Proverbs

Level 6

A proverb is learned together with its source and meaning.

How It Works

Here is one proverb, as printed in Pukui, ʻŌlelo Noʻeau (Bishop Museum Press, 1983), and repeated by University of Hawaiʻi at Hilo: ʻAʻohe pau ka ʻike i ka hālau hoʻokahi. The literal meaning is that not all knowledge is learned in one school. Most people read it as: you can learn from many places and many people.

Notice the grammar. ʻAʻohe starts the sentence and means “there is none” or “not”. Pau means finished. I ka hālau hoʻokahi means “in the one school”. Do not rewrite a proverb to fit a new sentence. Quote it as it is.

Proverbs are a part of the language that is still taught and used. You can learn them from collections and from teachers.

Examples (4)

  1. ʻAʻohe pau ka ʻike i ka hālau hoʻokahi.

    Not all knowledge is learned in one school.

    People read this to mean you can learn from many places.

  2. He ʻōlelo noʻeau kēia.

    This is a proverb.

    A simple he sentence names the saying.

  3. Ua aʻo mai kuʻu kupuna iaʻu i kēia ʻōlelo noʻeau.

    My grandparent taught me this proverb.

    Kuʻu adds warmth.

  4. Heluhelu nā haumāna i ka ʻōlelo noʻeau a me kona manaʻo.

    The students read the proverb and its meaning.

    The meaning is learned with the saying.

How It Connects

Tap a pattern to see what it builds on and what it leads to.

ProverbsLevel 6

Learn This First

A proverb is read with its source, and the example proverb begins with ʻaʻohe.

Words in This Pattern

ʻōlelonoʻeau