Pronunciation of Hawaiian

With assistance from the Hawaiian Dictionary by Mary Kawena Pukui and Samuel H. Elbert:

Consonants - 8

h, k, l, m, n, p, w, ' ('okina)

The 'okina is a glottal stop, similar to the sound between oh's in the English word "oh-oh".

Vowels  - 5

(unstressed)
a   like a in above
e   like e in bet
i    like y in city
o   like o in sole
u   like oo in moon

(stressed)
a, a (with kahako) like a in far
e like e in bet
e (with kahako) like ay in pay
i, i (with kahako) like ee in see
o, o (with kahako) like o in sole
u, u (with kahako) like oo in moon

The vowels marked with the kahako (a macron line over the vowel) are somewhat longer than other vowels and are always stressed.

This is just the tip of the volcano! And it may not make much sense to you when it stands alone like this. But it will, as you get more familiar with Hawaiian words.