| 65 | Aia me Milu, kēlā mea i lalo lilo loa. | Is with Milu, that person away down helow. |
| | [Dead. Milu is the god of the underworld.] |
| 66 | Aia me Niolopua. | Is with Niolopua. |
| | [Is fast asleep. Niolopua is the god of sleep.] |
| 111 | A! Like akula me ke kāmaʻa o Keawe. | Ah! Like Keawe’s sandals. |
| | [Said of a forgetful person who looks everywhere and then finds the article at hand. Keawe and his servant once went to Kaʻū by canoe and then traveled upland from Kalae. When they came to a small stretch of lava rocks, Keawe wanted his sandals. The servant looked at his empty hands and asked the chief to wait while he ran back to see if he had dropped them along the way. The servant met some travelers and asked if they had by any chance seen the chief’s sandals. They pointed to his chest. He had tied them together with a string and was wearing them around his neck.] |
| 186 | ʻAʻohe mea koe aku iā Makaliʻi; pau nō ka liko me ka lāʻele. | Makaliʻi left nothing, taking [everything] from buds to old leaves. |
| | [Said of one who selfishly takes all, or of a lecherous person who takes those of the opposite sex of all ages. From a legend surrounding a chief, Makaliʻi, who took from his people until they faced starvation.] |
| 227 | ʻAʻole i ʻenaʻena ka imu i ka māmane me ka ʻūlei, i ʻenaʻena i ka laʻolaʻo. | The imu is not heated by māmane and ʻūlei wood alone, but also by the kindling. |
| | [To be powerful, a ruler must have the loyalty of the common people as well as the chiefs.] |
| 237 | ʻAu i ke kai me he manu ala. | Cross the sea as a bird. |
| | [To sail across the sea. Also applied to a hill that juts out into the sea or is seen from far out at sea.] |
| 273 | E hakoko ana ʻo Heneli me Keoni Pulu; ua lilo ke eo iā Keoni Pulu. | Henry and John Bull wrestle; John Bull wins. |
| | [Hunger is routed by filling the stomach. Henry (Hunger) and John Bull (Fullness) wrestle until John Bull wins the match.] |
| 280 | E hele ka ʻelemakule, ka luahine, a me nā kamaliʻi a moe i ke ala ʻaʻohe mea nāna e hoʻopilikia. | Let the old men, the old women, and the children go and sleep on the wayside; let them not be molested. |
| | [Said by Kamehameha I.] |
| 282 | E hiolo ana nā kapu kahiko; e hina ana nā heiau me nā lele; e hui ana nā moku; he iho mai ana ka lani a e piʻi ana ka honua. | The ancient kapu will be abolished; the heiau and altars willfall; the islands will be united; the heavens will descend and the earth ascend. |
| | [A prophecy uttered by Kapihe, a kahuna in Kamehameha’s time. The last part of the saying means that chiefs will come down to humble positions and commoners rise to positions of honor.] |
| 284 | E hoʻi e peʻe i ke ōpū weuweu me he moho lā. E ao o haʻi ka pua o ka mauʻu iā ʻoe. | Go back and hide among the clumps of grass like the wingless rail. Be careful not to break even a blade of grass. |
| | [Retum to the country to live a humble life and leave no trace to be noticed and followed. So said the chief Keliʻiwahamana to his daughter when he was dying. Later used as advice to a young person not to be aggressive or show off.] |
| 289 | E hoʻoipo ana me Niolopua. | Making love with Niolopua. |
| | [Asleep. Niolopua is the god of sleep.] |
| 307 | Eia ʻo Kuʻiʻaki me Huanu ke hana nei i ka lāua hana o ka ʻohi ʻiʻo pūpū. | Here are Kuʻiʻaki and Huanu doing their work gathering shellfish. |
| | [An intense cold. A play on Kuʻi-ʻaki (Gritting-the-molars) and Hu-anu (Overflowing-cold). Huanu is Hawaiian for Juan.] |
