| 11 | A hua a pane; a pane ka waha, he hoʻolono ko neʻi. | A word in reply; open the mouth and speak, for a listener is here. |
| | [A command to speak up and tell what one has come for. Used in hoʻopāpā riddling.] |
| 51 | Aia i Pāʻula ka waha o nei kauwā; aia i Alanaio ka waha o nei kauwā; aia i Paukū-nui ka waha o nei kauā. | The mouth of this slave is at Pāʻula; the mouth of this slave is at Alanaio; the mouth of this slave is at Paukū-nui. |
| | [An insulting saying. It began when Keawe, ruler of Hawaiʻi, went on a visit to Kauaʻi and while in a crowd of chiefs silently broke wind. None knew the source, but it was Keawe’s servant who made this insulting remark. Pāʻula (Red Dish) signifies that the rectal opening shows red; Alanaio (Way-of-the-pinworm) also refers to the anus; and Paukū-nui (Large Segments) refers to large stools. Hence, a red, worm-infested anus that produces large stools. It was not until Keawe returned to Hawaiʻi that his servant learned that his own chief had been the culprit. Pāʻula, Paukū-nui, and Alanaio are place names in Hilo.] |
| 60 | Aia ke ola i ka waha; aia ka make i ka waha. | Life is in the mouth; death is in ihe mouth. |
| | [Spoken words can enliven; spoken words can destroy.] |
| 264 | E ao, o kā i ka waha. | Watch out lest it smite the mouth. |
| | [A warning not to be too free in using rude and insulting words toward others lest someday one must take them back. Also, things said of others may happen to the person who says them.] |
| 277 | E hea i ke kanaka e komo ma loko e hānai ai a hewa ka waha. | Call to the person to enter; feed him until he can take no more. |
| | [Originally a reply to a password into a hula school. Used later in songs and in speech to extend hospitality.] |
| 304 | Eia ka lua hūnā o nā aliʻi: ʻo ka waha. | Here is the secret cave of the chiefs: the mouth. |
| | [We refuse to discuss our chiefs too freely.] |
| 331 | ʻEleʻelepī ka waha o kānaka. | The mouths of people make noises like mud crabs. |
| | [Said of one who talks too much — all noise and no sense. The ʻelepī is a small black crab that makes a loud noise resembling a smacking sound made by the mouth.] |
| 442 | Hāmama ka waha he pō iʻa ʻole. | When the mouth yawns, it is a night on which no fish are caught. |
| | [A sleepy, yawning person isn’t likely to be out catching fish.] |
| 458 | Hana kāpulu ka lima, ʻai ʻino ka waha. | Careless work with the hands puts dirty food in the mouth. |
| 488 | Haʻu ka waha i ka makani. | The mouth puffs at the wind. |
| | [Loud talk. Like the braying of an ass.] |
| 505 | Hāwele kīlau i ka lemu, ʻāhaʻi ka puaʻa i ka waha; ke hele nei ʻo Poʻokea. | Draw the fine loincloth under the buttocks; the pork finds its way into the mouth; Poʻokea now departs. |
| | [Poʻokea was a very clever thief during the reign of Kahekili of Maui. Whenever he eluded his pursuers, this was his favorite boast. Any reference to one as being a descendant or relative of Poʻokea implies that he is a thief who steals and runs.] |
| 542 | He ʻāloʻiloʻi, ka iʻa waha iki o ke kai. | An ʻāloʻiloʻi, a fish of the sea that has a small mouth. |
| | [Said of one who always has little to say.] |
| 875 | He pāʻā kō kea no Kohala, e kole ai ka waha ke ʻai. | A resistant white sugar cane of Kohala that injures the mouth when eaten. |
| | [A person that one does not tamper with. This was the retort of Pupukea, a Hawaiʻi chief, when the Maui chief Makakuikalani made fun of liis small stature. Later used in praise of the warriors of Kohala, who were known for valor.] |
| 968 | He waha ʻawa. | Sour-mouthed. |
| | [Said when a person wishes trouble on another, and the trouble comes.] |
| 969 | He waha kou o ka heʻe. | Yours is the mouth of an octopus. |
| | [You are a liar. A play on waha and heʻe in wahaheʻe (to falsify).] |
| 970 | He waha nina. | A small, tight-mouthed person. |
| | [A finicky eater.] |
| 987 | Hiʻikua waha ka ʻopeʻope, hiʻi ke keiki ma ke alo, uē ʻalalā i ka nahele. | A bundle borne on the back, a baby in the arms, wailing in the forest. |
| | [Said of mothers fleeing in terror.] |
| 1096 | Hōʻole ka waha, holehole ʻia nō ka iwi. | Though the mouth denies one’s guilt, his bones are stripped anyway. |
| | [Said of those who deny guilt but are punished anyway. This saying originated in the time of Kamehameha I, when thieves and murderers were severely punished even though they claimed innocence.] |
| 1160 | I hewa nō i ka waha. | The fault lies in the mouth. |
| | [Trouble results from speaking the wrong words.] |
| 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.] |
