mai

See also: Appendix:Variations of "mai"

Languages (61)

Translingual • English

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Ajië • Aragonese • Aromanian • Atong (India) • Bamwe • Bangi • Catalan • Chuukese • Dharug • Estonian • Faroese • Fijian • French • Friulian • Galician • Gallo • Garo • Guinea-Bissau Creole • Hausa • Hawaiian • Hungarian • Iban • Ingrian • Istriot • Italian • Japanese • Kabuverdianu • Karelian • Kaurna • Kedah Malay • Khumi Chin • Kikuyu • Kokborok • Leonese • Malay • Mandarin • Maori • Mbandja • Murui Huitoto • North Frisian • Norwegian Bokmål • Norwegian Nynorsk • Occitan • Pitjantjatjara • Rapa Nui • Romanian • Romansch • Tagalog • Ternate • Tetum • Tocharian B • Tokelauan • Uneapa • Vietnamese • Votic • Welsh • West Makian • Yola • Zou

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Page categories

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

• Audio (US):

  (file)

Determiner

mai

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

See also

• mai-baap
• mai fun
• mai tai
• mai tu liao
• siu mai
• yellow mai

 

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]

• Audio:

  (file)

• 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

Declension of mai (ÕS type 26/koi, no gradation)
		singular	plural
nominative		mai	maid
accusative	nom.
	gen.	mai
genitive			maide
partitive		maid	maisid
illative		maisse	maidesse
inessive		mais	maides
elative		maist	maidest
allative		maile	maidele
adessive		mail	maidel
ablative		mailt	maidelt
translative		maiks	maideks
terminative		maini	maideni
essive		maina	maidena
abessive		maita	maideta
comitative		maiga	maidega

Synonyms

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

See also

• (Gregorian calendar months) Gregoriuse kalendri kuu; jaanuar, veebruar, märts, aprill, mai, juuni, juuli, august, september, oktoober, november, detsember ^{(Category: et:Months)}

Faroese

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin (mensis) maius.

Noun

mai m

1. May (month of the Gregorian calendar)

See also

• (Gregorian calendar months) januar, februar, mars, apríl, mai, juni, juli, august, september, oktober, november, desember ^{(Category: fo:Months)}

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/

• Audio (France); “en mai”:

  (file)

• 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

• (Gregorian calendar months) mois du calendrier grégorien; janvier, février, mars, avril, mai, juin, juillet, août, septembre, octobre, novembre, décembre ^{(Category: fr:Gregorian calendar months)}

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

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

   Mai makaʻu.

   Don't be afraid.

Hungarian

Etymology

ma +‎ -i

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [ˈmɒji]

• Audio:

  (file)

• Hyphenation: mai
• Rhymes: -ji

Adjective

mai (not comparable)

1. of today, today's

   Antonyms: régi, antik

   a mai újság ― today’s newspaper

Declension

Inflection (stem in -a-, back harmony)
	singular	plural
nominative	mai	maiak
accusative	mait	maiakat
dative	mainak	maiaknak
instrumental	maival	maiakkal
causal-final	maiért	maiakért
translative	maivá	maiakká
terminative	maiig	maiakig
essive-formal	maiként	maiakként
essive-modal	—	—
inessive	maiban	maiakban
superessive	main	maiakon
adessive	mainál	maiaknál
illative	maiba	maiakba
sublative	maira	maiakra
allative	maihoz	maiakhoz
elative	maiból	maiakból
delative	mairól	maiakról
ablative	maitól	maiaktól
non-attributive possessive - singular	maié	maiaké
non-attributive possessive - plural	maiéi	maiakéi

Further reading

• mai in Bárczi, Géza and László Országh. A magyar nyelv értelmező szótára (“The Explanatory Dictionary of the Hungarian Language”, abbr.: 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

Month names

Previous:	apreli
Next:	ijuuni

Etymology

Borrowed from Russian май (maj).

Pronunciation

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

Noun

mai

1. May
   • 1937, N. S. Popova, translated by A. Kolesova, Arifmetiikan oppikirja alkușkouluja vart (toin osa), Leningrad: Ucebno-Pedagogiceskoi Izdateljstva, page 25:

     Vooes ono 12 kuuta: janvari, fevrali, martti, apreli, mai, ijuuni, ijuuli, avgusta, sentjabri, oktjabri, nojabri i dekabri.

