Wehewehe Wikiwiki Hawaiian language dictionaries

1. Directional particle, towards the speaker, this way.

• Examples:
  • Come, come here, welcome; say, give (used idiomatically without preverb particles).
  • Hele mai, come (cf. hele aku, go).
  • He mai (Kel. 19)! Come! Welcome! Hāʻawi mai, give me.
  • Mai hoʻi kauwahi wai, do give me a little water.
  • Mai e ʻai, come and eat.
• Related:
  • Gram. 2.7, 7.2; mai + directional la is written maila and often pronounced meila but not sung that way.
• References:
  • PPN mai .

2. preposition, From.

• Examples:
  • Mai ʻō ā ō, from there to there; from one point to another, everywhere.
  • Mai iā Maui, from Maui.
  • Mai hea mai ʻoe? Where did you come from?
• Related:
  • Also mai … mai: see ex., māhunehune. (Gram. 9.8.) Mai Hilo mai ka lei, the lei is from Hilo.
• References:
  • PPN mai , PPN mei .

3. Imminence-marking particle, Almost, nearly, as though.

• Examples:
  • (Gram. 5.4.) Mai hoʻokuʻiʻia au e ke kaʻa, I was almost hit by a car.
  • Mai ʻike ʻole ʻia nō, [he] was hardly seen at all (said sarcastically of a show-off).
• References:
  • PPN mei .

4. Preverb particle of negative command. Don't.

• Examples:
  • Mai ʻai ʻoe, don't eat.
• References:
  • Gram. 5.4.

v. See MAE, to fade, &c. To be or to fall sick. 2 Sam. 12:15. To be diseased; to be unwell. Ioan. 11:1, 3.

v. Oia kekahi mea e hooheehee ai ka ai, alaila mai iho la. Anat. 52.

s. Sickness generally; illness; disease; mai ahulau, mai luku, a pestilence; mai eha nui, a painful disease; mai pehu, the dropsy.

2. The private parts of men or women; o ka malo, oia ka wawae e paa ai ka mai; mai wili, the venereal disease or gonorrhea.

adj. Sick; diseased; weak.

prep. From, as from a person, place or thing spoken of.

2. Towards a person, place or thing speaking, and repeated after the noun when the motion is towards the person speaking; otherwise aku or ae is used; as, mai Kauai mai, from Kauai (here) this way; mai Honolulu aku a i Kailua, from Honolulu onward to Kailua. Gram. § 75.

adv. An adverb of prohibition; before a verb it is used imperatively for prohibiting; mai hele oe, don't you go; mai hana hou aku, do it not again. It is often used with noho a in a prohibitory sense; as, mai noho oukou a hana kolohe, do not do mischief. See NOHO.

adv. Almost; nearly; near to; exposed to; about to be; mai ike ole oe ia'u, you were near never seeing me; mai make au, I was almost dead; mostly used in the beginning of a sentence.