Plural Marker *mau* in Hawaiian

In Brief

Hawaiian nouns do not normally change form to become plural. Mau appears before a noun in phrases such as he mau pua (“some flowers”), kekahi mau hale (“some houses”), and kaʻu mau puke (“my books”). For a definite plural, however, nā usually does the job by itself: nā keiki means “the children.”

Overview

In English, a noun often takes -s when it refers to more than one thing: “flower” becomes “flowers.” Hawaiian works differently. The noun itself generally stays unchanged: pua can occur in phrases referring to one flower or several flowers. Words around the noun show whether it is singular, plural, definite, indefinite, possessed, or counted.

Mau is one of those words. In this use, it is a plural marker—a small word that helps show that the following noun refers to more than one person or thing. At A2, the most useful pattern is he mau + noun, which often means “some,” “several,” or simply an indefinite plural. You will also meet mau after kekahi, possessives, demonstratives, and certain numbers.

The important beginner contrast is not “singular noun versus plural noun,” because the noun does not acquire a plural ending. Instead, compare the whole noun phrase (the noun together with its markers and modifiers): he pua “a flower,” he mau pua “some flowers,” ka pua “the flower,” and nā pua “the flowers.”

How It Works

The core pattern: he mau + noun

Put mau directly before the noun:

Meaning	Pattern	Hawaiian example	English meaning
one indefinite item	he + noun	he pua	a flower
indefinite plural	he mau + noun	he mau pua	some flowers / flowers
one definite item	ka/ke + noun	ka pua	the flower
definite plural	nā + noun	nā pua	the flowers

In he mau pua nani, the structure is:

• he — introduces an indefinite noun phrase;
• mau — marks plurality;
• pua — “flower”;
• nani — “beautiful,” placed after the noun.

The result is “some beautiful flowers.” Notice that pua does not change and nani does not take a plural ending either.

Nā and mau do different jobs

Nā is the regular plural definite article—the word corresponding to “the” before plural nouns. Therefore:

• ke keiki — the child
• nā keiki — the children
• ka hale — the house
• nā hale — the houses

The concept examples include Nā mau keiki and Nā mau hale o Honolulu. They illustrate mau as an explicit plural element, but in ordinary modern Hawaiian nā already marks the phrase as plural, so the usual forms are Nā keiki and Nā hale o Honolulu. Do not turn nā mau + noun into a general production rule. When reading, also remember that mau can have other meanings, including “continuing” or “constant,” so not every sequence beginning with nā mau is simply double plural marking.

Other common words before mau

Mau is especially useful where the preceding word does not itself supply a complete definite-plural meaning.

Pattern	Example	Typical meaning
he mau + noun	he mau mea hou	some new things
kekahi mau + noun	kekahi mau lā	some days / several days
possessive + mau + noun	kaʻu mau puke	my books
demonstrative + mau + noun	kēia mau hale	these houses
number + mau + noun	ʻekolu mau keiki	three children

With a possessive, English puts plurality on the noun (“my books”), while Hawaiian can place the plural signal before the unchanged noun: kaʻu mau puke. Demonstrative phrases follow the same broad principle: kēia puke is “this book,” while kēia mau puke is “these books.”

With numbers

You may see mau between a number and a noun, as in ʻekolu mau puke “three books.” Since the number already makes quantity clear, actual usage can vary by construction and style. For a beginner, learn complete phrases from reliable examples rather than inserting mau after every number automatically.

Position inside the noun phrase

The practical order is:

determiner or quantity word + mau + noun + modifier

A determiner is a word that introduces or identifies a noun, such as “the,” “this,” or “my.” Compare:

• he mau pua nani — some beautiful flowers
• kekahi mau hale nui — some large houses
• kaʻu mau hoaaloha maikaʻi — my good friends
• kēia mau mea hou — these new things

Mau belongs before the noun; descriptive words such as nani, nui, maikaʻi, and hou normally follow it.

Examples in Context

Hawaiian	English	Note
He mau pua nani ma ke kīhāpai.	There are some beautiful flowers in the garden.	Basic he mau phrase
He mau mea hou kēia.	These are some new things.	Mea remains unchanged
He mau manu ma ka lāʻau.	There are birds in the tree.	Indefinite plural
Kekahi mau hale.	Some houses.	Kekahi mau expresses an unspecified subset
Ua heluhelu au i kekahi mau puke.	I read some books.	Plural phrase as the object
Kaʻu mau puke kēia.	These are my books.	Possessive followed by mau
Aia koʻu mau hoaaloha ma Honolulu.	My friends are in Honolulu.	Plural possessed noun
Kēia mau pua nani.	These beautiful flowers.	Demonstrative + mau
ʻEkolu mau keiki e pāʻani ana.	Three children are playing.	Number + mau
Nā keiki.	The children.	Normal definite plural with nā alone
Nā hale o Honolulu.	The houses of Honolulu.	Nā already marks the definite plural
Nā mau keiki.	The children.	Concept example; prefer nā keiki as the ordinary form
Nā mau hale o Honolulu.	The houses of Honolulu.	Concept example; ordinary phrasing is nā hale o Honolulu