     In a year are 12 months: January, February, March, April, May, June, July, August, September, October, November and December.

Declension

Declension of mai (type 8/maa, no gradation)
	singular	plural
nominative	mai	mait
genitive	main	maijen
partitive	maita	maita
illative	maihe	maihe
inessive	mais	mais
elative	maist	maist
allative	maille	maille
adessive	mail	mail
ablative	mailt	mailt
translative	maiks	maiks
essive	mainna, main	mainna, main
exessive1)	maint	maint
1) obsolete *) the accusative corresponds with either the genitive (sg) or nominative (pl) **) the comitative is formed by adding the suffix -ka? or -kä? to the genitive.

Derived terms

• Maipraaznikka

 

References

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

Istriot

Etymology

From Latin magis.

Adverb

mai

1. never (not ever)
   • 1877, Antonio Ive, Canti popolari istriani: raccolti a Rovigno, volume 5, Ermanno Loescher, page 40:

     Che mai pioûn biela duon i’iê veisto al mondo,

     That I haven’t ever seen a more beautiful woman in the world,

Italian

Etymology

From Latin magis.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈma.i/

• Audio:

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ai
• Hyphenation: mà‧i

Adverb

mai

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

   Una risposta quanto mai ambigua.

   An ambiguous answer indeed.

   Dove mai si sarà cacciato?

   Where on earth did he end up?

Derived terms

• casomai
• come mai
• giammai
• mai dire mai
• mai e poi mai
• mai più
• meglio tardi che mai
• ora o mai più
• ormai
• quasi mai

 

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

Regional variants of mai

North Karelian (Viena)	—
South Karelian (Tver)	mai

Months of the year

Previous:	aprelʹa
Next:	ijunʹa

Etymology

Borrowed from Russian май (maj).

Pronunciation

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

Noun

mai (genitive main, partitive maida)

1. (South Karelian) May

Declension

Tver Karelian declension of mai (type 6/pimie, no gradation)
	singular	plural
nominative	mai	mait
genitive	main	main
partitive	maida	maida
illative	maih	maih
inessive	maissa	maissa
elative	maista	maista
adessive	mailla	mailla
ablative	mailda	mailda
translative	maiksi	maiksi
essive	maina	maina
comitative	mainke	mainke
abessive	maitta	maitta

Possessive forms of mai
1st person	maini
2nd person	mais
3rd person	maih
*) Possessive forms are very rare for adjectives and only used in substantivised clauses.

Synonyms

• oraškuu

References

• A. V. Punzhina (1994) “mai”, in Словарь карельского языка (тверские говоры), →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)

   Hang nak gebang aku eh, kata nak mai, batang hidung pun tak nampak!

   You said that you're gonna come, but I didn't see you anywhere!

   Depa mai ka dak ni; dah cemuih dah dok tang ni dok melangut ja.

   Have you seen them (present at here), cause I am bored to death here, just doing nothing.

Interjection

mai

1. Come here! Here!

   Mai la sat, aku seghighau satgi depa tabuh aku pulak.

   Please come with me for a second, I'm afraid that they might hit me.

   "Mai la, hang dok takut pa, aku tak buat pa eh," kata Ali kepada kucingnya.

   "Come! What are you so afraid of? I'm not gonna do anything to you," says Ali to his cat.

Khumi Chin

Mai.

Etymology

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

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /mai̯˥/

Noun

mai

1. fire
2. flame

Derived terms

• mai-ing
• maidüte
• maikangte
• maikhü
• maipa
• maiphaw
• maisä-e
• maithawngte
• maitinae

 

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

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

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

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)

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

Conjugation of mai (Sylt dialect)

infinitive I	mai
infinitive II	(tö) maien
past participle	maat
imperative	—
	present	past
1st singular	mai	maat
2nd singular	maist	maatst
3rd singular	mai	maat
plural / dual	mai	maat
	perfect	pluperfect
1st singular	haa maat	her maat
2nd singular	heest maat	herst maat
3rd singular	heer maat	her maat
plural / dual	haa maat	her maat
	future (skel)	future (wel)
1st singular	skel mai	wel mai
2nd singular	sket mai	wet mai
3rd singular	skel mai	wel mai
plural / dual	skel mai	wel mai

