nvs. Patience; patient, enduring, long suffering; to tolerate. Lit., great breath. Cf. aholoa, pauaho, paupauaho; see ex., lawe 2, makua. Ahonui ʻole, impatient. hoʻāho.nui Caus/sim. E hoʻāhonui aʻe ā pau kēia pilikia, be patient until this trouble is over.   

In our never ending quest to better ourselves, I offer up today’s Hawaiian word: ahonui. Patience. Literally, it means great (nui) breath (aho). You might remember Friday’s word, hoʻomanawanui – to be patient. Hoʻomanawanui literally means to “make the time great”. Same idea with ahonui. Big breath.

Our kupuna know the value of patience. I guess it comes with age. I am waiting for the ahonui ability to kick in. I do find myself taking deep sighs when I am in a trying situation. I am sure it comes across as impatience but I am literally trying to “ahonui”. Take that great breath that will help me to cope with the situation. I guess I shouldn’t make it quite so audible. And now I find my own children doing the same. Oh geez.

The ending of the school year is always a hectic time for me as an educator. This week will be the time to bid aloha to all the keiki and ʻohana that I have been privileged to meet, to get to know, to hug and share stories. I am going to take the time to ahonui. Take that big breath and enjoy those moments in time that make the memories.

Nui kona ahonui – He has a lot of patience.

Ua ahonui nō ʻoe i nā pōpilikia – You have been patient in the times of trouble.

Copyright: 2015 – Liana Iaea Honda. All rights reserved. All versions of He Momi e Lei ai”, in its entirety, past and present, is the property of L. K. I. Honda. Reproduction and use of any kind other than the sharing of this website is prohibited. Alteration to the original content in any form is prohibited in every and any instance, and use in any other variant is prohibited without written consent of the author. Adress inquiries to: hemomi [at] gmail.com. Definitions and wise sayings are from: Hawaiian Dictionary by Pukui and Elbert, 1986. ʻŌlelo Noʻeau – Hawaiian Proverbs & Poetical Sayings by Mary Kawena Pukui, 1983.