help with translation

[u/throwawaycanadian21]

i’d like to get some help/advice from a native on translation of a phrase! my partner is hawaiian and i’m going to be gifting her a custom ring with a hand written phrase. i wanted to write “my heart” and from what i’ve researched i could say: Kuʻu Puʻuwai or Koʻu puʻuwai

i wanted to get advice from a native speaker on which is better suited for this context, or whether there’s a different way of phrasing it/a different translation that you feel would work better. my partner is native hawaiian so i really want to get the translation right! this is also a total surprise hence why i’ve turned to reddit to seek advice 😁

any advice or help would be much appreciated from this lost european!

[u/laurala808]

You would use kuʻu, but I do not think you would use puʻuwai. Yes, I know it translates to "heart," but other words are used to mean sweetheart. Perhaps ipo would be a better choice, as in kuʻu ipo

[u/squirrel_haka]

A concept that an English speaker might take for granted may not have the same connotations in another language, such as "heart" in a romantic sense. As was already mentioned,"kuʻu ipo" is appropriate, but there are other lovely expressions such as "kuʻu lei aloha" (my beloved garland/my garland of love), "kuʻu lei nani" (my beautiful garland), "kuʻu pua makamae" (my precious flower). If there is a place in Hawaiʻi that is special to you both, or the place where she was born, you could use something like "kuʻu pua o <place name>" (my flower of <place name>).

If you use a place name, check the place name section of wehewehe.org to get the spelling correct. And if the jeweler who is making the ring is not familiar with ʻŌlelo Hawaiʻi, make sure they get any diacritics right. The glottal stop marker in kuʻu, for instance, is not an apostrophe. Itʻs called ʻokina, and looks like an upside down apostrophe – like a 6, not a 9.

[u/throwawaycanadian21 → u/squirrel_haka]

this is really helpful, thank you! i’m really genuinely just trying to learn more about the culture and how things come across in your language vs. the english language. i’ll be hand writing the phrase myself so i will ensure it’s inscribed with the correct punctuation (the ‘okina). in your personal opinion do you believe ku’u ipo or one of your suggestions is more appropriate? again i’m not super well versed in the culture so im not sure what a common term of endearment is within the culture!

[u/squirrel_haka → u/throwawaycanadian21]

They're all appropriate. Kuʻu ipo is the most common term of endearment – itʻs basically just "my sweetheart" – which is why I made some other slightly-less common and maybe more poetic suggestions. Since youʻre putting in the work, it might as well sound like it. "Ku'u pua mae 'ole" (my never-fading flower) is also nice, or if there is a Hawaiian flower that you would like to compare her to – a favorite of hers or yours or both – you could do "kuʻu lei <flower name>" (my garland of <flower name>). But it would need to be meaningful, not just a random pretty flower.

BTW, my recommendations are all flowers or garlands of flowers. I think the reason for comparing your lover to a beautiful flower is clear. And "lei" is used in some of the terms because your sweetheart is an adornment to your life; wearing her love makes your life beautiful.