mai

English Online Dictionary. What means mai‎? What does mai mean?

Translingual

Symbol

mai

1. (international standards) ISO 639-2 & ISO 639-3 language code for Maithili.

See also

• Wiktionary’s coverage of Maithili terms

English

Pronunciation

Determiner

mai

1. (anime, manga, fandom slang, Internet slang) Alternative form of my (used in the expressions mai waifu and mai husbando)

See also

Anagrams

• I'm a', ima, I'm-a, IAM, I'ma, I'm'a, AIM, i'ma, IMA, I'm a, i'm'a, I am, Ima, AMI, aim, Mia, Ima', mia, MIA

Ajië

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [mai]

Adjective

mai

1. far

References

• Leenhardt, M. (1935) Vocabulaire et grammaire de la langue Houaïlou, Paris: Institut d'ethnologie. Cited in: "Houaïlou" in Greenhill, S.J., Blust, R., & Gray, R.D. (2008). The Austronesian Basic Vocabulary Database: From Bioinformatics to Lexomics. Evolutionary Bioinformatics, 4:271–283.
• Leenhardt, M. (1946) Langues et dialectes de l'Austro-Mèlanèsie. Cited in: "Ajiø" in Greenhill, S.J., Blust, R., & Gray, R.D. (2008). The Austronesian Basic Vocabulary Database: From Bioinformatics to Lexomics. Evolutionary Bioinformatics, 4:271–283.

Aragonese

Etymology

From Latin mater, matrem.

Noun

mai f

1. mother

Aromanian

Alternative forms

• maiu

Etymology

From Latin Maius or Greek Μάιος (Máios). Compare Romanian mai.

Noun

mai

1. May (month)

Atong (India)

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /maj/

Etymology 1

From Proto-Bodo-Garo *mai¹ (“rice; paddy; cooked rice”), from Proto-Sino-Tibetan *ma-j ~ mej (“rice; paddy”). Cognate with Chinese 米 (mǐ).

Noun

mai (Bengali script মায় or মাই)

1. rice

Etymology 2

From English May.

Alternative forms

• me
• mei

Noun

mai (Bengali script মায় or মাই)

1. May

Synonyms

• jetja

References

• van Breugel, Seino. 2015. Atong-English dictionary, second edition. Available online: https://www.academia.edu/487044/Atong_English_Dictionary.

Bamwe

Noun

mai

1. water

Bangi

Noun

mai

1. water

Further reading

• Comparative Handbook of Congo Languages (1903), page 176

Catalan

Etymology

Inherited from Latin magis.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): (Central, Balearic, Valencia) [ˈmaj]
• Rhymes: -aj

Adverb

mai

1. never

   Antonym: sempre

   No ho sabrem mai. ― We'll never know.

2. ever

   Synonym: alguna vegada

   Hi has vingut mai, a la festa major? ― Have you ever been to the major festival?

Derived terms

• més val tard que no mai

See also

• jamai

Chuukese

Noun

mai

1. breadfruit

Dharug

Noun

mai

1. eye

Estonian

Etymology

From German Mai.

Noun

mai (genitive mai, partitive maid)

1. May

Declension

Synonyms

• lehekuu
• lehehakkamiskuu
• õiekuu
• toomekuu
• meiukuu
• nelipühakuu

See also

Faroese

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin (mensis) maius.

Noun

mai m

1. May (month of the Gregorian calendar)

See also

Fijian

Etymology

From Proto-Central-Pacific *mai, from Proto-Oceanic *maʀi, *mai, from Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *maʀi.

Verb

mai (always together with lako, , as lako mai)

1. (intransitive) to come (to move from further away to nearer to)

Preposition

mai

1. in
2. from

French

Etymology

Inherited from Old French mai, from Latin Maius.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /mɛ/
• Rhymes: -ɛ
• Homophones: maie, maies, mais, met, mets (general), mes (ɛ/e-merger)

Noun

mai m (plural mais)

1. May (month)

Derived terms

• arbre de mai
• mi-mai

Descendants

• Guianese Creole: mè
• Haitian Creole: me
• → English: may
• → Iranian Persian: مه (me)
• Louisiana Creole: mê
• → South Azerbaijani: مه (mə)
• → Tunisian Arabic: ماي (mēy)

See also

Further reading

• “mai”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.

Anagrams

• ami

Friulian

Etymology

From Latin magis.

