| 29 | Aia anei ka maka i ke kua o ʻike ʻole iho? | Are the eyes on the back that one cannot see what is being done? |
| | [Said of one who declares that he doesn’t know how to do a certain thing and perhaps will not be able to learn.] |
| 52 | Aia ka ʻike iā Polihua a lei i ka mānewanewa. | One proves a visit to Polihua by wearing a lei of mānewanewa. |
| | [A person proves his visit to a place by bringing back something native to the area. Refers to Polihua, Lānaʻi.] |
| 91 | ʻAkahi au a ʻike i ka ʻino o Hilo. | It is the first time I have seen a Hilo storm. |
| | [For the first time I have met with evil people who wish to harm me.] |
| 147 | ʻAʻohe ʻike o ka puaʻa nona ka imu e hōʻā ʻia nei. | The pig does not know that the imu is being lighted for it. |
| | [Said of a person who is unaware that he is being victimized.] |
| 148 | ʻAʻohe ʻike wale iho iā Maliʻo, i ka huhuki laweau a Uwēkahuna. | Malio is not recognized because Uwēkahuna is drawing her away. |
| | [Said of one who refuses to recognize old friends and associates or is snubbed by friends because they have interests elsewhere. Maliʻo was a mythical woman of Puna whom Pele once snubbed. Uwēkahuna is the bluff overlooking the crater of Kīlauea.] |
| 149 | ʻAʻohe ʻike wale iho i ke kinikini o Kolokini, i ka wawalo o ke kai o Kahalahala. | [He] does not deign to recognize the multitude of Kolokini, nor the roaring of the sea of Kahalahala. |
| | [Said of a person who deliberately refuses to recognize kith or kin and goes about with a haughty air.] |
| 171 | ʻAʻohe lihi ʻike aku i ka nani o Punahoa. | Hasn’t known the beauty of Punahoa. |
| | [Used when the charms of a person or place are unknown. Punahoa is an unusually attractive place.] |
| 197 | ʻAʻohe o kahi nānā o luna o ka pali; iho mai a lalo nei; ʻike i ke au nui ke au iki, he alo a he alo. | The top of the cliff isnt the place to look at us; come down here and learn of the big and little current, face to face. |
| | [Learn the details. Also, an invitation to discuss something. Said by Pele to Pāʻoa when he came to seek the lava-encased remains of his friend Lohiʻau.] |
| 203 | ʻAʻohe pau ka ʻike i ka hālau hoʻokahi. | All knowledge is not taught in the same school. |
| | [One can learn from many sources.] |
| 222 | ʻAʻole e ʻike ʻia ke kākala o ka moa ma kāna ʻoʻō ʻana. | One cannot tell by his crowing what the cock’s spur can do. |
| | [One cannot judge by his bragging what a person can really do.] |
| 230 | ʻAʻole nō i ʻike ke kanaka i nā nani o kona wahi i hānau ʻia ai. | A person doesn’t see all the beauties of his birthplace. |
| | [One doesn’t see how beautiful his birthplace is until he goes away from home.] |
| 309 | E ʻike ana ʻoe i ke liʻi nui o Oʻahu, o Kakuhihewa. | You will meet with the great chief of Oʻahu, Kakuhihewa. |
| | [You shall find out how wrong you are. A play on kuhihewa (erroneous).] |
| 310 | E ʻike i ka hoa kanaka, o kipa hewa ke aloha i ka ʻīlio. | Recognize your fellow man lest your love be wasted on a dog. |
| | [Love man above animals.] |
| 325 | E kuhikuhi pono i nā au iki a me nā au nui o ka ʻike. | Instruct well in the little and the large currents of knowledge. |
| | [In teaching, do it well; the small details are as important as the large ones.] |
| 360 | E nihi ka helena i ka uka o Puna; mai pūlale i ka ʻike a ka maka. | Go quietly in the upland of Puna; do not let anything you see excite you. |
| | [Watch your step and don’t let the things you see lead you into trouble. There is an abundance of flowers and berries in the uplands of Puna and it is thought that picking any on the trip up to the volcano will result in being caught in heavy rains; the picking is left until the return trip. Also said to loved ones to imply, “Go carefully and be mindful.”] |
| 417 | Haki kākala o Piʻilani, ʻike pono ʻo luna iā lalo. | Roughness breaks in Piʻilani, those above recognize those below. |
