Mahu

Mahu is a term found in several Austronesian languages, where it generally means to want or to wish. In Māori, mahu functions as a verb meaning to want or desire, used to express personal intention or preference and often appearing in constructions that indicate wanting to do something.

In Malay, mahu is a common verb meaning to want or would like, widely used in everyday speech. For example, saya mahu makan means I want to eat. In Indonesian, the form mahu exists but is less common than mau or ingin; it can appear in more formal or Malay-influenced speech and carries the same sense of desire or intention.

The word reflects a shared linguistic heritage among related languages, with cognates that express similar notions of desire or intention. Beyond its basic verb meaning, usos of mahu vary by dialect and register, and it does not carry a single, universal definition across all languages that use the root.

In contemporary usage, mahu primarily serves as a straightforward verb for wanting, though its precise grammatical behavior can differ between Māori and Malay-speaking communities. As with many function words in Austronesian languages, context and surrounding grammar determine tense, aspect, and nuance.