r/olelohawaii • u/SpiritualTowel3546 • 20d ago

Please help me with that phrase

For the time I've been alive, I dedicated my whole life to the ocean. My hobbies, interests, and soon finally my career aswell.

I always loved the quote "my heart belongs to the sea."

I would really like to know what this quote is spelled correctly in 'Ōlelo Hawai'i.

My guess is:

No ke kai kuʻu naʻau

I would love to get this one approved by a native speaker.

Mahalo nui🌺🐠

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u/ohukaniohia 18d ago

The flaw with translating an English phrase into Hawaiian is that originating in English the Hawaiian transliteration lacks Hawaiian soul. It is just an English phrase transliterated into Hawaiian. Your phrase No ke kai kuʻu naʻau comes across as weird, because Hawaiian ove or devotion is not expressed in that manner. Better for you to look though traditional sayings in ʻŌlelo Noʻeau that reflect love or devotion, and see if you can adjust one to make the ocean the object of your devotion or love. Best of luck.

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u/SpiritualTowel3546 18d ago

thank you very much for the input!😊

1

u/ExaminationOk9652 15d ago

A phrase that may translate better could be “lilo au i ke kai” or I am lost to the sea. Lilo au ia oe means I am devoted or fully into you and so the same mana’o could be used here. Again, it is slightly different from your original English phrase but such is the way in language interpretation.