| 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.] |
| 268 | E! E pololei ana ke kua o mea. | Say! The back [of a hunchhacked person] will surely he straightened. |
| | [Said to one who is always correcting others, as if to say, “Why correct my mistakes? Let’s see if you can straighten a crooked back!”] |
| 401 | Hāʻawe i ke kua; hiʻi i ke alo. | A burden on the back; a babe in the arms. |
| | [Said of a hard-working woman who carries a load on her back and a baby in her arms.] |
| 530 | He ʻale kua loloa no ka moana. | A long-backed wave of the ocean. |
| | [The boast of a strong man who likens his back to the waves of the sea.] |
| 575 | He hiʻi alo ua milimili ʻia i ke alo, ua hāʻawe ʻia ma ke kua, ua lei ʻia ma ka ʻāʻī. | A beloved one, fondled in the arms, carried on the back, whose arms have gone ahout the neck as a lei. Said of a beloved child. |
| 704 | He kua ʻā. | An ignited back. |
| | [Said of a person whose back is so kapu that no one is permitted to walk behind him.] |
| 893 | He pili kua, he pili alo. | Close to the back, close to the front. |
| | [The husband, standing back of his wife as her protector; the wife, the protected one.] |
| 1059 | Honuaʻula kua laʻolaʻo. | Callous-backed Honuaʻula. |
| | [Said of the people of Honuaʻula, Maui, who were hard workers. The loads they carried often caused callouses on their backs.] |
| 1142 | Huli kua nā ʻale o ka moana. | The billows of the ocean turn their backs on each other. |
| | [Said of friends who are not on speaking terms.] |
| 1161 | ʻIhi ke kua, meha ke alo; ka hua i ka umauma hōʻike ʻia. | Sacred is the back, silent the front; the word on the chest, reveal. |
| | [An expression often used by chiefs. No one stands behind and no one else is here in my presence, so deliver your message to me.] |
| 1193 | I ka pali nō ka hoa a hele, kalakala ke kua i ka ʻopeʻope. | The companion stays up on the hill and then goes, the back roughened by the load. |
| | [Said of one who keeps at a distance and departs. Also said of luck that stays away like a disinterested friend, carrying its load of fortune away with it. This was first uttered by Lohiʻau in a chant when he failed to make a score in kilu.] |
| 1218 | I kua naʻu. | A burden for me. |
| | [A request to a dying person for last instruction: “Let me carry out your last wishes.” This saying also implies simply, “Let me bear the responsibilities,” or “Let me help.”] |
| 1504 | Ka nui e ʻauamo ai i ke keiki i ke kua. | The size that enables one to carry a smaller child on the back. |
| | [Said of a child about ten years old who has grown big enough to carry a younger sibling on his back. In ancient days the age of a child was not reckoned by years but by physical ability to perform a certain task.] |
| 1559 | Kaʻū, ʻāina kua makani. | Kaʻū, a land over whose back the wind hlows. |
| | [Kaʻū is a windy land.] |
| 1630 | Kaʻū malo ʻeka, kua wehi. | Kaʻū of the dirty loincloth and black back. |
| | [The farmers there squatted on their haunches and worked the soil with short digging sticks. The sun darkened the backs of the workers.] |
| 1632 | Kaʻū nui kua makani. | Great Kaʻū of the windblown back. |
| | [The wind always blows in Kaʻū.] |
| 1757 | Ke kua a kānāwai. | The back [guarded by] law. |
| | [Said of Pele’s back, which was so kapu that to stand behind or approach it was punishable by death. Her back was said to be so hot that a bundle of taro leaves placed on it would cook at once. Her priests, chiefs, and certain of her devotees had a similar kapu — no one was permitted to walk or pass behind them nor wear anything that had been worn upon such a kapu back.] |
| 1860 | Kū akula kaʻu lāʻau i ka ʻaʻama kua lenalena. | My spear pierced the yellow-shelled crab. |
| | [This was the boast of the warrior who speared Keʻeaumoku at the battle of Mokuʻohai. Keʻeaumoku revived and shortly after killed Kiwalaʻō. This battle was between the two cousins Kamehameha and Kiwalaʻō.] |
| 2007 | Lilo ka maka i ke kua. | The eyes are turned to the back. |
| | [There is an angry look in the eyes.] |
| 2136 | Mānā kaha kua welawela. | Mānā where the back feels the heat [of the sun]. |
| | [Refers to Mānā, Kauaʻi.] |
| 2201 | Nā ʻale kua loloa o Kaʻieʻie. | The long-backed billows of Kaʻieʻie. |
| | [Kaʻieʻie is the channel between Kauaʻi and Oʻahu.] |
| 2444 | ʻO Kaulua ke kāne, ʻo Lanihua ka wahine, hānau ke keiki he kua leho. | Kaulua is the husband, Lani-hua (Productive-heaven) the wife; born to them is a child with calloused shoulders. |
| | [Said of a person born in the month of Kaulua. He was likely to be a hard worker who carried large bundles on his back.] |
| 2595 | Pali ke kua, mahina ke alo. | Back [as straight] as a cliff, face as bright as the moon. |
| | [Said of a good-looking person.] |
| 2622 | Peʻe kua o Kaʻulahaimalama; o Kekūhaupiʻo ka makua; hilinaʻi aʻe i ka pale kai, kālele moku aʻe ma hope. | Kaʻulahaimalama is secretive; Kekūhaupiʻo (Stands-leaning) is her father; she leans against the canoe side and rests against the back of the canoe. |
| | [Said of one who tries to conceal the true offender by pretending to know nothing.] |
| 2650 | Pili ke kua me ke alo. | The back meets the front. |
| | [Said of a very thin person.] |
| 2798 | Ua kāhea kua ʻia. | Called just after he started to depart. |
| | [It was considered an omen of disappointment to be called back just after starting out.] |