| 1195 | I ka pono kau i nā waha, mai noho a pehi wale aku. | Those who put into the mouth need not throw stones. |
| | [The mouths that eat the food should never revile the producers.] |
| 1198 | I ka waha nō a ulu ka ʻai; i ka waha nō a maloʻo. | Food crops are made to grow by the mouth; while still in the mouth they wither. |
| | [Said of one who talks about farming and plans to plant but does nothing about it.] |
| 1254 | I pīʻena ka lio i ka pūnuku; e komo kaula waha ʻia ka maikaʻi. | The horse shies at the halter; better use the bridle. |
| | [Advice not to suppress the activities of a wild-behaving person all at once, but to tame him gradually.] |
| 1275 | Ka ʻai waha ʻulaʻula o ka ʻāina. | The red-mouthed food of the land. |
| | [Watermelon. When the Hawaiians first saw Captain Cook’s men eating watermelon, they thought that they were eating human flesh and referred to them as akua waha ʻulaʻula (red-mouthed gods).] |
| 1351 | Ka iʻa kaulana i ka waha o ka ʻale. | The fish that rests over the furrows of the billows. |
| | [The mālolo, or flying fish.] |
| 1377 | Ka iʻa pani i ka waha o ke kānaka. | The fish that closes the mouth of men. |
| | [The pearl oyster, which was gathered in silence.] |
| 1396 | Kā i ka waha. | Struck the mouth. |
| | [Having criticized or spoken unkindly of others, the things he said happened to him.] |
| 1454 | Kamaʻilio ka waha, hana ka lima. | Let the mouth talk while the hands work. |
| | [While talking, keep the hands busy.] |
| 1745 | Kekeʻe ka waha, ua nahu i ka makani. | His mouth is wry after biting the wind. |
| | [Said of one who has found that what he said of others is true of himself.] |
| 1831 | Kole ka waha i ka hānai wahine maikaʻi. | One’s mouth can grow weary and sore when one rears a beautiful daughter. |
| | [Said when a hard-headed daughter finds suitors who are not to one’s liking.] |
| 1990 | Lewa ka waha o ka puhi o Laumeki. | The mouth of the eel of Laumeki gapes. |
| | [Said of one who talks so much that his mouth is hardly ever closed. Laumeki was an eel-man who lived at Wailau, Molokaʻi. When he saw that Kuʻula’s fishpond at Hāna, Maui, was always full of fish, he decided to assume his eel form and go there to steal some. On one of his thieving expeditions, he was caught by a magic hook and drawn ashore, where his jaw was smashed and left gaping.] |
| 1996 | Liʻiliʻi nīoi hiohio ka waha. | Small pepper makes the mouth blow. |
| | [Said of one who is small but potent.] |
| 2196 | Mū ka waha heahea ʻole. | Silent is the mouth of the inhospitable. |
| | [It is considered rude not to call a welcome (heahea) to anyone approaching one’s home.] |
| 2268 | Nānā ka maka; hoʻolohe ka pepeiao; paʻa ka waha. | Observe with the eyes; listen with the ears; shut the mouth. |
| | [Thus one learns.] |
| 2407 | ʻO ka iʻa i kū kona waha i ka makau ʻaʻole ia e ʻapo hou ia mea. | The fish whose mouth has heen pierced by a hook will never again take another. |
| | [Said of one who avoids trouble after once being hurt.] |
| 2410 | ʻO ka ʻīlio i paoa ka waha i ka hua moa ʻaʻole e pau ia hana iā ia. | A dog whose mouth likes the taste of eggs will not stop taking them. |
| | [Said of one who cannot be cured of a bad habit.] |
| 2449 | ʻO ke alelo ka hoe uli o ka ʻōlelo a ka waha. | The tongue is the steering paddle of the words uttered by the mouth. |
| | [Advice to heed the tongue lest it speak words that offend.] |
| 2497 | ʻŌlelo ka waha, holehole ka lima. | The mouth talks, the hand strips. |
| | [Said of one who says friendly words yet does unfriendly deeds.] |
| 2559 | Paʻa ka waha, hana ka lima. | Shut the mouth; keep the hands busy. |
| | [Never mind the talking; start working.] |
| 2577 | Paʻipaʻi ka lima, ʻae ka waha. | The hand applauds, the mouth assents. |
| | [Said of one who offers verbal approval yet does nothing to help.] |
| 2586 | Palahuli i lalo ka waha ʻai ai. | Turned down is the mouth he eats food with. |
| | [He has more problems than he knows what to do with.] |
| 2599 | Pao ka lima, ʻae ka waha. | The hand reaches under, the mouth agrees. |
| | [Said of one who makes promises while accepting bribes.] |
| 2688 | Pololei a ka waha o ke ʻahi. | Straight to the mouth of the ʻahi fish. |
| | [Directly to the point. Used in a fishermanʻs prayers to the gods to take the hook and bait directly to the mouth of the fish.] |
| 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.] |
| 2896 | Waha koʻu. | Clucking mouth. |
| | [One who talks too much.] |
| 2897 | Waha lama ʻoe, puʻu mai ka waha i waho. | You are rum-mouthed; the mouth protrudes. |
| | [Said to one who talks as foolishly as a drunkard.] |
| 2898 | Waha okooko. | A slanderous, venomous mouth. |