mau

See also: Appendix:Variations of "mau"

Languages (26)

Translingual

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Achang • Barunggam • Bourguignon • Finnish • German • Guinea-Bissau Creole • Hawaiian • Indonesian • Iu Mien • Japanese • Kabuverdianu • Macanese • Malay • Middle English • Occitan • Portuguese • Rapa Nui • Samoan • Southwestern Dinka • Tahitian • Ternate • Tok Pisin • Vietnamese • Yanomam • Yanomamö

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Page categories

Translingual

Symbol

mau

1. (international standards) ISO 639-3 language code for Huautla Mazatec.

See also

• Wiktionary’s coverage of Huautla Mazatec terms

Achang

Etymology 1

Pronunciation

• (Myanmar) /mɑu˧/

Noun

mau

1. a country

Etymology 2

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

Pronunciation

• (Myanmar) /mɑu˧/
• (Lianghe) [mɑu³¹]
• (Longchuan) [mau³¹]
• (Luxi) [mau⁵¹]
• (Xiandao) [mau³¹]

Noun

mau

1. sky

Usage notes

• No longer used alone in Myanmar in favour of the compound maukhung; Chinese dialects still use the standalone word, though.

Derived terms

• maujau
• maukhung

Further reading

• Inglis, Douglas; Sampu, Nasaw; Jaseng, Wilai; Jana, Thocha (2005), A preliminary Ngochang–Kachin–English Lexicon‎^[1], Payap University, page 79

Barunggam

Noun

mau

1. head

Further reading

• Barunggam body parts

Bourguignon

Etymology 1

From Latin malus.

Adjective

mau (feminine maule, masculine plural maus, feminine plural maules, comparative peire, superlative peire)

1. bad

Synonyms

• mauvois

Antonyms

• bon

Derived terms

• maufleit
• mauroge
• mauvoillance
• mauvoillant

Etymology 2

From Latin male.

Adverb

mau (comparative peis, superlative peis)

1. bad

Etymology 3

From Latin malus.

Noun

mau m (plural maus, antonym bein)

1. evil

Antonyms

• bein

Finnish

Etymology

Onomatopoeic

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈmɑu̯/, [ˈmɑ̝u̯]
• Rhymes: -ɑu
• Syllabification^(key): mau
• Hyphenation^(key): mau

Interjection

mau

1. the sound a cat makes; meow

Further reading

• “mau”, in Kielitoimiston sanakirja [Dictionary of Contemporary Finnish]‎^[2] (in Finnish) (online dictionary, continuously updated), Kotimaisten kielten keskuksen verkkojulkaisuja 35, Helsinki: Kotimaisten kielten tutkimuskeskus (Institute for the Languages of Finland), 2004–, retrieved 3 July 2023

Anagrams

• -uma, mua

German

Etymology

Probably a blend of matt +‎ flau, maybe with influence from mauen in the older sense of "to be weepy/annoying."

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /maʊ̯/
• Rhymes: -aʊ̯

• Audio (Germany (Berlin)):

  (file)

Adjective

mau (strong nominative masculine singular mauer, comparative mauer, superlative am mauesten or am mausten) (informal)

1. unwell, queasy, poorly, ill

   Synonyms: unwohl, schlecht

   Mir ist mau. ― I feel queasy/ill/poorly.

   Ich fühle mich mau. ― I feel queasy/ill/poorly.

2. disappointing, bad, meagre (below expectations, either in quantity or quality, though typically not catastrophic)

   Synonym: dürftig

   Die Lage ist mau. ― The situation is bad.

   Die Ergebnisse sind mau. ― The results are poor.

