The Articles ka and ke

Level 1

Ka and ke both mean “the” before one thing. The next word decides which one to use.

How It Works

Hawaiian has words for “the” and “a”, as English does. Grammar books call them articles:

ArticleMeaningExample
ka, kethe (one thing)ka hale, ke keiki
nāthe (more than one)nā hale
hea, an, somehe hale

Ka and ke mean the same thing. The next topic shows how the first letter of the noun picks one. In speech, the article often runs into the noun, so ka maka “the eye” is said almost as one word, kamaka.

Examples (5)

  1. ka hale

    the house

    Hale starts with h, so ka is used.

  2. ke keiki

    the child

    Keiki starts with k, so ke is used.

  3. ka puke

    the book

    Puke starts with p, so ka is used.

  4. ke kumu

    the teacher

    Kumu starts with k, so ke is used.

  5. Ke ʻai nei ke keiki i ka palaoa.

    The child is eating the bread.

    Ke keiki is the subject and ka palaoa is the object.

Common Mistakes

  • Using ka before a word that starts with k.

    ka keiki
    ke keiki

    Words that start with k usually take ke.

How It Connects

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The Articles ka and keLevel 1

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Words in This Pattern

kake