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

• (Gregorian calendar months) månad i den gregorianske kalenderen; januar, februar, mars, april, mai, juni, juli, august, september, oktober, november, desember ^{(Category: no:Months)}

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/

• Audio (Béarn):

  (file)

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/

• Audio (male voice):

  (file)

• 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

Declension of mai

	singular		plural
	indefinite articulation	definite articulation	indefinite articulation	definite articulation
nominative/accusative	(un) mai	maiul	(niște) maiuri	maiurile
genitive/dative	(unui) mai	maiului	(unor) maiuri	maiurilor
vocative	maiule		maiurilor

Derived terms

• măior

Etymology 4

Borrowed from Hungarian máj.

Noun

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

1. liver

   Synonym: ficat

Declension

Declension of mai

	singular		plural
	indefinite articulation	definite articulation	indefinite articulation	definite articulation
nominative/accusative	(un) mai	maiul	(niște) maiuri	maiurile
genitive/dative	(unui) mai	maiului	(unor) maiuri	maiurilor
vocative	maiule		maiurilor

See also

• (Gregorian calendar months) lună a calendarului gregorian; ianuarie, februarie, martie, aprilie, mai, iunie, iulie, august, septembrie, octombrie, noiembrie, decembrie ^{(Category: ro:Months)}

Romansch

Alternative forms

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

Etymology

From Latin (mensis) Maius (“of May”).

Proper noun

mai m

1. (Vallader) May

Tagalog

Alternative forms

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

Pronunciation

• (Standard Tagalog) IPA^(key): /maˈʔi/ [mɐˈʔi]
• 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

• paramdam
• sakuna

 

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
   • 1948, Tūlāfono fakavae a Tokelau‎^[6], page 1:

     Mai te kāloā, ko nā tālaaga ki nā fenua o Atafu, Nukunonu, Fakaofo, ma Olohega na fauhia kē fai ma o matou kāiga.

     From the ancient times, of the tales, the islands of Atafu, Nukunonu, Fakaofo and Olohega You created together, as our home.

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˧˧]

• Audio (Hà Nội):

  (file)

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

• ban mai
• mai mốt
• ngày mai
• sao Mai

 

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

     Ngày xưa kỳ thi Hội chọn lấy đỗ Tiến sĩ được tổ chức vào mùa xuân, cùng với dịp hoa mai nở.

     In times of old, the ceremony of selecting Imperial Examination laureates was organized in spring, to coincide with the blooming of the apricot trees.

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

Declension of mai (type I/maa, no gradation)
	singular	plural
nominative	mai	maid
genitive	mai	maijõ
partitive	maitõ	maitõ
illative	maihi, maihisõ	maisõ
inessive	maiz	maiz
elative	maissõ	maissõ
allative	mailõ	mailõ
adessive	maillõ	maillõ
ablative	mailtõ	mailtõ
translative	maissi	maissi
*) the accusative corresponds with either the genitive (sg) or nominative (pl) **) the terminative is formed by adding the suffix -ssaa to the short illative (sg) or the genitive. ***) the comitative is formed by adding the suffix -ka to the genitive.

References

• Hallap, V., Adler, E., Grünberg, S., Leppik, M. (2012) “mai”, in Vadja keele sõnaraamat, 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)

   Mae’n dweud mai athro yw ef. (formal)

   He says that he is a teacher.

   Mae o’n deud mai athro ’dy o. (North Wales, colloquial)

   He says that he is a teacher.

   • 2012 April 27, “Uchafbwynt Uwchgynghrair Rygbi”, in BBC Cymru Fyw‎^[8]:

     Byddai buddugoliaeth i Bontypridd yn sicrhau mai nhw fydd yn gorffen y tymor ar frig y tabl.

     Victory for Pontypridd would ensure that they finish the season at the top of the table.

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
   • 1867, CONGRATULATORY ADDRESS IN THE DIALECT OF FORTH AND BARGY, page 114, lines 21-23:

     Ye pace——yea, we mai zei, ye vaste pace whilke bee ee-stent owr ye londe zince th'ast ee-cam,

     The peace——yes, we may say the profound peace—which overspreads the land since your arrival,

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