Hawaiian Bingo Printable Free: Luau Cards That Teach the Words: how it works
Press New set of 4 cards and this free Hawaiian bingo printable deals four luau cards, no two alike, from 120 squares: Hawaiian words, dishes from the lūʻau table, hula and lei, island wildlife and backyard party sights. Spellings keep the ʻokina and the kahakō, and every square is explained in the list under the cards.
Call the words, or spot them at the party
Print one card per guest, switch to Call the game and read each word as it comes up. For a round that teaches, read the meaning instead, say 'thank you', and let guests hunt for Mahalo. All 120 words make a long game. For a shorter one, copy two groups from the list below, press Empty the list, paste them into Word list, one per line and deal again. The table and backyard groups also play with no caller: guests mark what they eat and see.
Reading the ʻokina and the kahakō
The Hawaiian alphabet has 13 letters: five vowels and eight consonants. One consonant is the ʻokina, the mark at the start of ʻohana, a glottal stop. The kahakō, the bar over a vowel, makes that vowel long. Both change meaning: ʻono is delicious, while ono is a fish. If a word stumps the caller, hold up the screen.
Tips
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, choose the 3 × 3 grid and paste in only the land, sea and sky group: turtles, whales, rainbows and the shaka.
Questions and answers
How do you win Hawaiian bingo?
Most groups play for one full line of five in any direction, with the centre free square open to every player. After that, play on for four corners and 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, and each carries a note on its origin. Delete them for a card of Hawaiian things only.
Where do the spellings and meanings come from?
Every Hawaiian word was looked up on September 18, 2026 in the Pukui and Elbert Hawaiian Dictionary, in the searchable copy on the University of Hawaiʻi at Hilo website. Food, hula, lei and state symbol facts were checked against Wikipedia the same day. Many words carry more meanings than one line can hold.
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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.
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 a source of knowledge.
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, state bird since 1988.
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 paddling, heihei waʻa, 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 22
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.
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.
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.