Mai nā lālani mua o ke mele koʻi honua i kaulana ma kona inoa ʻo Kumulipo i loaʻa mai ai ka hua ʻō濒别濒辞 o kēia makahiki, ʻo &濒诲辩耻辞;办ā丑耻濒颈.&谤诲辩耻辞; ʻO ke “kāhuli” ka loli ʻana a ʻokoʻa mai ka hopena. ʻO ia kāhuli , ka wela hoʻi o ka honua me ka lole o ka lani, ka huna ahi i ʻoniʻoni ʻeuʻeu aʻe ai ka wale a kumu haʻohaʻo maila nā mea a pau o ke ao holoʻokoʻa nei.
He au kāhuli kēia e holo nei. He loli nui ma ke ao politika e 办ūʻē aupuni 办ū辫颈办颈辫颈办颈ʻō ai nā 尘补办补ʻā颈苍补苍补 a puni ka honua. He loli honua ma ke ao ʻō辫耻补 o Hawaiʻi e lewa aʻe ai nā waʻalele halihali ʻō丑耻补 maʻamaʻahia. He loli ma ke ao pāpaho nui o ka hoʻāno 办ū颈办补飞ā i ka ʻō濒别濒辞 aliʻi o ka lāhui.
Ma nēia makahiki, kai kani leo leʻa hou aʻe ai ke Kumulipo ma kona ʻā颈苍补, kona hale aliʻi 辫辞苍辞ʻī, i ʻike 尘ō补办ā办补 ʻia, ʻo ke kāhuli ka loli e paneʻe aukahi ai kākou mai ka nae maha ʻolu o ka uʻi lolena a e kaʻi ai kanaka i ke au e hiki mai ana.
- Related 东精影业 News story: 2024 ʻō濒别濒辞 of the year, December 9, 2024
2025 Hawaiian Word of the Year: Kāhuli
Drawn from the opening lines of the Hawaiian creation chant known as the Kumulipo, the 2025 Huaʻō濒别濒辞 (Word) of the Year selected by the , is kāhuli—to change, to alter, to overturn. In the Kumulipo, kāhuli describes the transformation that warmed the earth and unfolded the heavens, catalyzing the formation of the universe itself.
“Kāhuli speaks to transformation at a fundamental level—not surface change, but the kind of shift that reorders everything,” said Kaʻiu Kimura, director of the Hawaiian language college.
This meaning resonates as we navigate change on multiple fronts: federal shutdowns affecting vulnerable ʻohana, rising costs reshaping island economies, climate disasters whose recovery continues across our communities. Political movements challenge unjust systems globally, while our communities grapple with the cost of simply remaining home.
“The word kāhuli acknowledges that transformation can feel disruptive, but it’s also how new worlds emerge,” explained Kimura. “We’re living through an era of kāhuli politically, environmentally and culturally.”
In a year where the Kumulipo again resounded across its homeland, kāhuli reminds us that transformation is both inevitable and essential. In a year when the expression “6–7” emerged, kāhuli moves away from the middle ground, emphasizing work that looks beyond “good enough” toward something worthy of our kūpuna’s (elder) vision and our 尘辞ʻ辞辫耻苍补’蝉 (grandchild) future.
“Kāhuli distinguishes between forces that merely break things and forces that break us free—from complacency,” Kimura noted. “It insists we unsettle what doesn’t serve us to make space for what must come next.”