Adverb

mai

1. never

Galician

Etymology

From Old Galician-Portuguese mãy, influenced by the archaic nana (“mother”), from Latin mater. Cognate of Portuguese mãe.

Noun

mai f (plural mais)

1. alternative form of nai

References

Gallo

Pronoun

mai

1. me

Garo

Pronoun

mai

1. what

Guinea-Bissau Creole

Etymology

From Portuguese mãe. Cognate with Kabuverdianu mai.

Noun

mai

1. mother

Hausa

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /mâi/
  • (Standard Kano Hausa) IPA^(key): [mâi]

Noun

mâi m (possessed form mâin)

1. oil, fat, grease
2. gasoline, petrol

Derived terms

• man shanu

Hawaiian

Etymology

From Proto-Polynesian *mai, from Proto-Oceanic, from Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *maʀi. Compare with Maori mai and Rapa Nui mai.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈmai̯/, [ˈmɐj], [ˈmɛj] (rapid speech)

Particle

mai

1. hither, this way, towards the speaker

   Mai mai mai!

   Come in, come in!

   E hoʻolohe mai ana lākou i ka moʻolelo.

   They were listening to the story.

Usage notes

• Commonly used after verbs that do not need a directional in English.
• Mai and aku may change the meaning of the verb:

  aʻo mai ("to learn") - aʻo aku ("to teach")

  kūʻai mai ("to buy") - kūʻai aku ("to sell")

Synonyms

• maila

Antonyms

• aku, akula

Preposition

mai

1. from (used in the sequence mai...mai or mai...aku)

Verb

mai

1. don't Negative imperative followed by a verb

Hungarian

Etymology

ma +‎ -i

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [ˈmɒji]
• Hyphenation: mai
• Rhymes: -ji

Adjective

mai (not comparable)

1. of today, today's

   Antonyms: régi, antik

   a mai újság ― today’s newspaper

Declension

Further reading

• mai in Géza Bárczi, László Országh, et al., editors, A magyar nyelv értelmező szótára [The Explanatory Dictionary of the Hungarian Language] (ÉrtSz.), Budapest: Akadémiai Kiadó, 1959–1962. Fifth ed., 1992: →ISBN.

Anagrams

• ami, ima

Iban

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /maiʔ/
• Rhymes: -mai
• Hyphenation: mai

Verb

mai

1. to bring

Ingrian

Etymology

Borrowed from Russian май (maj).

Pronunciation

• (Ala-Laukaa) IPA^(key): /ˈmɑi̯/, [ˈmɑi̯]
• (Soikkola) IPA^(key): /ˈmɑi̯/, [ˈmɑi̯]
• Rhymes: -ɑi̯

Noun

mai

1. May

Declension

Derived terms

References

• Ruben E. Nirvi (1971) Inkeroismurteiden Sanakirja, Helsinki: Suomalais-Ugrilainen Seura, page 291

Istriot

Etymology

From Latin magis.

Adverb

mai

1. never (not ever)

Italian

Etymology

From Latin magis.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈma.i/
• Rhymes: -ai
• Hyphenation: mà‧i

Adverb

mai

1. never
2. ever, always
3. used as an intensifier

Derived terms

References

Anagrams

• ami, ima, mia

Japanese

Romanization

mai

1. Rōmaji transcription of まい
2. Rōmaji transcription of マイ

Kabuverdianu

Etymology

From Portuguese mãe.

Noun

mai

1. mother

Karelian

Etymology

Borrowed from Russian май (maj).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈmɑi̯/
• Hyphenation: mai

Noun

mai (genitive main, partitive maida)

1. (South Karelian) May

Declension

Synonyms

• oraškuu

References

• A. V. Punzhina (1994) “mai”, in Словарь карельского языка (тверские говоры) [Dictionary of the Karelian language (Tver dialects)], →ISBN

Kaurna

Noun

mai

1. vegetable food, bush tucker

Kedah Malay

Etymology

From Proto-Malayic *mari, from Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *maʀi.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /mai/

Verb

mai

1. Come, present (at here), attend, be (here)

Interjection

mai

1. Come here! Here!

Khumi Chin

Etymology

From Proto-Kuki-Chin *maj, from Proto-Sino-Tibetan *məj. Cognates include Tibetan མེ (me) and S'gaw Karen မ့ၣ် (maỳ).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /mai̯˥/

