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Glite Dictionary
🌺 A Hawaiian person 🚫 An offensive term 👷 A Pacific worker
kanaka

kanaka

1 9.9
An offensive word for Pacific Island people that is disrespectful
  • noun
  • Slur
: [término despectivo para isleño del Pacífico]
  • It is important to understand that using the term kanaka in a derogatory manner is deeply offensive to many people.

Examples

  • Many Pacific Islanders find the usage of the term kanaka to be hurtful and disrespectful.

  • "Was a thieving kanaka, what done it?"

    Fiction book (1992)

  • Examples Pure Negro, Negro greatly or slightly cross Chinese, Japanese, cross of Kanaka, and European.

  • The word kanaka has historically been used as a slur against Hawaiians and should be avoided in respectful conversation.

Surface Forms

kanaka singular
kanakas plural

Etymology

Although kanaka originally meant 'person', outsiders sometimes used it as a rude name for Pacific Islanders, and many people now see it as a slur and avoid using it.