Meaning
Pūpū is a Hawaiian word with several meanings; in the food sense widely used in Hawaiʻi, it means a relish, appetizer, canapé, hors d’oeuvre, or small dish served for eating and sharing.
How it is used
Pukui-Elbert dictionary records give pūpū a food sense of relish, appetizer, canapé, or hors d’oeuvre and note older use for food served with kava. University of Hawaiʻi visitor material also uses pupu for small dishes and appetizers, reflecting its familiar place in contemporary Hawaiʻi food vocabulary.
Examples
- “We ordered a few pūpū to share before dinner.”
- “Bring some pūpū for the gathering.”
Pronunciation
/puːˈpuː/ · poo-POO
Tone and register
Neutral and social. The food sense often appears around shared meals, gatherings, menus, and informal events.
Visitor guidance
In careful Hawaiian spelling, use pūpū with both kahakō. Do not confuse it with visually similar Hawaiian forms that have different vowel length or meanings. In local English menus the diacritics are often omitted, but the Hawaiian lexical source should remain clear.
Cultural context
Pūpū predates the modern restaurant-menu use associated with Hawaiʻi. Dictionary evidence connects the food sense to earlier Hawaiian eating practices, while contemporary local usage has broadened it into the familiar category of appetizers and shareable small dishes.
Places represented
Open the reviewed place guide for each regional sense carried by this canonical entry.