Declension

Positive forms of mau

number & gender		singular			plural
		masculine	feminine	neuter
predicative		er ist mau	sie ist mau	es ist mau	sie sind mau
strong declension (without article)	nominative	mauer	maue	maues	maue
	genitive	mauen	mauer	mauen	mauer
	dative	mauem	mauer	mauem	mauen
	accusative	mauen	maue	maues	maue
weak declension (with definite article)	nominative	der maue	die maue	das maue	die mauen
	genitive	des mauen	der mauen	des mauen	der mauen
	dative	dem mauen	der mauen	dem mauen	den mauen
	accusative	den mauen	die maue	das maue	die mauen
mixed declension (with indefinite article)	nominative	ein mauer	eine maue	ein maues	(keine) mauen
	genitive	eines mauen	einer mauen	eines mauen	(keiner) mauen
	dative	einem mauen	einer mauen	einem mauen	(keinen) mauen
	accusative	einen mauen	eine maue	ein maues	(keine) mauen

Comparative forms of mau

number & gender		singular			plural
		masculine	feminine	neuter
predicative		er ist mauer	sie ist mauer	es ist mauer	sie sind mauer
strong declension (without article)	nominative	mauerer	mauere	maueres	mauere
	genitive	maueren	mauerer	maueren	mauerer
	dative	mauerem	mauerer	mauerem	maueren
	accusative	maueren	mauere	maueres	mauere
weak declension (with definite article)	nominative	der mauere	die mauere	das mauere	die maueren
	genitive	des maueren	der maueren	des maueren	der maueren
	dative	dem maueren	der maueren	dem maueren	den maueren
	accusative	den maueren	die mauere	das mauere	die maueren
mixed declension (with indefinite article)	nominative	ein mauerer	eine mauere	ein maueres	(keine) maueren
	genitive	eines maueren	einer maueren	eines maueren	(keiner) maueren
	dative	einem maueren	einer maueren	einem maueren	(keinen) maueren
	accusative	einen maueren	eine mauere	ein maueres	(keine) maueren

Superlative forms of mau

number & gender		singular			plural
		masculine	feminine	neuter
predicative		er ist am mauesten er ist am mausten	sie ist am mauesten sie ist am mausten	es ist am mauesten es ist am mausten	sie sind am mauesten sie sind am mausten
strong declension (without article)	nominative	mauester mauster	maueste mauste	mauestes maustes	maueste mauste
	genitive	mauesten mausten	mauester mauster	mauesten mausten	mauester mauster
	dative	mauestem maustem	mauester mauster	mauestem maustem	mauesten mausten
	accusative	mauesten mausten	maueste mauste	mauestes maustes	maueste mauste
weak declension (with definite article)	nominative	der maueste der mauste	die maueste die mauste	das maueste das mauste	die mauesten die mausten
	genitive	des mauesten des mausten	der mauesten der mausten	des mauesten des mausten	der mauesten der mausten
	dative	dem mauesten dem mausten	der mauesten der mausten	dem mauesten dem mausten	den mauesten den mausten
	accusative	den mauesten den mausten	die maueste die mauste	das maueste das mauste	die mauesten die mausten
mixed declension (with indefinite article)	nominative	ein mauester ein mauster	eine maueste eine mauste	ein mauestes ein maustes	(keine) mauesten (keine) mausten
	genitive	eines mauesten eines mausten	einer mauesten einer mausten	eines mauesten eines mausten	(keiner) mauesten (keiner) mausten
	dative	einem mauesten einem mausten	einer mauesten einer mausten	einem mauesten einem mausten	(keinen) mauesten (keinen) mausten
	accusative	einen mauesten einen mausten	eine maueste eine mauste	ein mauestes ein maustes	(keine) mauesten (keine) mausten

Adverb

mau (comparative mauer, superlative am mausten)

1. badly, bad
2. slack

   Die Geschäfte gehen mau. ― Business is slack.

Further reading

• “mau” in Duden online
• “mau” in Digitales Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache

Guinea-Bissau Creole

Etymology

Inherited from Portuguese mau, from Old Galician-Portuguese mao, from Latin malus. Cognate with Kabuverdianu mau.

