nā and na

Level 3

Nā with a kahakō means “the” for many things, and na without one is a different word.

How It Works

WordJobExample
nāthe, for more than onenā keiki “the children”
nabelonging to, by, forHe ʻīlio kēia na Leilani. “This is a dog of Leilani.”

The Reference Grammar says na and no, used with he, mean “one of”: He ʻīlio kēia na Kimo “This is a dog of Kimo”. It also says they show who a thing is for. Na is the a class word and no is the o class word, just as in naʻu and noʻu. Writers on Hawaiian Wikipedia also use na for the maker, as in a song by a composer.

Both words are tracked in text, so a learner who drops the kahakō reads a different sentence.

Examples (4)

  1. Ke hele nei nā keiki i ke kula.

    The children are going to school.

    Nā is the plural article.

  2. Na ke keiki ka puke.

    The book belongs to the child.

    Na names the owner.

  3. He puke na Leilani.

    A book by Leilani.

    Na names the maker.

  4. He ʻīlio kēia na Kala.

    This is a dog of Kala.

    After he, na means one of the things the owner has.

Common Mistakes

  • The kahakō is missing on the plural article.

    Ke hele nei na keiki i ke kula.
    Ke hele nei nā keiki i ke kula.

    Without the kahakō the word is na, which is not the plural article.

How It Connects

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

nā and naLevel 3

Learn This First

Learners compare nā and na, and the first is the plural article.

Words in This Pattern

nāna