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- "Women"
"Women"
Translation:Wāhine
19 Comments
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Nā wāhine = "the women". I think the purpose of this example is to show that the kahakō over the "a" in wāhine is used to indicate plural. This is mentioned in the tips & notes for the skill.
Is the plural "wāhine" pronounced differently than the singular "wahine" because of the accent mark on the "a"?
'Ae / Yes - the initial wā is pronounced for two split seconds instead of one. That is what that macron does for all the vowels, actually.
Not necessarily. Women is wāhine instead of wahine for woman. Note the macron over the a for plural. Nā wāhine means the women specifically, and the word nā is not needed in the case of He mau wāhine - some women.
It seems like some nouns have plural forms but some do not. How does one know when to lengthen the initial vowel to make a plural?
As far as I know there's no perfect rule but often it's used for words about people like wahine, kanaka. Not added for kāne or keiki because accent is already on first syllable.
There isn't any technically correct answer, since the question gives "women," which is the plural form of "woman," and all of the answers are singular, they all lack na.
The word nā is not required for all plural. The word mau is also used in many cases and if there is a number involved that would make it plural as well. With a select few words, the pronunciation changes between singular and plural. Wahine changes to wāhine for plural, regardless if it is preceded by nā, mau, or a number.
I'm having issues with no luck in getting the kahako where it belongs when I answer a question...therefor ut keeps telling me to watch my accents...
Are you asking how to get them on your phone? If so, go to your phone settings and add the Hawaiian Keyboard. It will have both and will auto correct using ʻolelo Hawaii.