Adjective

mau

1. bad, evil, dangerous

Related terms

• mal

Hawaiian

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /ˈmau̯/, [ˈmɐw], [ˈmɔw] (rapid speech)

Particle

mau

1. Plural marker of nouns, used after he, determiners, and numerals.

   he mau lio ― horses

   kēlā mau hale ― those houses

   ko lākou mau kūpuna ― their grandparents

Verb

mau

1. (stative) always, perpetual
2. (stative) to continue

Indonesian

Alternative forms

• maoe (van Ophuijsen (1901–1947))

Etymology

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

Pronunciation

• (Standard Indonesian) IPA^(key): /ˈmau̯/ [ˈmau̯]
• Rhymes: -au̯
• Syllabification: mau

Verb

mau

1. to want

   Synonym: ingin

   1. (transitive) to wish for or desire (something); to feel a need or desire for; to crave or demand

      Synonym: hendak

      Kamu mau makan apa?

      What do you want to eat?

      Saya mau kamu meninggalkan kelas ini.

      I want you to leave this class.

   2. (transitive, in particular) to wish, desire, or demand to see, have the presence of or do business with

      Synonym: inginkan

      Aku mau sarapan yang manis.

      I want a sweet breakfast

      Dia mau pakaian baru.

      He wants new clothes.

   3. (intransitive) to experience desire; to wish

      Kamu boleh meninggalkan ruangan ini jika kamu mau.

      You can leave this room if you want.

2. (auxiliary) to will
   1. (somewhat informal) used to express the future tense, sometimes with an implication of volition or determination when used in the first person

      Synonyms: hendak, akan

      Ibu mau pergi ke pasar untuk membeli bahan makanan.

      Mother will go to the market to buy food.

   2. to be able to, to have the capacity
   3. used to express intention but without any temporal connotations, often in questions and negation

      Maukah kamu menikahiku?

      Will you marry me?

      Aku sudah memberitahukan dia berkali-kali, tapi dia tetap tak mau meminum obatnya.

      I've told him many times, but he still doesn't want to take his medicine.

Noun

mau

1. wish; desire (a hope or longing for something or for something to happen)

   Synonyms: keinginan, kemauan, kehendak

Derived terms

• berkemauan
• kemauan
• mau-mau
• maui
• maukan
• semau
• semau-maunya

• mau tidak mau

Iu Mien

Etymology

From Proto-Hmong-Mien *mlu̯ɛjH (“soft”). Cognate with White Hmong mos.

Adjective

mau 

1. soft

Japanese

Romanization

mau

1. Rōmaji transcription of まう

Kabuverdianu

Etymology

From Portuguese mau.

Adjective

mau

1. bad

Related terms

• mal

Macanese

Etymology

From Portuguese mau, probably with some semantic influence from Portuguese mal as well.

Adjective

mau (comparative pió)

1. bad

   Êle qui mau coraçám ― He is so evil (literally, “He is so bad heart”)

   mau repente ― impulsive; rash action inspired by a bad temper

References

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

Malay

Etymology

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

Pronunciation

• Rhymes: -u

Verb

mau

1. (informal, auxiliary) contraction of mahu

Middle English

Noun

mau

1. (Northern) alternative form of mowe (“kinswoman”)

Occitan

Pronunciation

• Audio (Gascony):

  (file)

Adjective

mau m (feminine singular mala, masculine plural maus, feminine plural malas)

1. (Gascony) bad
2. (Gascony) evil

Adverb

mau

1. (Gascony, Niçard) bad, badly

Derived terms

• trobà's mau

Noun

mau m (plural maus)

1. (Gascony) evil
2. (Gascony) illness

Derived terms

• maishant mau
• mau d'orelh
• mau de cap
• mau de còr
• mau de còth
• mau de ganurra
• mau de mar

References

• Guilhemjoan, Patric (2005), Diccionari elementari occitan-francés francés-occitan (gascon), Per Noste, →ISBN, p. 93

Portuguese

Etymology

Inherited from Old Galician-Portuguese mao, from Latin malus, from Proto-Italic. Cognate with Galician mao and Spanish malo.