| 321 | E kipi ana lākou nei. ʻAʻole naʻe ʻo lākou ponoʻī akā ʻo kā lākou mau keiki me nā moʻopuna. ʻO ke aliʻi e ola ana i ia wā e kū ʻōlohelohe ana ia, a ʻo ke aupuni e kūkulu ʻia aku ana, ʻo ia ke aupuni paʻa o Hawaiʻi nei. | These people [the missionaries] are going to rebel; not they themselves, but their children and grandchildren. The ruler at that time will be stripped of power, and the government established then will be the permanent government of Hawaiʻi. |
| | [Prophesied by David Malo.] |
| 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.] |
| 431 | Hālāwai ke kila me ka paea. | Steel and flint meet. |
| | [When steel and flint come together, sparks result; so it is with two persons who cannot get along.] |
| 436 | Halulu me he kapuaʻi kanaka lā ka ua o Hilo. | The rain of Hilo makes a rumbling sound like the treading of feet. |
| 579 | He hina na ka ʻaʻaliʻi kūmakani, he ʻulaʻa pū me ka lepo. | When the wind-resisting ʻaʻaliʻi falls, it lifts the sod up with its roots. |
| | [A boast: When I, a powerful man, fall, others will fall with me.] |
| 636 | He ʻiniki me ka wawalu ka ʻeha a kamaliʻi. | All the hurt that a child can infict is by pinching and scratching. |
| | [An expression of ridicule said to or of one considered to be no stronger than a child.] |
| 739 | Hele huhū ke ahi me ka momoku. | Angrily goes the fire and the firebrand. |
| | [Said of lightning and thunder.] |
| 746 | Hele kapalulu ke ahi me ka momoku a kukupaʻu i ke kai o Nuʻalolo. | The crackling firebrands make a great display over the sea of Nualolo. |
| | [Said of a person who makes himself very conspicuous.] |
| 759 | Hele pū nō me ka lima. | Take the hands along in going traveling. |
| | [Be willing to help others when going traveling and not make a burden of yourself.] |
| 777 | Hemahema Kahuwā me Waimea. | Kahuwā and Waimea are awkward. |
| | [These places are in the upland, where people are said to be awkward in handling canoes.] |
| 793 | He mamo na Hālō me Kiʻei. | A descendant of Peep and Peer. |
| | [Said of a snoopy person.] |
| 965 | He waʻa auaneʻi ka ipu e pau ai nā pipi me nā ʻōpae. | A gourd container is not a canoe to take all of the oysters and shrimps. |
| | [The container is not too large and cannot deplete the supply. A reply to one who views with suspicion another’s food container, or who balks at sharing what he has.] |
| 988 | Hiʻolani ana me Niolopua. | Sleeping with Niolopua. |
| | [Just dozing.] |
| 1016 | Hoʻā ke ahi, kōʻala ke ola. O nā hale wale nō kai Honolulu; ʻo ka ʻai a me ka iʻa i Nuʻuanu. | Light the fire for there is life-giving suhstance. Only the houses stand in Honolulu; the vegetable food and meat are in Nuuanu. |
| | [An expression of affection for Nuʻuanu. In olden days, much of the taro lands were found in Nuʻuanu, which supplied Honolulu with poi, taro greens, ʻoʻopu, and freshwater shrimp. So it is said that only houses stand in Honolulu. Food comes from Nuʻuanu.] |
| 1026 | Hoʻi hou i ke ʻehu me he moi lā. | Returns to the broiling sea like a moi fish. |
| | [Said of one who leaves home for a better chance of advancing but eventually comes back.] |
| 1043 | Hoʻi nō kāu me ʻoe. | May yours return to you. |
| | [A reply to a person who utters a curse. It means “I do not accept your curse,” and frees the speaker from trouble.] |
| 1127 | Hui aku, hui mai, hui kalo me ka nāwao. | Mixed there, mixed here, all mixed together are the cultivated and the wild taros. |
| | [Said of a great mix-up.] |
