Up and Down: aʻe and iho

Level 2

Aʻe points up or on to the next one, and iho points down.

How It Works

These two directionals sit right after the verb. Together with mai and aku they give a small set of direction words.

Word	Common meaning	Example
aʻe	up; next	Ua kū aʻe ka haumāna. The student stood up.
iho	down; very close	Ua noho iho ke keiki. The child sat down.

The Reference Grammar describes aʻe as pointing in several directions, including up, and iho as pointing down or very close. It gives i kēia Pōʻakahi aʻe for “next Monday”.

The meanings spread, so learn each pair as a chunk. Kū aʻe is “stand up”, and noho iho is “sit down”, even when no one climbs or drops.

Examples (5)

E piʻi aʻe ʻoe i luna.
Go up above.
Aʻe shows the movement is upward.
Ua noho iho ke keiki.
The child sat down.
Iho goes with sitting down.
Ua hāʻule iho ka puke.
The book fell down.
Iho shows the book dropped.
Ua kū aʻe ka haumāna.
The student stood up.
Kū aʻe is a common pair.
E hālāwai kākou i ka Pōʻalima aʻe.
Let us meet next Friday.
After a day name, aʻe means next.

How It Connects

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

Up and Down: aʻe and ihoLevel 2

Learn This First

These two directional words say up and down and follow the same pattern as mai and aku.

Toward and Away: mai and aku
Know mai and aku, because aʻe and iho work in the same way.
Level 2

Words in This Pattern

aʻeiho

Practice Up and Down: aʻe and iho in Bubblegum

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