ohana
6 synonyms and 0 antonyms for ohana, grouped by meaning and by how common each one is.
Noun — Family in the Hawaiian sense: not only blood relatives but everyone bound to you by loyalty and care, none of whom is left behind.
Synonyms
Everyday swaps
Common words most readers know — safe in any writing.
Less common
Still standard English, but they carry more weight.
Rare, literary or technical
Precise, but they will stand out — check the sense before using one.
Synonyms by Meaning
1. noun Hawaiian
Family in the Hawaiian sense: not only blood relatives but everyone bound to you by loyalty and care, none of whom is left behind.
“He treats his whole crew as ohana.”
2. noun Hawaii, regional
In Hawaii, a small secondary dwelling on a residential lot, built for a relative or rented out; also called an ohana unit.
“The property has a two-bedroom house with an ohana out back.”
How to Use Ohana
The word patterns that sound natural to a native speaker.
A Hawaiian word used in English. Written with a leading ʻokina in careful Hawaiian-language contexts.
Etymology
Hawaiian ʻohana, from ʻohā, the shoot that grows from the taro root — a family understood as growth from a common stock.
Full origin of ohana →Frequently Asked Questions
What does "ohana means family" come from?
It is the line from Disney's Lilo & Stitch — "ohana means family, and family means nobody gets left behind or forgotten" — which is why most people outside Hawaii know the word. The Hawaiian sense is genuine, though it is an ordinary everyday word there rather than a slogan.
How do you spell and pronounce it properly?
In Hawaiian it is written ʻohana, beginning with an ʻokina, a glottal stop, and pronounced oh-HAH-nah with a small catch before the first vowel. English text usually drops the ʻokina.
Is it disrespectful to use ohana if you are not Hawaiian?
Using it warmly and accurately is generally accepted; putting it on merchandise, tattoos or business names is where Native Hawaiians often object, since it commercialises a word from a culture whose language was suppressed for decades.