ʻŌlelo Noʻeau are Hawaiian proverbs that often offer wisdom for a person to live by. The ones chosen are intended to apply particularly to your learning of the Hawaiian language in hopes to keep up your motivation.
This month's proverb is actually pretty simple! Still, I'll provide a breakdown for your understanding.
- E + [verb] forms the Hawaiian Imperative (i.e. a command)
- Lawe = To take
- Aʻo = Instruction
- A = And (between two parts of a sentence)
- Mālama = To take care of, save, preserve
- ʻoi = Sharp, To sharpen [among other definitions]
- Mau = Always, continually
- Naʻauao = Knowledge, mind, things learned
All together:
Take instruction and preserve (it), and always sharpen the mind.