hapa

American  

[hah-puh] / ˈhɑ pə /

noun

1. (especially in Hawaii and California) a person of mixed-race heritage who identifies racially and culturally as both white and of Asian descent.

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Etymology

Origin of hapa

First recorded in 1985–90; from Hawaiian Pidgin: “half”

Example Sentences

In the interview for the magazine, Slaughter asked Momoa about being a "hapa man with a hapa family" and playing the first hapa superhero.

From Salon • Jan. 2, 2023

There’s no character development to speak of, though the two nice sisters going gaga over the handsome hapa detective each make you root for them.

From Los Angeles Times • Sep. 10, 2021

Tiller is Lee’s modern American Everyman: 20 years old, one-eighth Asian, and referred to, depending on where he is in the world, as hapa, haole and farang — mixed, nonnative, white.

From New York Times • Feb. 5, 2021

Your campaign slogan was "hapa ni kazi", which roughly translates into "we mean business".

From BBC • Nov. 12, 2015

A ma kekahi po ae, i ka mahina e konane oluolu ana, i ka wa hapa o ka lai.

From The Hawaiian Romance Of Laieikawai by Beckwith, Martha Warren