Vehicles

1. Ke kaʻa

   Car

   Usage

   The base word for wheeled vehicles; nearly every vehicle name below is "kaʻa" plus a modifier

2. Ke kaʻa ʻōhua

   Bus

   Usage

   "ʻŌhua" means passenger; on Oʻahu the public system is known simply as TheBus

3. Ke kaʻa uila

   Electric vehicle

   Usage

   "Uila" is electricity or lightning; charging infrastructure in Hawaiʻi is relatively good

4. Ke kaʻa hoʻolimalima

   Taxi / rental car

   Usage

   "Hoʻolimalima" means to hire or rent, so the phrase covers both taxis and rental cars

5. Ke kaʻa ukana

   Truck

   Usage

   "Ukana" is cargo or baggage, the same word as in the nouns card

6. Ke kaʻa lawe maʻi

   Ambulance

   Usage

   Literally "the car that carries the sick"; in a real emergency dial 911 and speak English

7. Ka mokokaikala

   Motorcycle

   Usage

   Borrowed from English; "kaʻa mokokaikala" is an accepted longer form

8. Ka paikikala

   Bicycle

   Usage

   Honolulu has the Biki bike-share; the descriptive form is "kaʻa hehi wāwae"

9. Ke kaʻaahi

   Train

   Usage

   Literally "fire car"; there is no long-distance rail, only Oʻahu's Skyline and a couple of heritage sugar-cane lines

10. Ka mokulele

    Airplane

    Usage

    "Moku" (vessel) plus "lele" (to fly); island hopping is almost always by air

11. Ka mokupīnao

    Helicopter

    Usage

    "Pīnao" is a dragonfly; the loanword "helekopa" is also common. Used for volcano and valley flightseeing

12. Ka moku

    Ship

    Usage

    A large vessel; the same word also means island or district and turns up in place names

13. Ka moku halihali

    Ferry

    Usage

    "Halihali" means to carry; scheduled routes are rare, essentially just Maui to Lānaʻi

14. Ka waʻa

    Canoe

    Usage

    The outrigger canoe; in Waikīkī you can ride one surfing the waves

15. Ka waʻa kaulua

    Double-hulled voyaging canoe

    Usage

    The star-navigated ocean-voyaging canoe; Hōkūleʻa is the famous one

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