Affectionate My: kuʻu

Level 5

Kuʻu means my, with warmth, and it is used for someone or something dear.

How It Works

Grammar books list kuʻu beside koʻu and kaʻu as the form that adds affection.

  • kuʻu keiki my dear child
  • kuʻu hoaloha my dear friend
  • kuʻu kupuna wahine my dear grandmother

Use koʻu or kaʻu for an ordinary “my”. Kuʻu is a choice about feeling and fits best with people you love. Learn it by listening for how people use it.

Say it with the same sentence frames as koʻu and kaʻu. Because it shows feeling, it is usually kept for people and things held dear, not for plain facts such as koʻu pākaukau (my table).

Examples (4)

  1. E kuʻu keiki, hele mai i ka ʻai.

    My dear child, come and eat.

    Kuʻu adds love to the address.

  2. Mahalo, e kuʻu hoaloha.

    Thank you, my dear friend.

    The word is also used in thanks.

  3. Aloha au i kuʻu kupuna wahine.

    I love my dear grandmother.

    Kuʻu follows i for a relative.

  4. Ke kōkua mai nei kuʻu makuahine iaʻu.

    My dear mother is helping me.

    It can be part of the subject.

How It Connects

Tap a pattern to see what it builds on and what it leads to.

Affectionate My: kuʻuLevel 5

Learn This First

Kuʻu is an affectionate “my” and uses the ʻokina.

Words in This Pattern

kuʻu