Identifying a Particular Thing

Level 1

To say that something is a particular, known thing, start with ʻo and the or ka or ke noun.

How It Works

He says what kind of thing something is. ʻO says which one it is. The Reference Grammar describes these sentences:

Sentence	Meaning
ʻO ke kumu kēlā.	That is the teacher.
ʻO ia ke kumu.	She is the teacher.

Compare He kumu kēlā “That is a teacher”, which only names the kind of person. With ʻo and ka or ke, the listener already knows which teacher is meant.

Examples (5)

ʻO ke kumu kēlā.
That is the teacher.
ʻO comes before ke kumu.
ʻO ka puke kēia.
This is the book.
The book is a particular one.
ʻO ia ke kumu.
She is the teacher. / He is the teacher.
ʻO ia can be the first part of the sentence.
ʻO ka wai kēnā.
That is the water. (near you)
Kēnā points near the listener.
ʻO ka hale nui kēlā.
That is the big house.
A describing word can follow the noun.

Common Mistakes

Using he for a particular thing.
He ke kumu kēlā.
ʻO ke kumu kēlā.
He means “a”, so it does not sit next to ke. Use ʻo for a known teacher.

How It Connects

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

Identifying a Particular ThingLevel 1

Learn This First

ʻO before ka or ke names one particular thing, which builds on naming with ʻo.

Naming Who Someone Is
Know ʻo with a name, because ʻo works the same way before ka and ke.
Level 1

Learn Next

Patterns that build on this one.

Pointing Out the One: ʻo ... ka meaLevel 3

Words in This Pattern

ʻokake

Practice Identifying a Particular Thing in Bubblegum

Poppy, your AI tutor, writes Hawaiian lessons at your level. Tap any grammar point in a lesson to see its full explanation.