The current official Hawaiian alphabet consists of 13 letters: 5 normal vowels: Aa, Ee, Ii, Oo, Uu; 5 Vowels with Macrons: Ā ā, Ē ē, Ī ī, Ō ō, Ū ū and 8 consonants: Hh, Kk, Ll, Mm, Nn, Pp, Ww, ‘okina. The Hawaiian alphabet was adapted from the English alphabet in the early 19th century by American missionaries to print a Hawaiian bible. It was not until 1864 that the ‘okina became a recognized letter of the Hawaiian alphabet.