Noun

mai

1. fire
2. flame

Derived terms

References

• R. Shafer (1944) “Khimi Grammar and Vocabulary”, in Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London, volume 11, number 2, page 423
• K. E. Herr (2011) The phonological interpretation of minor syllables, applied to Lemi Chin‎^[1], Payap University, page 44

Kikuyu

Etymology

Hinde (1904) records mai as an equivalent of English dung (cow's) in “Jogowini dialect” of Kikuyu, listing also Kamba maii and Swahili mavi as its equivalents.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /mai/

Noun

mai class 6

1. shit, stool

Derived terms

(Proverbs)

• mbũri ya mai ndĩremaga

See also

• mathugumo

References

Kokborok

Etymology

From Proto-Bodo-Garo *mai¹ (“rice; paddy; cooked rice”), from, Proto-Sino-Tibetan *ma-j ~ mej (“rice; paddy”). Cognate with Garo mi, Atong (India) mai.

Noun

mai

1. rice
2. paddy

References

• Debbarma, Binoy (2001) “mai”, in Concise Kokborok-English-Bengali Dictionary‎^[2], Language Wing, Education Department, TTAADC, →ISBN, page 78

Lambadi

Noun

mai

1. mother

Leonese

Etymology

(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)

Noun

mai f

1. mother

References

• AEDLL

Macanese

Etymology

Inherited from Portuguese mãe.

Noun

mai

1. mother

   Coordinate term: pai

Derived terms

• pai-mai

References

• https://www.macaneselibrary.org/pub/english/uipatua.htm#mm

Malay

Pronunciation

• (Kedah) IPA^(key): [ˈmai̯]

Verb

mai (Jawi spelling ماي)

1. (dialectal) to come (to move from further away to nearer to)

Related terms

• mari

References

• "mai" in Kamus Dewan, Fourth Edition, Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka, →ISBN, 2005.
• “mai” in Pusat Rujukan Persuratan Melayu | Malay Literary Reference Centre, Kuala Lumpur: Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka, 2017.

Mandarin

Romanization

mai

1. nonstandard spelling of mái
2. nonstandard spelling of mǎi
3. nonstandard spelling of mài

Usage notes

• Transcriptions of Mandarin into the Latin script often do not distinguish between the critical tonal differences employed in the Mandarin language, using words such as this one without indication of tone.

Maori

Etymology

From Proto-Polynesian *mai, Proto-Oceanic, Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *maʀi. Compare with Hawaiian mai and Rapa Nui mai.

Adverb

mai

1. hither

Mbandja

Noun

mai

1. water

References

• William L. Gardner, Language use in the Epena district of Northern Congo, SIL Electronic Survey Reports 2006-005 (2006)

Middle English

Verb

mai

1. alternative form of may

Murui Huitoto

Alternative forms

• maì

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [mai̯]

Adverb

mai

1. Used to form hortatives of verbs; let's

   Mai jaai! ― Let's go!

References

• Shirley Burtch (1983) Diccionario Huitoto Murui (Tomo I) (Linguistica Peruana No. 20)‎^[3] (in Spanish), Yarinacocha, Peru: Instituto Lingüístico de Verano, page 171
• Katarzyna Izabela Wojtylak (2017) A grammar of Murui (Bue): a Witotoan language of Northwest Amazonia.‎^[4], Townsville: James Cook University press (PhD thesis), page 144

North Frisian

Alternative forms

• mei (Föhr-Amrum)
• mooge (Mooring)

Etymology

From Proto-Germanic *maganą.

Verb

mai

1. (Sylt) would, would like to, like to

Conjugation

Norwegian Bokmål

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin Maius, after Maia.

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /mɑːi/

Noun

mai (indeclinable)

1. May (fifth month of the Gregorian calendar)

See also

References

• “mai” in The Bokmål Dictionary.
• “mai” in Det Norske Akademis ordbok (NAOB).

Norwegian Nynorsk

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin Maius, after Maia.

Noun

mai (indeclinable)

1. May (fifth month)

References

• “mai” in The Nynorsk Dictionary.

Occitan

Alternative forms

• (Limousin, Auvergne, Languedoc, "but") mas
• (Gascony, "more/but") mes
• (Gascony, "more") mèi/mei
• (Gascony, Auvergne, "but") mès

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /mai/

Etymology 1

From Old Occitan mai, from Latin magis.

