele (“I do not want to go”) and ʻAʻole hiki iaʻu ke hele (“I cannot go”), then learn broader negative sentence patterns as a system rather than moving ʻaʻole by guesswork.

Finally, pronouns encode number and inclusion more precisely than English. Hawaiian distinguishes singular, dual (exactly two), and plural, and its first-person “we” forms show whether the listener is included. That is why advanced practice should expand beyond au, ʻoe, and ia to forms such as kāua, māua, kākou, and mākou.

Practice Tips

1. Learn three sentence frames aloud. Replace only the person and action in Makemake au e hele, Hiki iaʻu ke hele, and Pono au e hele. Keeping the frame stable helps e and ke become automatic.
2. Practice paired questions and answers. Ask Hiki iā ʻoe ke…? with five everyday actions, then answer with either Hiki iaʻu ke… or ʻAʻole hiki iaʻu ke….
3. Sort wants into things and actions. For each idea, decide whether it needs i + thing (makemake i ka wai) or e + action (makemake e inu). This directly targets one of the most common beginner errors.

Related Concepts

• Prerequisite: Basic Sentence Structure (VSO) — explains why the predicate commonly comes before the person involved.
• Next step: Expressing Likes and Dislikes — develops makemake i and other ways to express reactions and preferences.
• Later study: Ability, Permission, and Obligation — expands hiki and pono and contrasts them with appropriateness and permission.