The English translation does not always need “some.” English often uses a bare plural, as in “There are flowers in the garden,” where Hawaiian naturally has he mau pua. Translate the meaning of the full sentence, not each marker mechanically.

Common Mistakes

Adding an English plural ending

• Wrong: he mau puas
• Right: he mau pua
• Why: Hawaiian does not form ordinary noun plurals with English -s. The marker changes; the noun stays pua.

Using he without mau for the intended plural

• Wrong for “some flowers”: he pua
• Right: he mau pua
• Why: He pua normally introduces one flower, “a flower.” Add mau when you mean an indefinite group.

Treating nā mau as the default definite plural

• Awkward as a general rule: nā mau keiki
• Usual: nā keiki
• Why: Nā already means the plural definite “the.” Although nā mau keiki appears in the supplied concept examples, learners should normally produce nā keiki.

Putting mau after the noun

• Wrong: he pua mau nani (for “some beautiful flowers”)
• Right: he mau pua nani
• Why: Plural mau comes before the noun. The modifier nani follows the noun.

Translating mau as “many” every time

• Misreading: he mau puke = “many books”
• Better: he mau puke = “some books” or simply “books”
• Why: Mau signals plurality but does not by itself state that the group is large. For “many,” Hawaiian uses a quantity expression involving nui, depending on the sentence pattern.

Inserting mau into every plural phrase

• Overbuilt: nā mau hale whenever you mean “the houses”
• Right: nā hale
• Why: Hawaiian has several ways to make plurality clear. Use the marker required by the whole noun phrase, not mau as an automatic equivalent of English -s.

Usage Notes

The exact English translation of he mau depends on context. It may correspond to “some,” “several,” a bare plural, or an English “there are” sentence. He mau keiki ma waho can naturally be translated “There are some children outside” or “There are children outside.”

Because Hawaiian marks grammatical information with particles and determiners rather than noun endings, listen to the words before the noun. If you only memorize keiki as either “child” or “children,” you miss how the phrase works. Learn ke keiki, nā keiki, he mau keiki, and kaʻu mau keiki as contrasting chunks.

Spelling matters. The ʻokina and kahakō are letters or meaningful spelling marks in Hawaiian, not decoration. Keep them when copying examples such as ʻekolu, kēia, and nā.

Beyond the Basics / Advanced Use

You do not need to master every detail yet, but mau is not only a plural marker. In other environments it can relate to continuing, enduring, repeated, or customary action or quality. For example, learners encounter Ua mau ke ea o ka ʻāina i ka pono, where mau is not introducing a plural noun. Position and sentence structure tell you which mau you are seeing.

Plurality can also be understood from context, a number, coordination, or another quantity expression. This means mau is not a suffix-like device that must appear whenever an English translation has a plural noun. Advanced reading requires you to identify the complete noun phrase and ask what each preceding word contributes.

Possessive phrases add another layer because Hawaiian distinguishes possessive classes. Whether a possessive begins with forms such as kaʻu or koʻu is a separate question from plurality. Once the appropriate possessive has been chosen, mau can mark the possessed noun phrase as plural: compare kaʻu puke “my book” with kaʻu mau puke “my books.” Do not use mau to decide the possessive class.

Finally, be cautious when analyzing nā mau in authentic texts. The two forms may belong to a structure whose meaning is not simply “the + plural marker.” A dictionary and the wider sentence are more reliable than assuming every occurrence contains redundant plural marking.

Practice Tips

1. Build four-part contrasts. Choose five nouns and say a set such as he puke, he mau puke, ka puke, nā puke. This trains you to change the marker rather than the noun.
2. Expand phrases in stages. Start with pua, then make he mau pua, he mau pua nani, and finally he mau pua nani ma ke kīhāpai. Keep mau before the noun and descriptive words after it.
3. Sort what you hear or read. Make columns for he mau, kekahi mau, possessive + mau, demonstrative + mau, and nā + noun. Record whole phrases, not isolated instances of mau.

Related Concepts

• Prerequisite: Plurals and Quantity — introduces nā, numbers, and quantity words, which show why mau is only one part of the plural system.