Help:IPA for Hawaiian

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The charts below show the way in which the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA) represents Hawaiian pronunciations in Wikipedia articles.

English approximations are in some cases very approximate, and only intended to give a general idea of the pronunciation. For more detail, see Hawaiian phonology.

Consonants
IPA Examples nearest English equivalent
h Honolulu hat
j Mauna Kea [ˈkɛjə][1] yes
k Kamehameha[2] sky
l Honolulu, Lānaʻi lean
m Maui moon
n Lānaʻi[3] note
p Pele spy
t Waikīkī, wikiwiki[2] steal
v wikiwiki[4] vision
w Loa [ˈlowə], Kīlauea [tiːlɐwˈwɛjə][4] wall
ʔ Hawaiʻi, Oʻahu oh-oh!
(a catch in the throat)
Stress
IPA Example Note
ˈ Honolulu [honoˈlulu] Mark placed before stressed syllable.[5]
Vowels
IPA Examples nearest English equivalent
Lānaʻi father
ɐ Oʻahu, Molokaʻi[6] nut
ə Hawaiʻi, Mauna Loa[6] sofa
Kēōkea hey without the y sound
ɛ Pele[7] bed
e Kahoʻolawe[7] Spanish e
Waikīkī peel
i wikiwiki Spanish i
ʻōʻū low without the w sound
o Honolulu Spanish o
ʻōʻū moon
u Honolulu Spanish u
Diphthongs
Short diphthongs
ju kiu cue
ow [example needed] mole
o̯i [example needed] queen
ew [example needed] Spanish neutro
ej [example needed] May
ɐw Mauna[8] cow
ɐj Waikīkī[8] light
ɐo̯ [example needed] Italian ciao
ɐe̯ [example needed] Japanese kaeru
Long diphthongs
oːw [example needed] no way
eːj [example needed] may you
aːw [example needed] RP car wheel
aːj [example needed] RP far youth
aːo̯ [example needed] [example needed]
aːe̯ [example needed] [example needed]

Notes

  1. The y sound [j] is not written, but appears between a front vowel (i, e) and a non-front vowel (a, o, u)
  2. 2.0 2.1 [k] and [t], spelled k, are variants of a single consonant. [k] is almost universal at the beginnings of words, while [t] is most common before the vowel i. [t] is also more common in the western dialects, as on Kauaʻi, while [k] predominates on the Big Island.
  3. In some dialects the letter l tends to be pronounced [n], especially in words with an n in them. On the western islands it tends to be pronounced as a tap, [ɾ].
  4. 4.0 4.1 [w] and [v], spelled w, are variants of a single consonant. [w] is the norm after back vowels u, o, while [v] is the norm after front vowels i, e. Initially and after the central vowel a, as in Hawaiʻi, they are found in free variation. [w] also occurs, though it is usually not written, between a back vowel (u, o) and a non-back vowel (i, e, a).
  5. Stress falls on the penultimate vowel, with diphthongs and long vowels counting double. (That is, a final long vowel or diphthong will be stressed.) Longer words may have a second stressed vowel, whose position is not predictable.
  6. 6.0 6.1 Short a is pronounced [ɐ] when stressed and [ə] when not.
  7. 7.0 7.1 Short e is [ɛ] when stressed and generally when next to l, n, or another syllable with a [ɛ]; otherwise it is [e].
  8. 8.0 8.1 In rapid speech, /ɐw/ and /ɐj/ tend to be pronounced [ɔw] and [ɛj], respectively.