Adverb

mai

1. (Provençal, Vivaro-Alpine, Languedoc) but
2. (Provençal, Vivaro-Alpine, Languedoc, Auvergne, Limousin) more

   Synonym: pus

Derived terms

• a mai
• mai o mens

Etymology 2

From Latin (mensis) Maius.

Noun

mai m (plural mais)

1. May (month)

Pitjantjatjara

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /mai̯/, [mɛɪ]

Noun

mai

1. food (especially non-meat food; sometimes used for food in general)
2. plant used for food

Rapa Nui

Etymology

From Proto-Polynesian *mai, from Proto-Oceanic, from Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *maʀi. Cognate with Hawaiian mai and Maori mai.

Preposition

mai

1. from, since

Romanian

Alternative forms

• май (mai) — post-1930s Cyrillic spelling

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈmaj/
• Rhymes: -aj
• Hyphenation: mai

Etymology 1

Borrowed from Old Church Slavonic маи (mai), from Koine Greek Μάϊος (Máïos), from Latin (mensis) Maius. Less likely a direct derivation from Latin.

Noun

mai m (uncountable)

1. May

   Synonym: (popular/folk name) florar

Etymology 2

Inherited from Latin magis.

Adverb

mai

1. more
2. anymore
3. again
4. before

Usage notes

This word regards degree rather than number, for which a form of the word mult should be appended.

mai ușor ― easier (literally, “more easy”)

mai fericit ― happier (literally, “more happy”)

mai multă fericire ― more happiness

mai mulți băieți ― more boys

el nu mai merge ― he is not going anymore

Etymology 3

Inherited from Latin malleus (“hammer”).

Noun

mai n (plural maiuri)

1. mallet, maul, sledgehammer, rammer, club

Declension

Derived terms

• măior

Etymology 4

Borrowed from Hungarian máj.

Noun

mai n (plural maiuri) (Moldavia (region), Transylvania, Bukovina, Maramureș)

1. liver

   Synonym: ficat

Declension

See also

Romansch

Alternative forms

• matg (Rumantsch Grischun, Sursilvan, Sutsilvan, Surmiran)
• meg (Puter)

Etymology

From Latin Maius.

Proper noun

mai m

1. (Vallader) May

Spanish

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈmai/ [ˈmai̯]
• Rhymes: -ai
• Syllabification: mai

Noun

mai f (plural mais)

1. (colloquial, Puerto Rico) mother, mom

   Synonyms: madre, mamá

Further reading

• “mai”, in Diccionario de americanismos [Dictionary of Americanisms] (in Spanish), Association of Academies of the Spanish Language [Spanish: Asociación de Academias de la Lengua Española], 2010

Tagalog

Alternative forms

• ma-y, may — obsolete, Spanish-based spelling
• ma-i

Pronunciation

• (Standard Tagalog) IPA^(key): /maˈʔi/ [mɐˈʔɪ]
• Rhymes: -i
• Syllabification: ma‧i

Noun

maí (Baybayin spelling ᜋᜁ) (obsolete)

1. word loaded with meaning

   Synonym: wikang malaman

   may maing salita ― has a word loaded with meaning

See also

Further reading

• “mai”, in Pambansang Diksiyonaryo | Diksiyonaryo.ph, Manila, 2018
• Noceda, Fr. Juan José de, Sanlucar, Fr. Pedro de (1860) Vocabulario de la lengua tagala, compuesto por varios religiosos doctos y graves‎^[5] (in Spanish), Manila: Ramirez y Giraudier

Ternate

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [ˈma.i]

Adverb

mai

1. even

   botoboto mai ioho, lado mai ioho ― they even ate grasshoppers, they even ate eels

   ngofa-ngofa amoi ua mai kado ― not even one child came

   ngori pipi cabu mai ua ― I have no money at all (literally, “my money, even a little is not”)

References

• Rika Hayami-Allen (2001) A descriptive study of the language of Ternate, the northern Moluccas, Indonesia, University of Pittsburgh

Tetum

Etymology

From Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *maʀi, compare Malay mari.

