This free Hawaiian bingo printable deals four luau cards, no two alike. The squares mix Hawaiian words, dishes, hula, lei and party sights, spelled with the ʻokina and the kahakō.
Read the full guide
Call the words, or spot them at the party
Set How many cards to one per guest, print, switch to Call the game and press Call the next one. To teach, read the meaning and let guests hunt for the word: say 'thank you' for Mahalo. The table and backyard groups also play with no caller: guests mark what they eat and see.
Reading the ʻokina and the kahakō
The ʻokina, the mark that starts ʻohana, is a glottal stop and counts as a consonant. The kahakō, the bar over a vowel, makes it long. Both change meaning: ʻono is delicious, while ono is a fish.
When the fire knife dance is called, read its note aloud: the dance is Samoan.
Hand each winner a makana, a small prize, then call hana hou and press New game for the next round.
For young guests, set Grid to 3 × 3 and keep the lines from Sea turtle to The Aloha State.
Questions and answers
How do you win Hawaiian bingo?
Most groups play for one full line of five in any direction, with the free center square open to every player. After that, play on for four corners, then a blackout: all 24 words covered. House rules differ, so say yours before the first call.
Are limbo and tiki really Hawaiian?
No. Limbo began in Trinidad and Tobago. Tiki is a Māori word and the party style is American; the Hawaiian word for a carved image is kiʻi. Both stay because a backyard luau usually has them, each with a note on its origin.
Where do the spellings and meanings come from?
Every Hawaiian word was looked up on October 3, 2026 in the Hawaiian Dictionary of Pukui and Elbert (1986), in the searchable copy on the University of Hawaiʻi at Hilo website. Other facts were checked against Wikipedia. No speaker of Hawaiian has read the list.
All 122 squares
Hawaiian words to know 25
A hui houTill we meet again. The dictionary gives the full goodbye as a hui hou aku.
ʻĀinaLand, earth. It appears in the state motto.
AlohaLove, affection, compassion; also a greeting.
Hana houTo do again; the call for an encore.
HauʻoliHappy, glad, joyful.
HoalohaFriend, literally beloved companion.
HoloholoTo go out for pleasure: a walk, a ride or a sail.
KamaʻāinaNative-born, literally land child. It can also mean a host.
KāneMan, husband, male.
KeikiChild.
KōkuaHelp.
LānaiPorch, veranda, balcony.
MahaloThanks, gratitude. The longer form is mahalo nui loa.
MakaiToward the sea: ma plus kai.
MakanaGift, present, prize.
MalihiniNewcomer, visitor, guest.
MaukaInland, toward the mountain: ma plus uka.
MeleSong, chant, poetry.
ʻOhanaFamily, kin group.
ʻOnoDelicious. Without the ʻokina, ono is a fish, the wahoo, and the number six.
PauFinished, all done.
PāʻinaA small party with dinner, and an older name for a feast than lūʻau.
TūtūGrandma or grandpa, and any loved relative of that generation. The dictionary spells it kūkū and says it is usually pronounced tūtū.
WahineWoman, wife. The plural is wāhine.
WikiwikiFast, speedy. It doubles the word wiki.
Show all 122 squares (97 more)
On the lūʻau table 24
ʻAhiHawaiian tuna, especially yellowfin.
BananaMaiʻa, a word that covers all bananas and plantains.
BreadfruitʻUlu.
Chicken long riceOne of the dishes on Wikipedia's lūʻau menu.
CoconutNiu. Hawaiians used every part of the tree.
Eating by handA traditional feast had no utensils. Everything was eaten with the fingers.
HaupiaCoconut pudding, once thickened with arrowroot and now usually with cornstarch.
ImuThe underground oven.
Kālua pigA whole pig slow-cooked in the imu. Kālua means to bake in the ground oven.
KūloloA pudding of grated taro and coconut cream, baked or steamed.
LaulauPork, fish or taro tops wrapped in ti or banana leaves, then baked in the ground oven or steamed.
Lomi salmonLomi means to rub or press. The salmon is worked with the fingers and mixed with onions.
Lūʻau stewYoung taro leaves cooked with octopus or chicken and coconut milk. Lūʻau means young taro tops, and the feast is named for the dish.
Macadamia nutsNative to Australia. The first seeds reached Hawaiʻi in 1882.
MalasadaA Portuguese fried doughnut from Madeira and the Azores, brought by plantation laborers.
Mats on the groundThe feast was traditionally served on the floor, on mats.
Passion fruitLilikoʻi, said to be named for the place on Maui where it was first grown.
PineappleHala kahiki, literally foreign hala. The plant probably came from Brazil.
PoiCooked taro, pounded and thinned with water. Thickness is counted in fingers, and one-finger poi is the thickest.
PokeThe word means to slice or cut crosswise into pieces.
Shave iceShaved from a block, not crushed, so the syrup soaks in. It comes from Japanese kakigōri, sold by plantation immigrants in the early 1900s.
Sweet potatoʻUala.
TaroKalo, the staple food and the state plant since 2007.
Ti leavesKī. The leaves wrap laulau and made the centerpiece of the feast mat.
Music, hula and lei 25
Aloha shirtBegan in Honolulu in the 1920s or early 1930s, sewn from Japanese print fabric.
