How to Add the Hawaiian Kahako in Word

Type the Kahakō in MS Word

by | Apr 6, 2024 | Useful Tech

Want to properly distinguish “kanaka” from “kānaka” or a “pūpū” from a “pupu”? Find out here how to type the Hawaiian kahako (kō) in Word (for Windows, Mac, and the web) to lengthen vowels and spell properly.

First, Burning Birch Bark

One can try to produce an airtight container, then carefully heat birch bark in it to produce birch tar.

One can also, it seems, burn that same bark carelessly out in the open in front of a large, smooth stone, then scrape the tar off the stone.

Birch tar was one of humanity’s (and not just humanity’s) first glues, of course, used to attach arrowheads to arrows (like Oetzi’s) or insulate boats.

Now, there are no birch trees native to the Hawaiian Islands, but we can glue a kahako to the letter ‘a’ to write kumulāʻau, for instance:

How to Add the Hawaiian Kahako in Word for Windows

Using the Hawaiian Keyboard Layout (Preferred)

Time needed: 3 minutes

To insert a Hawaiian kahakō in MS Word on Windows, it is easiest to use the Hawaiian keyboard layout:

  1. Switch to the Hawaiian keyboard layout.

    Here’s how: Add the Hawaiian keyboard layout to your language in Windows, then press Windows Space until the Hawaiian (or HWN) keyboard is active.

  2. Press AltGr together with the vowel you want to insert with kahako.

    Example: Type AltGr O to insert ō.
    Which vowels: The key combination to insert kahako works for ā, ē, ī, ō, and ū

Using Quick Accent (Easy Access)

To add a kahakō to a character anywhere on Windows easily—including in Word documents:

  1. Install Microsoft PowerToys and enable Quick Accent in it.
  2. Type and hold the character you want to add with a kahakō in Word.
  3. Press Space immediately (while still holding the original key).
    “Quick” Accent: Press Space before character repetition kicks in or you’ll end up with lots of ‘o’s, for instance, if you are about to insert ‘ō’.
    Alternatives: You can also press → (right arrow) and ← (left arrow) in lieu of Space.
  4. Now press Space repeatedly until the desired kahakō character with macron is highlighted.
  5. Release the original key to insert the kahakō.
    Add a kahakō in Word with Quck Accent

Using the Word Symbol Dialog (Occasionally)

To insert a vowel with the kahako to lengthen and stress using the Office Symbol dialog:

  1. Position the text cursor where you want to insert the vowel with kahakō.
  2. Go to the Insert tab on the Word ribbon.
  3. Select Symbol | More Symbols.
  4. Double-click any vowel that bears the kahako to insert it.
    Where: You can find the characters in the Latin Extended-A subset.
    Which font: Typically, choose (normal text) as the font.
    What name: The kahako appears as Latin letter <vowel> With Macron under Unicode name: (where “macron” is another name for the kahako diacritic bar).
    Use the MS Word Symbol dialog to insert characters with kahako

How to Add the Hawaiian Kahako in Word for Mac

Holding Keys

To type a vowel with kahako in Word for Mac:

  1. Press and hold the vowel to which you want to add a kahako bar.
  2. Type the number that corresponds to the character with kahako as the selection bar pops up.
    Exception ‘e’: This method does not work for the letter ‘e’; to enter ē, see below.
    Type and hold to add kahakō to many characters on macOS

Using Character Viewer or Emoji Panel

To use the macOS Symbols dialog to insert letters with kahako in Word for Mac:

  1. Select Edit | Emoji & Symbols from the menu.
  2. Now type macron in the Search field.
    Emoji and Symbols: This works in both the emoji panel and the expanded Character Viewer dialog.
  3. Double-click the desired kahako character in search results to insert it.
    Insert a vowel with kahako using the Mac Character Viewer

How to Type the Hawaiian Kahako in Word on the Web, Word for iOS and Word for Android

Using Word on the web in a browser or the Word apps for Android and iOS, it is best to use the operating system’s means of inserting the kahako or copying and pasting.

  • Windows: Use the Hawaiian keyboard layout.
  • Mac: Use holding and selecting or Character Viewer (see above).
  • Linux: Press the Compose key followed by - (minus) followed by the vowel to which you want to add the kahako.
    Compose key: Look in your distribution’s settings for assigning the Compose key, e.g., to Print.
  • iOS, Android, everywhere else: Copy the kahako characters from the table below and paste them where needed.
KahakoUnicode UTF-16HTMLCopy
Ā (A with kahakō)0x0100&Amacr;
ā (a with kahakō)0x0101&amacr;
Ē (E with kahakō)0x0112&Emacr;
ē (e with kahakō)0x0113&emacr;
Ī (I with kahakō)0x012A&Imacr;
ī (i with kahakō)0x012A&Imacr;
Ō (O with kahakō)0x014C&Omacr;
ō (o with kahakō)0x014D&omacr;
Ū (U with kahakō)0x016A&Umacr;
ū (u with kahakō)0x016B&umacr;

How to Add the Hawaiian Kahako in Word: FAQ

Can I use the Maori characters for long vowels?

Yes.

The characters you can type using a Maori keyboard or keyboard layout are equivalent to the vowels with a Hawaiian kahako.

(How to add the Hawaiian kahakō in Word tested with Word for Microsoft 365 Version 2403; updated April 2024)

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