Very: loa

Level 1

Loa comes right after the describing word and means “very”.

How It Works

Loa makes a describing word stronger. It follows the word it strengthens:

PlainWith loa
maikaʻi goodmaikaʻi loa very good
nui bignui loa very big

The Reference Grammar says loa usually means “very”, as in Ua kaumaha loa au “I became very sad”. It has a few other uses, which come later.

Examples (5)

  1. maikaʻi loa

    very good

    Loa follows maikaʻi.

  2. Nui loa ka hale.

    The house is very big.

    Loa follows nui.

  3. ʻOno loa ka poi.

    The poi is very tasty.

    Loa follows ʻono.

  4. Hauʻoli loa au.

    I am very happy.

    The pronoun still comes last.

  5. Wela loa ke kope.

    The coffee is very hot.

    Loa follows wela.

Common Mistakes

  • Putting loa before the describing word.

    loa maikaʻi
    maikaʻi loa

    Loa comes after the word it makes stronger.

How It Connects

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

Very: loaLevel 1

Learn This First

Loa adds “very” to a describing word, so learners start with describing sentences.

Learn Next

Patterns that build on this one.

Words in This Pattern

loa