| | [A storm breaks loose and those above — rain, lightning, thunder, wind — show their effects to the people below.] |
| 543 | He ana ka manaʻo o ke kanaka, ʻaʻole ʻoe e ʻike iā loko. | The thoughts of man are like caves whose interiors one cannot see. |
| 580 | He hōʻailona ke ao i ʻike ʻia. | Clouds are recognized signs. |
| 620 | He ʻike ʻana ia i ka pono. | It is a recognizing of the right thing. |
| | [One has seen the right thing to do and has done it.] |
| 621 | He ʻike nāwele. | A scanty vision. |
| | [To be hardly able to see or to have very scanty knowledge of anything.] |
| 622 | He ʻike pāpālua. | Dual knowledge. |
| | [Said of one who is gifted with extra-sensory perception or second sight.] |
| 767 | He lohe ʻōlelo iā Kalehuawehe, he ʻike maka iā Kuaokalā. | Have only heard of Kalehuawehe, but have seen Kuaokalā. |
| | [That is only hearsay so I do not know much about it; but this I have seen and know about.] |
| 856 | He ʻoiʻo kuhihewa; he kākā ola i ʻike ʻia e ka makāula. | The thought of a ghost is an error; it is a living person identifed by a prophet. |
| | [Don’t blame ghosts and spirits for one’s troubles; a human being is responsible.] |
| 1013 | Hō aʻe ka ʻike heʻe nalu i ka hokua o ka ʻale. | Show [your] knowledge of surfing on the back of the wave. |
| | [Talking about one’s knowledge and skill is not enough; let it be proven.] |
| 1169 | I ʻike ʻia nō ʻoe i ka lā o ko loaʻa; i ka lā o ka nele pau kou ʻike ʻia mai. | You are recognized when prosperous; but when poverty comes, you are no longer recognized. |
| | [Fair-weather friends gather when one is prosperous and scatter when prosperity is gone.] |
| 1170 | I ʻike ʻia nō ʻoe i ka loaʻa aku o kāu. | You are recognized as long as yours is received. |
| | [A warning about fair-weather friends who are friendly as long as they continue to benefit.] |
| 1171 | I ʻike ʻia nō ʻo Kohala i ka pae kō, a ʻo ka pae kō ia kole ai ka waha. | One can recognize Kohala by her rows of sugar cane which can make the mouth raw when chewed. |
| | [When one wanted to fight a Kohala warrior, he would have to be a very good warrior to succeed. Kohala men were vigorous, brave, and strong.] |
| 1172 | I ʻike ʻia nō ke aliʻi, i ka nui o nā makaʻāinana. | A chief is known by his many followers. |
| 1173 | I ʻike ʻoe iā Kauaʻi a puni a ʻike ʻole iā Kauaʻi-iki, ʻaʻole nō ʻoe i ʻike iā Kauaʻi. | If you have seen all of the places on the island of Kauaʻi and have not seen Little Kauaʻi, you have not seen the whole of Kauaʻi. |
| | [Kauaʻi-iki (Little Kauaʻi) is a stone that stood in a taro patch at Wahiawa, Kauaʻi. When it was threatened with destruction by the building of a road, it was rescued by Walter McBryde and taken to Maiʻaloa and later to Kukuiolono Park, where it stands today.] |
| 1182 | I ka ʻike! | If there is knowledge! |
| | [Said in scorn or annoyance of one who pretends knowledge, meaning, “What does he know about it?” Sometimes shortened to I ka ʻī.] |
| 1186 | I ka nānā nō a ʻike. | By observing, one learns. |
| 1190 | I ka noho pū ʻana a ʻike i ke aloha. | It is only when one has lived with another that one knows the meaning of love. |
| 1200 | ʻIke aku, ʻike mai, kōkua aku kōkua mai; pēlā ihola ka nohona ʻohana. | Recognize and he recognized, help and he helped; such is family life. |
| | [Family life requires an exchange of mutual help and recognition.] |
| 1204 | ʻIke au i kona mau poʻopoʻo. | I know all of his nooks. |
| | [I know all about him, including his family connections, faults, and virtues.] |
| 1206 | ʻIke ʻia aʻe nō ma ka huluhulu kau i ka puka ihu. | Attention is paid only to the hairs of the nostrils. |
| | [Attention is paid to the favored few whom one does not like to offend.] |
| 1207 | ʻIke ʻia e ka nui manu. | Known by the many birds. |
| | [Recognized by many people.] |
| 1208 | ʻIke ʻia nō ka loea i ke kuahu. | An expert is recognized by the altar he builds. |
| | [It is what one does and how well he does it that shows whether he is an expert.] |
