Hawaiian translation - is this correct?

I'd like to write "Life is Good" on my hut. I used an online translator and found "Ola Maika'i" (life good.) It appears there is no "is" in the Hawaiian language. Would those 2 words be okay? OR is it not right?

I also found "Ke ola Maika'i" which is supposed to say "The Good Life." That's ok too but I'd prefer Life is Good. I just don't want it to be wrong although I don't know anyone who would know if it WAS wrong, myself included but I have some secret perfectionist tendencies.

Any translation help would be most appreciated. Mahalo in advance!

Good question.
Maybe this may assist:
http://wehewehe.org/gsdl2.5/cgi-bin/hdict?e=q-0hdict--00-0-0--010---4----den--0-000lpm--1haw-Zz-1---Zz-1-home---00031-0000escapewin-00&d=&l=en

That's the site I used originally but thanks for your reply. I'm hoping there's a native speaker on the site who can advise me.

Doubtful, anyone who's into Hawaiian culture to that extent probably thumbs their nose at the inauthenticity of mid-century Tiki culture. And all the people I know who were born and raised in Hawaii consider Tiki to be a cheezy tourist thing. :(

Just make something up like...

"He kanapapiki mahalo 'ole keia mea inu Tiki ia'u"

Now that's Tiki !! :)

On 2012-07-02 09:46, JOHN-O wrote:
Doubtful, anyone who's into Hawaiian culture to that extent probably thumbs their nose at the inauthenticity of mid-century Tiki culture. And all the people I know who were born and raised in Hawaii consider Tiki to be a cheezy tourist thing. :(

Just make something up like...

"He kanapapiki mahalo 'ole keia mea inu Tiki ia'u"

Now that's Tiki !! :)

Not to mention the fact that Tiki people also thumb their noses at anything that is really authentic Hawaiian! Never underestimate the lack of enthusiasm for anything Hawaiian on this forum! :)

Damn! Where is there for a person to go that likes both Tiki AND authentic Hawaiian culture?

IANAL (I am not a linguist), but here's my take. The term you are looking to translate is one that means 'the experience of the general condition of our existence as humans (Life) is meaningfully positive (Good)'. You don't simply mean, "life" (being alive) is better than the alternative.

Looking at the Hawaiian dictionary, "ola", alone, has possible meanings of "life, health, well-being, living, livelihood, means of support, salvation; alive, living; curable, spared, recovered; healed; to live; to spare, save, heal, grant life, survive, thrive".

But "Ola 'ana" means "life, existence". (I read elsewhere that "'ana" is a nominalizing particle that turns verbs into nouns describing actions.)

Pending the judgement of a true expert, I'm guessing either "Maika'i Ola 'ana" or "Ola 'ana Maika'i" could be used. According to Wikipedia, on Hawaiian Grammer, "Word order is flexible, and the emphatic word can be placed first in the sentence". So,...

"Ola 'ana Maika'i" = "Life is Good"
"Maika'i Ola 'ana" = "Life is Good!"

[ Edited by: Limbo Lizard 2012-07-02 11:34 ]

"Maika'i Ola 'ana" = "Life is Good!"

I like! Unless an "expert" chimes in I think this may be the winner. Thanks for the explanation too, or grammar lesson as it were. :)

As they famously say about Maui being the very best, Maui/(Ola) no ka 'oi

Ao ola no la ka oi
For life is the best

I might ask my Auntie later this morning for her take.

Ke ola maika'i is the most appropriate (authentic) way to express your sentiments.

I'm a native Hawaiian and have been reborn into the tiki world. I'm having a great time exploring this fun, happy, and totally irreverant world.

There's a difference in the Hawaiian language between a literal translation and a figurative one. In this case, simply saying "Maika'i ke ola" is plenty good. Literally, it means "good, the life." We don't get all crazy about prepositions and the like when we speak the words - it's all in the emphasis, which in this case, would be on the word "maika'i." So, keep it simple and easy, which is what the saying is all about.

In a figurative manner, we would say "'Ai i kalo mo'a" which means, literally, "eat cooked taro." To a Hawaiian, that means "enjoy a life of contentment and relaxation" because if you had poi to eat, then you had food on the table and were a happy camper.

Life really is good, isn't it?!

Tikimiki: That was brilliant. Just goes to show how literal translations aren't how people speak.

Acting upon the advice of Tiki Teach, I emailed Gecko.

He kindly consulted with his cousin who advised me to flip the words so OLA is at the end.

So, "Maika'i Ola" it is.

(Just in case anyone was curious, I thought I'd share.)