Grass skirtSeen everywhere only from the 1880s. The older hula skirt is the pāʻū, a wrap of kapa cloth.
HulaThe state dance since 1999.
Hula kahikoThe ancient style, danced to chant and traditional instruments, always barefoot.
Hula ʻauanaThe modern style, danced to song, guitar, ʻukulele and bass. ʻAuana means to wander or drift.
ʻIliʻiliWater-worn lava stones, clicked like castanets.
IpuA gourd drum. The double gourd drum is the ipu heke.
Kukui nut leiKukui is the candlenut, the state tree since 1959. Its oily kernels were once burned for light.
Kumu hulaThe hula teacher. Kumu means teacher, and also beginning or source.
LeiA garland of flowers, leaves, shells, feathers or paper, given as a symbol of affection.
Lei DayMay 1. The idea dates to 1927 and the phrase 'May Day is Lei Day'.
Lei poʻoA lei worn on the head.
Maile leiA native twining shrub, traditional among hula dancers.
MuʻumuʻuA loose gown. The word means cut off, because the yoke was once left out.
PahuThe sharkskin-covered drum, the state instrument for hula kahiko since 2015.
PīkakeArabian jasmine: small, white, very fragrant flowers strung into lei.
PlumeriaMelia in Hawaiian, one of the commonest lei flowers. The tree came from tropical America.
Puka shell necklacePuka means hole. The beads are beach-worn tips of cone snail shells with a natural hole, and most sold today are imitations.
PūʻiliSplit bamboo sticks, used as rattles for dancing.
Shell leiLei of Niʻihau shells are called pūpū o Niʻihau.
Slack key guitarKī hōʻalu. The strings are picked one at a time, not chorded.
Steel guitarPlayed flat across the lap with a steel bar sliding on the strings. Joseph Kekuku, born on Oʻahu, developed the style about 1890.
Ti leaf skirtAbout fifty green ti leaves, worn over the pāʻū.
ʻUkuleleThe name means leaping flea. It grew in the 1880s from small guitar-like instruments that makers from Madeira brought in 1879.
ʻUlīʻulīGourd rattles with seeds inside and colored feathers on top.
Land, sea and sky 24
The Aloha StateHawaiʻi's nickname.
BeachKahakai.
Coral reefKoʻa is coral. Black coral is the state gem.
GeckoMoʻo is the word for a lizard or any reptile, and for a water spirit.
HibiscusAloalo covers all hibiscus. The native yellow kind, maʻo hau hele, has been the state flower since 1988.
Humpback whaleKoholā, the state marine mammal since 1979.
Koa treeThe largest native forest tree, used for canoes, surfboards and ʻukuleles. Koa also means brave.
Monk sealThe Hawaiian monk seal, state mammal since 2008. Its Hawaiian name is ʻīlioholoikauaua.
MoonMahina, which also means month.
MountainMauna, as in Mauna Loa, Long Mountain.
NēnēThe Hawaiian goose, the state bird.
OceanMoana.
ʻŌhiʻa lehuaLehua is the flower of the ʻōhiʻa tree, the state endemic tree since 2022, and the flower of Hawaiʻi Island.
Outrigger canoeWaʻa is canoe. Outrigger canoe paddling is the state team sport.
Palm treeAny palm counts: real, printed on a shirt or drawn on a napkin.
RainbowĀnuenue.
Reef triggerfishThe state fish, better known by its Hawaiian name: humuhumunukunukuāpuaʻa.
Sea turtleHonu.
SeashellPūpū, the same word used for appetizers.
ShakaThe state gesture since 2024.
SharkManō.
SunLā, which also means day.
SurfingHeʻe nalu, literally wave sliding, the state individual sport since 1998.
WaveNalu.
At a backyard luau 24
Bamboo torchLit or unlit, it counts.
Bare feetHula kahiko is always danced barefoot, so this one has tradition behind it.
Beach ballInflated or still flat in the bag.
Coconut bowlingRoll a coconut at a row of empty plastic bottles.
Fire knife danceSamoan in origin, and now part of most Polynesian shows.
Flip-flopsOn feet or kicked off by the door.
Flower in the hairA real or fabric flower, tucked behind either ear.
Fruit platterTropical fruit is on the lūʻau menu too.
Fruit punchAny fruit drink in a big bowl or jug.
Group photoFive or more people in one shot.
Hula lessonSomeone teaches a step and at least two people try it.
Inflatable palm treeAny blow-up decoration with fronds.
Lei greetingThe traditional way is to bow slightly and hold the lei out for the guest to take, since raising hands above another person's head is considered disrespectful.
LimboNot Hawaiian. The dance comes from Trinidad and Tobago and spread in the 1950s.
Loudest shirt contestAny vote, show of hands or argument about whose print is brightest.
Paper leiThe dictionary's definition of lei includes paper ones.
Picnic blanketAny blanket or mat spread on the grass.
Pineapple centerpieceA whole pineapple on a table counts.
Sing-alongThree or more people singing the same song.
Straw hatAny woven sun hat.
String lightsAny string of bulbs or lanterns, on or off.
SunglassesOn a face, pushed up on a head or hanging from a collar.
Surfboard propCardboard, foam or the real thing.
Tiki statueTiki is a Māori word, and the party style began at a Hollywood restaurant in 1933. The Hawaiian word for a carved image is kiʻi.