| 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.] |
| 1220 | I kū ka makemake e hele mai, hele nō me ka maloʻeloʻe. | If the wish to come arises, walk frmly. |
| | [If you wish to come do not be hesitant, for you are welcome.] |
| 1222 | I laila i luakaha ai me Hiku. | There [he] whiled the time with Hiku. |
| | [Had an enjoyable time. Hiku was a hero who lived in the mountains of Hawaiʻi and was thought of as a man who lived happily.] |
| 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. |
| 1287 | Kaha Kaʻena me he manu lā i ka mālie. | Kaʻena Point poises as a bird in the calm. |
| | [This is a line in a chant by Hiʻiaka praising Kaʻena Point, Oʻahu.] |
| 1322 | Ka iʻa ʻai pū me ka lepo. | The fish eaten with mud. |
| | [The clam. Even when washed before cooking it still retains a bit of the mud in which it lived.] |
| 1325 | Ka iʻa ʻau mai me he manu. | The fish that swims with the movements of a bird. |
| | [A turtle.] |
| 1364 | Ka iʻa lele me he manu. | The fish that flies like a bird. |
| | [The mālolo, or flying fish.] |
| 1441 | Ka lepo alualu me he kanaka lā. | The dust that runs after one like a person. |
| | [Said of the dust raised up by a whirlwind and carried, spinning round and round like a living object.] |
| 1671 | Ke akua liʻiliʻi hana ʻole i ka lani me ke honua. | Little god who did not create heaven and earth. |
| | [A saying used by Christian Hawaiians to express scorn for any god of old Hawaiʻi.] |
| 1696 | Ke hiʻi lā ʻoe i ka paukū waena, he neo ke poʻo me ka hiʻu. | You hold the center piece without its head and tail. |
| | [You know only the middle part of the genealogy or legend. What about the origin and the latter part?] |
| 1710 | Ke ʻīnana lā me he ʻōpae ʻoehaʻa. | Active like freshwater shrimp. |
| | [Said of scattered warriors who climb rocks and hillsides to escape death.] |
| 1767 | Ke mokomoko lā me ka makani. | He is boxing the wind. |
| | [Said of one who is being disagreeable.] |
| 1825 | Kokolo no o pipipi, o kalamoe me ālealea a ke alo o Kuhaimoana. | Pipipi, kalamoe and ālealea crept to the presence of Kuhaimoana. |
| | [Kuhaimoana is an important shark god, and pipipi, kalamoe and ālealea are shellfish. Said of hangers-on who gather around an important person for favors.] |
| 1861 | Kū a māloʻeloʻe, lālau nā lima i ka hoe nui me ka hoe iki. | Stand up straight; reach for the big and little paddle. |
| | [Said to young people — be prepared to weather whatever comes your way.] |
| 1969 | Lei Hanakahi i ke ʻala me ke onaona o Panaʻewa. | Hanakahi is adorned with the fragrance and perfume of Panaʻewa. |
| | [The forest of Panaʻewa was famous for its maile vines and hala and lehua blossoms, well liked for making lei, so Hilo (Hanakahi) was said to be wreathed with fragrance.] |
| 1988 | Lele o Kohala me he lupe lā. | Kohala soars as a kite. |
| | [An expression of admiration for Kohala, a district that has often been a leader in doing good works.] |
| 2000 | Like nō Kaʻena me Waialua. | Kaʻena and Waialua are one. |
| | [Kaʻena Point is in Waialua. Similar to the saying, “Six of one and half a dozen of the other.”] |
| 2001 | Like no lāua me Limunui. | He is like Limunui. |
| | [Women fall in love with him as easily as gathering limu (seaweed). This was said of Kahalaiʻa, a chief who was very handsome and kind.] |
| 2008 | Lilo loa me Lāʻielohelohe. | Gone entirely with Lāʻielohelohe. |
| | [A play on lohelohe (droopy). Said of one who droops with intoxication.] |
| 2036 | Maʻemaʻe Puna i ka hala me ka lehua. | Lovely is Puna with the hala and lehua. |