| 1209 | ʻIke i ke au nui me ke au iki. | Knows the big currents and the little currents. |
| | [Is very well versed.] |
| 1210 | I ke kaua e ʻike ʻia ai nā hoaaloha a me nā kānaka koa. | It is in war that one learns who his friends are and who among them is brave. |
| | [One learns who one’s friends are when one faces trouble. Said by Kaʻeo to the chiefs of Oʻahu, who were fighting against Kalanikūpule.] |
| 1211 | ʻIke maka iā Kaneoneo. | He has seen Kaneoneo for himself. |
| | [Said of one who has been disappointed. A play on Ka-neoneo (The Nothing).] |
| 1212 | ʻIke nō i ka lā o ka ʻike; mana nō i ka lā o ka mana. | Know in the day of knowing; mana in the day of mana. |
| | [Knowledge and mana — each has its day. Another day may bring greater knowledge and greater mana than today.] |
| 1213 | ʻIke nō ke aliʻi i kona kanaka, a ua ʻike nō ke kanaka i kona aliʻi. | The chief knows his servant; the servant knows his chief. |
| | [Outsiders do not understand our relationships to our chiefs, and we do not care to discuss it with them.] |
| 1257 | I puni iā ʻoe o Kaʻū a i ʻike ʻole ʻoe iā Kaʻūloa, ʻaʻohe nō ʻoe i ʻike iā Kaʻū. | If you have been around Kaʻū and have not seen Kaʻūloa, you have not seen the whole of the district. Kaʻūloa and Waiōhinu were two stones, wife and husband, that stood in a kukui grove on the upper side of the road between Na’alehu and Waiōhinu. With the passing of time, these stones gradually sank until they vanished completely into the earth. After Kaʻūloa was no longer seen, Palahemo was substituted as the chief point of interest. |
| 1258 | I puni iā ʻoe o Lānaʻi a i ʻike ʻole iā Lānaʻi-Kaʻula me Lānaʻi-Hale, ʻaʻohe nō ʻoe i ʻike iā Lānaʻi. | If you have gone around Lānaʻi, and have not seen Lānaʻi Kaʻula and Lānaʻi Hale, you have not seen all of Lānaʻi. |
| 1397 | Ka ʻike a ka makua he hei na ke keiki. | The knowledge of the parent is [unconsciously] absorbed by the child. |
| 1402 | Kaikoʻo ke awa, popoʻi ka nalu, ʻaʻohe ʻike ʻia ka poʻe nāna i heʻe ka nalu. | The harbor is rough, the surf rolls, and the rider of the surf cannot be seen. |
| | [A stormy circumstance with uncertain results.] |
| 1426 | Kālai o Lūaliʻi i ke kiʻi a ʻike i ka ʻino haʻalele. | Lūaliʻi carved an image and, finding it bad, deserted it. |
| | [Said of one who abandons a thing he used to indulge in. Lūaliʻi was a chief of Hawaiʻi who wanted to carve an image. He went to the mountains, found a log and bore it to the lowland to work on. It was almost finished when he discovered a rotted spot. He deserted it and went to find another log to carve. As he worked on the second log he heard the first one say, “Lūaliʻi carved an image and, finding it bad, deserted it.” He went back to it, cleaned out the rotted spot and finished it. He knew that a god possessed it. This god later helped him rid Oʻahu of evil beings.] |
| 1471 | Kamaliʻi ʻike ʻole i ka helu pō: Muku nei, Muku ka malama; Hilo nei, kau ka Hoaka. | Children who do not know the moon phases: Muku is here, Muku the moon; Hilo comes next, then Hoaka. |
| | [The first part of a child’s chant for learning the names of the moon phases. Also said of one who does not know the answer to a question or is ignorant. He is compared to a small child who has not learned the moon phases.] |
| 1646 | Ka wai ʻeleʻele a ka poʻe ʻike. | The black fluid of the learned. |
| | [Ink.] |
| 2055 | Mai ʻike ʻole ʻia nō! | It almost missed being noticed! |
| | [A sarcastic reply to one who boasts of his accomplishments.] |
| 2084 | Mai piʻi aʻe ʻoe i ka lālā kau halalī o ʻike ʻia kou wahi hilahila e ou mau hoa. | Do not climb to the topmost branches lest your private parts be seen by your companions. |
| | [Do not put on an air of superiority lest people remember only your faults.] |
| 2088 | Ma ka hana ka ʻike. | In working one learns. |
| 2098 | Makapaʻa ʻike ʻole i ka ʻope iʻa. | One-eyed person who does not see the bundle of fish. |
