au
/ˈau̯/
The Hawaiian personal pronoun for 'I' is au. Wiktionary also lists wau.
Meaning: personal pronoun (pron)
Ways to say it
| Hawaiian | IPA |
|---|---|
| au | /ˈau̯/ |
| wau | /ˈwau̯/ |
Which one should you use?
Use wau instead of au when you want to emphasize the word 'I' or when the pronoun is being stressed.
Related words
How do you pronounce it?
/ˈau̯/
Did you know?
- Hawaiian has another word au that means 'current' or 'flow' and is completely unrelated to the pronoun au.
Examples in context
- I hele au ma ka panakō.I went to the bank.Tatoeba #3154911 by Objectivesea, translation #3154910 by CK
- Makemake au e hele i Kioko.I want to go to Kyoto.Tatoeba #3084149 by Objectivesea, translation #378543 by saeb
- Makemake au e hele i ʻAukekulelia me koʻu ʻohana.I want to go to Australia with my family.Tatoeba #3084167 by Objectivesea, translation #498452 by adjusting
- Piʻi au i lunaI climb up
- Nāu nō i hanaYou are the one who did it
- 4 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Leilani and Ikaika are talking about hunger.
- LeilaniPololi au.I am hungry.
- IkaikaPololi pili ka ʻohana?Is the family hungry too?
- LeilaniʻAe, pololi au a pololi pū lākou.Yes, I am hungry and they are hungry too.
- IkaikaE ʻai kākou!Let's all eat!
Sources
- Wiktionary, “i” translations and entries au, wau, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries au, wau, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
