What’s the official state fish of Hawaii? It’s the humuhumunukunukuapuaʻa. The name translates as “little triggerfish with a small snout like a pig,” puaʻa being the Hawaiian word for “pig.” The triggerfish is named for the large spine on its back that snaps upright and locks into place thanks to a second, shorter spine that acts like a trigger. This pop-up projection lets the fish wedge itself into a crevice, staying safe from predators. This is part of a complete episode.
Transcript of “Humuhumunukunukuapuaʻa, Hawaii’s State Fish, Means “Little Triggerfish with a Piglike Snout””
You’re listening to A Way with Words, the show about language and how we use it.
I’m Grant Barrett.
And I’m Martha Barnette.
We received a lovely message from Carol Shepherd, who wanted to share her mother’s favorite word with us.
It’s a word she says that her mother always pronounced with sheer delight.
And the word is humu humu nuku nuku apu a.
Don’t ask me to spell it.
Oh that’s a Hawaiian word, I think.
Y Yeseses, y it is And that is a fish, but usually they call it something shorter.
Yes, they usually call it a trigger fish, but it turns out that the humu humu nuku nuku Apua is the official state fish of Hawaii.
And what’s really cool about her bringing this word to us is it’s you know it’s just one of those things where you want to pull on a thread and and follow at where your curiosity takes you, I was really fascinated to learn that this name translates as little trigger fish with a small snout like a pig.
Oh I would just imagine little piggies swimming.
I know on the beautiful Hawaiian beaches.
Yes.
And and I looked them up.
They do sort of look like little pigs.
Pu’a is the word for pig.
But then I got curious about why it’s called a trigger fish.
And do you have any idea why it’s called a trigger fish?
No, but is it one of those that shoots like high-speed jets of water or something?
That was my guess.
But no, it’s more interesting than that actually, because the trigger fish has a large spine on its back that it can snap upright and lock into place using a second shorter spine that’s directly behind it.
So it’s exactly like a trigger.
And the reason they have this is that when the first spine snaps up and is locked into place, then the fish can wedge itself into a little crevice because of that little spine and a predator can’t get to it.
Oh, so it’s like a trigger on a gun, gotcha.
Yes, yes.
I thought that was the coolest thing.
And this is what I love about what we do, Grant.
You know, you just pull on a little thread and you see where you go.
We’d love to talk about language and we love to talk to you.
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