| | [Refers to Puna, Hawaiʻi.] |
| 2110 | Make ʻo Keawe me kona kālele. | Keawe and the person he leaned upon are both dead. |
| | [Said to one who has a habit of depending on others. Keawe-i-kekahi-aliʻi-o-ka-moku was a noted chief of Hawaiʻi.] |
| 2153 | Me he lau nō ke Koʻolau ke aloha. | Love is like the ends [fingertips] of the Koʻolau breeze. |
| | [Love is like a zephyr — gentle and invisible but present nevertheless.] |
| 2154 | Me he makamaka lā ka ua no Kona, ke hele lā a kipa i Hanakahi. | The rain is like a friend from Kona — it goes and calls on Hanakahi. |
| | [These are two lines from an old chant used to express a friendly visit with one who dwells in a distant place.] |
| 2155 | Me he makani hulilua lā, huli ka manaʻo, hele ka noʻonoʻo. | Like the wind that blows one way and then blows another, so does the mind turn and the thoughts depart. |
| | [Said of one who makes a promise and then forgets all about it.] |
| 2237 | Nā keiki o Waipouli me Honomaʻele. | Children of Waipouii and Honomaʻele. |
| | [A humorous reference to very dark people. A play on pouli (dark) in Waipouli and ʻele (black) in Honomaʻele.] |
| 2292 | Nā puʻu haelelua, o Pili me Kalāhikiola. | The hills that go together — Pili and Kalāhikiola. |
| | [These two hills that stand together are often mentioned in chants and legends of Kohala.] |
| 2322 | Noho i ka hohonu me he iʻa lā. | Remains in deep water, like a fish. |
| | [Said of one who won’t associate with others.] |
| 2438 | ʻO ka pono o kahi aliʻi o ka mikimiki me ka ʻeleu. | The thing to do at the court of the chief is to do work and do it effciently. |
| | [Those who serve their chiefs must do their work quickly and well.] |
| 2451 | ʻO ke aliʻi lilo i ka leʻaleʻa a mālama ʻole i ke kanaka me ke kapu akua, ʻaʻole ia he aliʻi e kū ai i ka moku. | The chief who is taken with pleasure-seeking and cares not for the welfare of the people or the observation of the kapu of the gods, is not the chief who will become a ruler. |
| | [Said by Kekūhaupiʻo to Kamehameha. Advice to young people that success comes not by seeking idle pleasure but by living up to one’s beliefs and caring for the welfare of others.] |
| 2523 | ʻOno kahi ʻao luʻau me ke aloha pū. | A little taro green is delicious when love is present. |
| | [Even the plainest fare is delicious when there is love.] |
| 2547 | ʻO Waipiʻo me Waimanu, no ʻoawa mahoe i ke alo o ka makani. | Waipiʻo and Waimanu, the twin valleys that face the wind. |
| | [These two are neighboring valleys on Hawaiʻi.] |
| 2614 | Pau ʻōlelo me ka luina, he kāpena ka hoa ʻōlelo. | No more talking to sailors, only conversing with the captain. |
| | [Said of a person who has become prosperous and no longer associates with former friends.] |
| 2639 | Piʻi mai nei i ka pali me he ʻaʻama lā. | Climbs the cliff like a black crab. |
| | [Said of one who goes beyond his limit.] |
| 2650 | Pili ke kua me ke alo. | The back meets the front. |
| | [Said of a very thin person.] |
| 2683 | Pōʻino nā lāʻau aʻa liʻiliʻi i ka ulu pū me ka puakala aʻa loloa. | Plants with fine roots are harmed when left to grow with the rough, long-rooted thorny ones. |
| | [Weak-willed persons are often overcome and influenced by the wicked.] |
| 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. |
| 2818 | Ua lilo me ka iʻa o ka lauwiliwili. | Gone off with a fish called lauwiliwili. |
| | [A play on lauwili (confusing). Said of one who is confused or befuddled.] |