shaka

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shaka

/ˈʃɑːkə/

Rhymes with -ɑːkə

Where it comes from

Origin uncertain. Shaka is not a word in the Hawaiian language, which lacks the /ʃ/ sound.

noun shakas

A greeting gesture in which the thumb and little finger are extended while curling the three middle fingers in a semi-fist, used to express a variety of positive meanings including all right, hello and goodbye. Greet someone with the slang, “Howzit?” and say goodbye with a flash of the “shaka” sign (fist closed, thumb and pinky extended) and you have established your credibility with Hawaii natives.
Similar: hang-loose sign

Translations

Every language

noun greeting gesture

Português	hang loose, sinal do Ronaldinho

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MLA

"shaka." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/shaka. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026.

APA

shaka. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/shaka

Chicago

"shaka." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/shaka.

BibTeX

@misc{shaka_2026,
  title = {shaka},
  howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://micwyn.com/word/shaka},
  urldate = {2026-11-06}
}