Pronunciation

• (Brazil) IPA^(key): /ˈmaw/ [ˈmaʊ̯]

• (Portugal) IPA^(key): /ˈmaw/

• Rhymes: -aw
• Homophone: mal (Brazil)
• Hyphenation: mau

• Audio:

  (file)

• Audio (Portugal (Porto)):

  (file)

Adjective

mau (feminine má, masculine plural maus, feminine plural más, comparable, comparative pior, superlative o pior or péssimo)

1. bad

   Ele é um mau condutor. ― He is a bad driver.

   Ela tem maus hábitos. ― She has bad habits.

2. evil, wicked

   Caim era mau. ― Cain was evil.

3. harmful

Derived terms

• má-criação
• má-formação
• mau-olhado
• maus-tratos
• mauzinho
• mauzito

Related terms

• mal
• mal-
• maldade
• maldição
• maltratar

Descendants

• Guinea-Bissau Creole: mau
• Kabuverdianu: mau
• Macanese: mau

Noun

mau m (plural maus)

1. a bad person

   Junta-te aos bons e serás melhor que eles; junta-te aos maus e serás pior que eles.

   Hang out with good people and you'll be better than them; hang out with bad people and you'll be worse than them.

Further reading

• “mau”, in Dicionário Aulete Digital (in Portuguese), Rio de Janeiro: Lexikon Editora Digital, 2008–2026

Rapa Nui

Adjective

mau

1. supreme

Derived terms

• ꞌariki mau

Samoan

Noun

mau

1. opinion

Southwestern Dinka

Etymology

Cognate with Belanda Bor miyo (“tsetse fly”).

Noun

mau

1. tsetse fly

References

• Dinka-English Dictionary‎^[3], 2005

Tahitian

Particle

mau

1. plural marker after a noun; many, much

Verb

mau

1. hold

Ternate

Etymology

From Malay mahu (“to want”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈma.u/

Verb

mau

1. (transitive) to want

Conjugation

Conjugation of mau

		singular	plural
			inclusive	exclusive
1st person		tomau	fomau	mimau
2nd person		nomau	nimau
3rd person	masculine	omau	imau yomau (archaic)
	feminine	momau
	neuter	imau

Alternative forms

• mawu

References

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

Tok Pisin

Etymology

From Tolai mau (“banana”).

Adjective

mau

1. ripe.

References

• SARMENTO, Leila Lauar. Gramática em textos. 2nd edition. São Paulo, Brazil: Moderna, 2005.

Vietnamese

Etymology

Cognate with Muong bau (“dense, thick”), Chut [Cuối Chăm] baw¹ and Arem ubaw ("thick").

Pronunciation

• (Hà Nội) IPA^(key): [maw˧˧]
• (Huế) IPA^(key): [maw˧˧]
• (Saigon) IPA^(key): [ma(ː)w˧˧]

Adjective

mau • (毛, 㕰, 𣭻, 牟, 哞, 𳄬)

1. (now only in certain phrases and expressions) dense
2. (by extension) fast, quick

Derived terms

• lược mau
• mau chóng
• mau lẹ
• mau mắn (từ láy)
• mau miệng ăn, thưa miệng nói
• mau nước mắt
• mau sao thì nắng, vắng sao thì mưa

Adverb

mau • (毛, 㕰, 𣭻, 牟, 哞, 𳄬)

1. fast, quickly

   Synonym: nhanh

See also

• chóng
• lẹ

Anagrams

• mua

Yanomam

Alternative forms

• mãu

Noun

mau

1. water

Usage notes

Does not occur alone, but must be bound with a classifier; see mau u.

References

• Perri Ferreira, Helder (2017), Yanomama Clause Structure‎^[4], volume 1, Utrecht: LOT, →ISBN, page 112
• B. Albert, G. Gomez, Saúde Yanomami: um manual etnolingüístico (1997), page 233: mãu u
• HG 1 [maup] (see also ASJP 1 [maup], ASJP 2 [mau; maup3, using '3' for 'ə'])

Yanomamö

Noun

mau

1. alternative form of mãũ (“water”)