"ʻO ia koʻu tūtū wahine."

Translation: She is my grandmother.

[jackheywood]

Why not "She is my grandma"?

[dirtynho]

exactly what I was thinking. no determinative here

[kananileialoha]

I think "She is my grandma" is actually more accurate than "That is my grandma." "He ko'u tutu wahine kela" seems to me like a better way to say "that" is my grandma.

[kelii....]

Please report that as a correct answer.

[GaryBisaga]

I'm interested to know whether this is common usage and how far back it goes. Tūtū is obviously not 'õiwi, but beyond that I understand the idea of a single person being your grandparent doesn't really fit the traditional Hawaiian idea of 'ohana. However I imagine that traditional structure is probably less common today except maybe on Ni'ihau. Just curious.