mai and aku With Saying and Giving

Level 3

Mai and aku follow verbs of speaking and giving to show who is on the receiving end.

How It Works

SentenceMeaning
Ua ʻōlelo mai ke kumu iaʻu.The teacher spoke to me.
Ua ʻōlelo aku au iā ia.I spoke to him or her.
Ua hāʻawi mai ʻo ia i ka puke iaʻu.He or she gave the book to me.
Ua hāʻawi aku au i ka puke iā ia.I gave the book to him or her.

The Reference Grammar lists hāʻawi mai and hele aku among the directionals, and Hawaiian Wikipedia writers use ʻōlelo mai and hāʻawi aku. The same two words can follow other verbs, such as hoʻouna “send”: hoʻouna akula is in the Reference Grammar. The place of the speaker is usually the point of view, but a story can use the viewpoint of one of its people.

Examples (4)

  1. Ua ʻōlelo mai ke kumu iaʻu.

    The teacher spoke to me.

    Mai points toward the speaker.

  2. Ua hāʻawi aku au i ka puke iā ia.

    I gave the book to him or her.

    Aku points away from the speaker.

  3. Ua ʻōlelo aku ʻo Kala iā Leilani.

    Kala spoke to Leilani.

    Aku goes with speech aimed at someone else.

  4. Ua hāʻawi mai koʻu kupuna i ka ʻeke iaʻu.

    My grandparent gave the bag to me.

    Mai means the gift comes to the speaker.

Common Mistakes

  • Aku is used where the gift comes toward the speaker.

    Ua hāʻawi aku ʻo ia i ka puke iaʻu.
    Ua hāʻawi mai ʻo ia i ka puke iaʻu.

    The gift comes to me, the speaker, so the verb takes mai.

How It Connects

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mai and aku With Saying and GivingLevel 3

Learn This First

Mai and aku also go with verbs of speaking and giving.

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Patterns that build on this one.

Words in This Pattern

maiaku