| 27 | Aia akula paha i Waikīkī i ka ʻimi ʻahuʻawa. | Perhaps gone to Waikīkī to seek the ʻahuʻawa sedge. |
| | [Gone where disappointment is met. A play on ahu (heap) and ʻawa (sour).] |
| 185 | ʻAʻohe mea ʻimi a ka maka. | Nothing more for the eyes to search for. |
| | [Everything one desires is in his presence.] |
| 235 | ʻAuhea nō hoʻi kou kanaka uʻi a ʻimi ʻoe i wahine nāu? | Why is it that you do not show how handsome you are by seeking your own woman ? |
| | [A woman might say, under the same circumstances, “ʻAuhea nō hoʻi kou wahine uʻi a ʻimi ʻoe i kāne nau?’] |
| 311 | E ʻimi i ke ola ma waho. | Seek life outside. |
| | [Consult a kahuna to see what is causing the delay in healing. Said when a person lies sick, and recovery is slow.] |
| 312 | E ʻimi wale nō i ka lua o ka ʻuwaʻu ʻaʻole e loaʻa. | Seek as you will the burrow of the ʻuwaʻu, it cannot be found. |
| | [A boast of one’s skill in lua fighting, of the depth of one’s knowledge, or of a skill that isn’t easily acquired. A play on lua, a burrow, a pit, or an art of fighting. The burrow of the ʻuwaʻu bird is often deep. Birdcatchers inserted a piece of aerial root of the ʻieʻie, gummed at one end, to catch the fledglings.] |
| 424 | Hala ka Puʻulena aia i Hilo ua ʻimi akula iā Papalauahi. | The Puʻulena breeze is gone to Hilo in search of Papalauahi. |
| | [Said of one who has gone away or of one who finds himself too late to do anything.] |
| 631 | He ʻimi aliʻi, he aliʻi nō ke loaʻa; he ʻimi kanaka, he kanaka no ke loaʻa. | When a chief is sought, a chief is begotten; when a commoner is sought, a commoner is begotten. |
| | [A reminder to a chief seeking a mate to consider the rank of his offspring.] |
| 632 | He ʻimi haku. | A person who seeks a lord. |
| | [Priests and others were known to go in search of a worthy chief to serve.] |
| 731 | Hele aku nei e ʻimi i ka ʻiliʻili hānau o Kōloa. | Went to seek the pebbles that give birth at Kōloa. |
| | [Said of one who goes and forgets to come home. These pebbles were found at a small beach called Kōloa, in Punaluʻu, Kaʻū.] |
| 918 | He puaʻa ʻimi aliʻi. | A chief-seeking pig. |
| | [When a kahuna wished to find a chief with whom he was not well acquainted, he took a pig, prayed to his gods for guidance, and went on his quest. Upon arrival at his destination, the pig was released. It would go to the chief that was sought and lie down before him. In this way the chief was identified.] |
| 1344 | Ka iʻa ʻimi i ka moana, na ka manu e haʻi mai. | The fish sought for in the ocean, whose presence is revealed by birds. |
| | [A school of aku, whose presence is signaled by the gathering of noio at sea.] |