| | [Dried fish were rolled in ti leaves and hung up. When the leaves dried, they matched the color of the thatch of the house and often were not noticed at a glance.] |
| 2118 | Mālama o ʻike i ke kaula ʻili hau o Kailua. | Take care lest you feel the hau-bark rope of Kailua. |
| | [Take care lest you get hurt. When braided into a rounded rope, hau bark is strong, and when used as a switch it can be painful.] |
| 1907 | Kūkulu ka ʻike i ka ʻōpua. | Knowledge is set up in the clouds. |
| | [Clouds are observed for signs and omens.] |
| 2234 | Na ke akua ʻoe e ʻike. | May the god see you. |
| | [An ʻānai (to rub hard) curse that someone meet with dire trouble sent him by the gods. To alleviate this, one replies quickly, if he remembers to, “Me ʻoe nō kāuʻ (“Let your words remain with you”) or “Hoʻi nō kāu ʻōlelo maluna ou” (“May your words go back on you”). This turning back of a curse is called hoʻihoʻi.] |
| 2274 | Nani ka ʻike a ka heʻe i nā wahi leho liʻiliʻi. | It is wonderful how the octopus notices the little cowries. |
| | [Said sarcastically of a man who looks at young girls with lust.] |
| 2343 | No nehinei aʻe nei nō; he aha ka ʻike? | [He] just arrived yesterday; what does he hnow? |
| 2429 | ʻO ka mea ukuhi kai ʻike i ka lepo o ka wai; o ka mea inu ʻaʻole ʻo ia i ʻike. | He who dips knows how dirty the water is, but he who drinks does not. |
| | [He who does the work knows what trouble it takes; he who receives does not.] |
| 2442 | ʻO ka uhiwai nō kai ʻike i ka ʻino o ka wai. | ʻOnly the mists know the storm that caused the streams to swell. |
| 2514 | ʻO nā hōkū o ka lani kai ʻike iā Pae. Aia a loaʻa ka pūnana o ke kōlea, loaʻa ʻo ia iā ʻoe. | Only the stars of heaven know where Pae is. When you find a plover’s nest, then you will find him. |
| | [Said of something so well hidden that it will not be found. Pae was a priest in the reign of ʻUmi. He was so lucky in fishing that the chief desired his bones for fishhooks after his death. When Pae died, his sons hid his bones so well that none of the chiefs and priests could find them. The sons would say, “When you find the nest of the plover, then will you find him.” But ʻUmi enlisted the help of a noted priest of Kauaʻi, who saw the ghost of Pae drinking from a spring in Waimanu Valley. Thus were the bones of Pae found and made into fishhooks for the chief. The sons of Pae were reminded that the chief was using their father’s bones for hooks by his constant cry, “O Pae, hold fast to our fish!”] |
| 2574 | Paʻihi ʻoe lā, lilo i ka wai, ʻaʻohe ʻike iho i ka hoa mua. | Well adorned are you, borne along by the water, no longer recognizing former friends. |
| | [Said of one who grows proud with prosperity and looks down on his friends of less prosperous days. There is a play on wai (water). When doubled — waiwai — it refers to prosperity.] |
| 2605 | Pau ka ʻike, pau ka lohe. | See no more, hear no more. |
| | [To be in a coma or in a state of unconsciousness.] |
| 2632 | Pī ʻia ko wahi pilau iki, ʻaʻole ʻoe i ʻike i ko pilau nui. | Refuse to give your little stink a place and youʻll never know when a greater stink will come to you. |
| | [A curse uttered by a sorcerer to a woman who refuses his advances. In refusing a sexual union with him she may meet a greater “stink”- — death and decomposition.] |
| 2725 | Puka ka lā, puka pū me ka hana, i ʻike ʻia ka lālā maloʻo me ka lālā maka. | When day arrives, work time arrives too, for it is then that dry branches can be distinguished from green ones. |
| 2794 | Ua ʻike nō kā he hewa ke wikiwiki lā ka waha i ka mihi. | He knows it is wrong so the mouth hastens to repent. |
| | [Said of one who is caught in wrong-doing and quickly begs pardon to avoid due punishment.] |
| 2795 | Ua ʻike paha i ka makapaʻa. | Perhaps he saw a one-eyed person. |
| | [Said of a person who meets with bad luck. It is considered unlucky to meet a blind person on one’s way.] |