mahalo
/maˈha.lo/
In Hawaiian, 'thank you' is expressed as mahalo.
Mahalo is a versatile term that can be used as a standalone expression of gratitude or as a noun meaning 'thanks' or 'praise'.
Meaning: an expression of gratitude (intj)
How does it change in a sentence?
To say 'thank you very much', you add the intensifiers nui loa after mahalo.
How do you pronounce it?
The word has 3 syllables and the stress is on the second syllable: /maˈha.lo/.
Did you know?
- The word mahalo shares an ancient ancestor with the Tagalog word masarap, which means 'delicious'.
- In traditional Hawaiian culture, mahalo was once a formal act of praise or a prayer of thanks to the gods rather than a casual social convention.
- The Hawaiian language has a very small alphabet of only 13 letters, which means the word mahalo is constructed from a tiny set of available sounds compared to English.
Examples in context
- Mahalo nui loa.Thank you very much.This example shows how to say 'Thank you very much' using mahalo.
- Mahalo.Thank you.This example shows a simple way to say 'Thank you' using mahalo.Tatoeba #7262576 by azraelgnosis, translation #1876041 by Asma
- Mahalo!Thank you!This example shows an enthusiastic way to say 'Thank you!' using mahalo.Tatoeba #7263710 by Ricardo14, translation #374827 by sysko
- 1 more sentence on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Noelani gives Ikaika a small gift.
- NoelaniEia kēia melelele no ʻoe.Here is this little gift for you.
- IkaikaMahalo, Noelani!Thank you, Noelani!
- NoelaniHe mea iki.It is a small thing.
- IkaikaMakemake au i kēia.I like this.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “thank you” translations and entries mahalo, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries mahalo, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Wiktionary CC BY-SA 4.0, Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
