Meaning and background
The story behind Makai
Makai is a Hawaiian directional word meaning towards the sea, used in contrast with *mauka*, towards the mountains. The University of Hawaiʻi’s dictionary collection also lists quite different words written with macrons or an ʻokina, including *mākaʻi*, a guard or police officer. Those marks distinguish vocabulary that should not be collapsed. Makai has an appealing coastal reference for a dog, but that association need not imply a traditional Hawaiian personal-name history.
- Meaning
- Hawaiian adverb makai: “at or towards the sea”, opposed to mauka (“inland”). Source
Try Makai out loud
Everyday moments“Makai, come here!”
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About Makai
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