Survival Hawai'ian: Aloha

Decided yesterday - the idea came to me in the train from PDO to Donetsk - to start posting Hawai'ian words. 

Definitely, the first one is Aloha!

Aloha in the Hawaiian language means affection, peace, compassion and mercy. Since the middle of the 19th century, it also has come to be used as an English greeting to say goodbye and hello. Currently, it is mostly used in the sense of "hello".*

Interesting to note, that before contact with the West, other words were used for greeting in Hawai'i, including welina and anoai.

More variations of aloha:

Aloha kakahiaka = good morning.
Aloha ʻauinalā = good afternoon
Aloha ahiahi = good evening
Aloha kāakou = welcome to all

* Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aloha