Verb

mai

1. to come

Tocharian B

Particle

mai

1. perchance

Tokelauan

Etymology

From Proto-Polynesian *mai. Cognates include Hawaiian mai and Samoan mai.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [ˈma.i]
• Hyphenation: ma‧i

Preposition

mai

1. from

Particle

mai

1. Indicates the motion of the action of the preceding verb towards the speaker; towards, to

Antonyms

• atu

References

• R. Simona, editor (1986), Tokelau Dictionary‎^[7], Auckland: Office of Tokelau Affairs, page 199

Uneapa

Etymology

From Proto-Oceanic *mai, from Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *maʀi, from Proto-Austronesian *um-aʀi.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /mai/

Verb

mai

1. to come

Further reading

• Ross, Malcolm D. (2003) Andrew Pawley, editor, The lexicon of Proto-Oceanic: Volume 2, The Physical Environment, Canberra: Australian National University, →ISBN, →OCLC; republished as Meredith Osmond, editor, (Please provide a date or year)

Vietnamese

Pronunciation

• (Hà Nội) IPA^(key): [maːj˧˧]
• (Huế) IPA^(key): [maːj˧˧]
• (Saigon) IPA^(key): [maːj˧˧]

Etymology 1

(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.) For the connection between "first part of the day" and "day after this one", compare Germanic equivalents such as English morn(ning) and morrow, Dutch morgen, Romance ones such as French demain and Italian domani, and Japanese 明日 and 朝 (ashita).

Noun

mai • (埋, 𣈕, 枚, 𪰹)

1. early morning
2. (colloquial) short for ngày mai (“tomorrow”)
3. the hair in front of a person's ears, sideburns

Derived terms

Etymology 2

Sino-Vietnamese word from 梅 (“Chinese plum”).

Noun

(classifier cây, bông, hoa) mai • (枚, 梅)

1. Ochna integerrima, a tree species (sometimes shrub) of the family Ochnaceae, sometimes called apricot in English
   • 1999, Lê Trung Vũ and Lê Hồng Lý, Lễ hội Việt Nam, Văn hoá Thông tin, page 357

Etymology 3

(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)

Noun

(classifier cái) mai

1. (of crabs, turtles and tortoises) carapace (dorsal shell)

   Synonym: mu

Etymology 4

Cognate with Muong Bi bai.

Noun

(classifier cái) mai • (鋰)

1. a kind of shovel

Derived terms

• dốt đặc cán mai

Etymology 5

Non-Sino-Vietnamese reading of Chinese 媒 (SV: môi).

Noun

mai • (䋦)

1. (Southern Vietnam) matchmaker

Derived terms

• mai mối

Votic

Etymology

Borrowed from Russian май (maj).

Pronunciation

• (Luutsa, Liivtšülä) IPA^(key): /ˈmɑi̯/, [ˈmɑi̯]
• Rhymes: -ɑi̯
• Hyphenation: mai

Noun

mai

1. May

Inflection

References

• Hallap, V., Adler, E., Grünberg, S., Leppik, M. (2012) “mai”, in Vadja keele sõnaraamat [A dictionary of the Votic language], 2nd edition, Tallinn

Welsh

Etymology

From mae (“it is”).

Pronunciation

• (North Wales, standard) IPA^(key): /mai̯/
  • (North Wales, colloquial) IPA^(key): /ma/, /mə/
• (South Wales) IPA^(key): /mai̯/
• Homophone: Mai; mae (South Wales)

Conjunction

mai

1. (formal and North Wales colloquial) that (introduces a noun clause, marking it for emphasis)

Synonyms

• (South Wales, colloquial) taw

See also

• y
• bod
• i
• nad

West Makian

Etymology

Cognate with Ternate mari (“stone”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈma.i/

Noun

mai

1. stone

References

• James Collins (1982) Further Notes Towards a West Makian Vocabulary‎^[9], Pacific linguistics
• Clemens Voorhoeve (1982) The Makian languages and their neighbours‎^[10], Pacific linguistics (as may)

Yola

Verb

mai

1. alternative form of mye

References

• Jacob Poole (d. 1827) (before 1828) William Barnes, editor, A Glossary, With some Pieces of Verse, of the old Dialect of the English Colony in the Baronies of Forth and Bargy, County of Wexford, Ireland, London: J. Russell Smith, published 1867, page 114

Zou

Etymology 1

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /mai̯˧/

Noun

mai

1. face

Etymology 2

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /mai̯˧/

Noun

mai

1. pumpkin

References

• Lukram Himmat Singh (2013) A Descriptive Grammar of Zou, Canchipur: Manipur University, page 45