Dictionary

kahakō en · NOUN

Etymology

Unadapted borrowing from Hawaiian kahakō.

Meanings

1. A macron in Hawaiian.
   • Hawaiian diacritical marks comprise two symbols: the glottal stop (ʻokina) and the macron (kahakō), which lengthens and adds stress to the marked vowel. […] There’s a reason why our magazine—and many other publications—chose to omit Hawaiian diacritics on the web. […] Words with ʻokina and kahakō have been harder to find in search engines. 2020 January 6, Catherine Toth Fox, “Why We Decided to Use Hawaiian Diacritical Marks in Our Stories Online”, in HAWAIʻI Magazine, Honolulu, Haw.: aio Media Group, archived from the original on 26 Jan 2023:
   • Here’s how it works: Members of the community who notice street signs that are misspelled or missing diacritical marks (‘okina or kahakō) can take photos and post them on Instagram, either in their stories or on their feeds, and tag @hnl_moca and #WordOnTheStreet. 2022 February 15, Katrina Valcourt, “Celebrate Mahina ‘Ōlelo Hawaiʻi by Helping Honolulu Fix Its Street Signs”, in Honolulu, Honolulu, Haw.: aio Media Group, archived from the original on 16 Feb 2022:
   • The state said that of the nearly 2,000 streets under HDOT’s jurisdiction, over half require the addition of Hawaiian diacritical markings, and that the use of kahakō and ʻokina can drastically change the meaning of a word. 2026 February 28, HNN Staff, “State seeks public feedback on Hawaiian street names”, in Hawaii News Now, Honolulu, Haw.: Gray Local Media, archived from the original on 28 Feb 2026:
   • I was aware of the ʻokina and kahakō from many previous trips to Hawaiʻi and I had dealt with similar issues back in California related to English-language media using the Spanish tilde and accents. […] So I took a closer look and it turns out that today technology is our friend: ʻOkina and kahakō don’t seem to stump searches anymore and our content management system accommodates them all the way from our keyboards to your cellphones and computers. 2025 January 21, Amy Pyle, “Why Civil Beat Is Using Diacritical Marks In Our Stories Now”, in Honolulu Civil Beat, Honolulu, Haw., →OCLC, archived from the original on 21 Jan 2025:
   • The Hawaiʻi Department of Transportation has a master list of all street names and destinations on the state highways system that corrects misspellings and includes the Hawaiian diacritical markings ʻokina (glottal stop) and kahakō (macron). […] Use of kahakō and ʻokina can drastically change the meaning of a word. […] In addition to adding ʻokina and kahakō to street names on every island, the department also found eight state streets that appear to be misspelled. 2026 February 27, “A Call to the Public: Share your thoughts on Hawaiian street names”, in Maui Now, Maui: Pacific Media Group, archived from the original on 28 Feb 2026:
   • The state Department of Transportation said it is updating or installing signs to include Hawaiian diacritical markings: the ʻokina and kahakō. […] On Oʻahu, the Mayor’s Office of Culture and the Arts also started a program to correct street signs that are spelled incorrectly, or misuse the ʻokina and kahakō. 2022 March 2, Casey Harlow, Sophia McCullough, “Signs for Hawaiʻi highways and streets to be updated with ʻokina and kahakō”, in Hawaiʻi Public Radio, Honolulu, Haw., archived from the original on 02 Mar 2022:
   • This is not to be confused with makai, which means “at the ocean” or “towards the sea” when the word does not have an ʻokina and kahakō. Donʻt know what ʻokina and kahakō are? Here is a quick lesson: […] The kahakō is not a letter but a diacritical mark. It is a line over a vowel that indicates the letter has a longer vowel sound. 2023 February 11, “Hawaiian Word of the Day for Feb. 11: Mākaʻi”, in Kauaʻi Now, Kauaʻi: Pacific Media Group, archived from the original on 12 Feb 2023:
   • This makes it possible to easily type: • the kahakō – a macron character that appears over vowels in certain words and changes their meaning when used; and • the ‘okina – a glottal stop. 2020 September 14, “Hawaiian Language Keyboard Developed by UH Maui Professor is Released by Google”, in Maui Now, Maui, archived from the original on 21 Sep 2020:

Forms

Coordinates

okina