Mau is an invariant volitional word whose core meanings are “want” and “be willing.” In everyday Indonesian that volition readily develops into practical intention, an offer, refusal, and—when the subject is a situation poised to change—imminence. Saya mau makan, dia tidak mau, and hujan mau turun therefore share one form but not one English translation.
Mau is a complete predicate or modal-like word, not an infinitive “to want.” It takes no person, tense, -s, or -ed ending. Unlike many lexical verb roots, it does not freely build a full active/passive voice family.
No person or tense paradigm
| Frame | Form | Interpretive cue |
|---|---|---|
| first person | Saya mau makan. | subject pronoun |
| third person | Dia mau makan. | same form |
| plural | Mereka mau makan. | no agreement ending |
| past intention | Tadi saya mau makan. | tadi; context decides realization |
| current change | Sekarang dia sudah mau makan. | sekarang sudah |
| continuing willingness | Mereka masih mau makan. | masih |
| future plan | Besok kami mau makan bersama. | besok |
Saya mau makan sebelum berangkat ke bandara.
I want to eat before leaving for the airport.
Tadi Rina mau meneleponmu, tetapi baterainya habis.
Earlier Rina intended to call you, but her battery died.
Besok kami mau makan bersama setelah rapat.
Tomorrow we plan to eat together after the meeting.
Mau locates no time by itself. Even past-framed tadi mau reports an earlier desire or intention; it does not guarantee that the intended action happened.
Desire before a predicate
The most productive pattern is desirer + mau + predicate. The desirer is normally also the understood actor of the following action.
Dimas mau belajar memasak makanan Padang.
Dimas wants to learn to cook Padang food.
Kami mau tinggal lebih dekat dengan sekolah anak-anak.
We want to live closer to the children's school.
Anak itu mau bermain di luar meskipun tanah masih basah.
The child wants to play outside although the ground is still wet.
Saya mau sekali ikut, tetapi harus menjaga ibu di rumah.
I very much want to come along, but I have to look after Mom at home.
In the last sentence, mau sekali ikut idiomatically emphasizes desire. Ingin sekali ikut often sounds more inward, while mau remains more closely tied to practical participation and choice.
Willingness, consent, and refusal
Context can foreground whether someone consents to act rather than whether the action is merely desired.
Mira mau membantu kami menyusun kursi.
Mira is willing to help us arrange the chairs.
Apakah Anda mau menunggu sekitar sepuluh menit?
Would you be willing to wait about ten minutes?
Saya masih mau mencoba sekali lagi.
I am still willing to try once more.
Dia tidak mau menandatangani formulir sebelum membacanya.
He/She refuses to sign the form before reading it.
Anaknya tidak mau tidur walaupun sudah larut malam.
Their child refuses to sleep although it is already late.
Tidak mau can mean “does not want to” or the stronger contextual “refuses to.” Belum mau leaves later willingness open:
Bayi kami belum mau makan bubur beras.
Our baby is not willing to eat rice porridge yet.
Setelah diberi waktu, akhirnya dia sudah mau berbicara.
After being given time, he/she is finally willing to talk.
The neutral order is tidak/belum/sudah/masih + mau + predicate.
Offers and nominal complements
Mau can take a noun phrase directly, especially when choosing, ordering, buying, or accepting something. The missing action is recoverable from the situation.
Mau kopi hitam atau teh jahe?
Would you like black coffee or ginger tea?
Saya mau satu porsi nasi goreng tanpa cabai.
I would like one portion of fried rice without chili.
Kamu mau yang warna biru atau yang hitam?
Do you want the blue one or the black one?
Mau tambahan sambal?
Would you like some extra chili sauce?
This is genuine Indonesian ellipsis, not an English-style infinitive with a missing to. In a friendly offer, the subject is often omitted because the addressee is obvious.
An offer can also place the proposed actor after mau:
Mau saya ambilkan air minum?
Would you like me to get you some drinking water?
Mau kami antar sampai stasiun?
Would you like us to take you to the station?
Here saya/kami is the actor of the offered service, not the person whose desire is being described.
Practical plans, not a universal future tense
With an intentional subject and a concrete time frame, mau often reports an everyday plan.
Aku mau pindah kos akhir bulan ini.
I'm planning to move to a new rented room at the end of this month. (informal)
Kami mau berangkat setelah lalu lintas agak sepi.
We intend to leave after the traffic becomes quieter.
Rudi bilang dia mau menginap di rumah kakaknya.
Rudi said he was going to stay at his older sibling's house.
The marker retains volitional coloring. Neutral schedules, impersonal forecasts, and institutional commitments more often use akan or a bare future-time clause. The aspect-and-modality page on mau compares those prospective choices in detail.
Menurut jadwal, kereta akan berangkat pukul 07.15.
According to the timetable, the train will depart at 7:15.
Imminence with nonhuman subjects
When visible conditions point toward an imminent change, mau means “be about to” (informal). The subject does not literally possess desire.
Hujan mau turun; cepat angkat jemurannya.
It is about to rain; bring the laundry in quickly.
Gelas di ujung meja itu mau jatuh.
That glass at the edge of the table is about to fall.
Airnya mau mendidih, jadi kecilkan api kompor.
The water is about to boil, so lower the stove flame.
Ponsel saya mau mati karena baterainya tinggal satu persen.
My phone is about to die because its battery is down to one percent.
The situation is poised at a boundary. Formal forecasts normally prefer akan or diperkirakan akan (formal).
The small lexical family
Unlike ingin → menginginkan, Standard Indonesian does not productively use forms such as memau or dimau as the neutral active/passive family. Use yang dia mau “what he/she wants” in conversation or yang diinginkan “what is desired” in careful writing.
Ini bukan warna yang saya mau.
This is not the color I want. (informal)
Hasil yang diinginkan belum tercapai.
The desired result has not yet been achieved. (formal)
Established related nouns and clitic forms include kemauan and maunya.
Ia berhasil karena memiliki kemauan belajar yang tinggi.
He/She succeeded because of a strong desire to learn.
Keputusan itu dibuat atas kemauannya sendiri.
That decision was made of his/her own free will.
Maunya berangkat pagi, tetapi tiket yang tersedia hanya untuk malam hari.
His/Her preference is to leave in the morning, but the available tickets are only for the evening.
Kemauan can mean desire, willingness, will, or willpower. Attached maunya means what someone wants or, sentence-initially, the preferred arrangement.
Idioms and conventional combinations
Mau tidak mau, kita harus menunda perjalanan sampai besok.
Whether we like it or not, we have to postpone the trip until tomorrow.
Jangan mengubah aturan semaunya sendiri.
Do not change the rules however you please.
Kalau dituruti terus, maunya semakin banyak.
If every wish is continually indulged, he/she will want more and more. (informal)
Mau tidak mau is a fixed “whether willing or not.” Semaunya often criticizes action based solely on one's own wishes.
Common Mistakes
Adding an English tense ending
❌ Kemarin saya mau-ed pulang sebelum makan malam.
Incorrect — mau never takes an English or Indonesian past-tense ending.
✅ Kemarin saya mau pulang sebelum makan malam.
Yesterday I wanted to go home before dinner.
Putting ordinary refusal after mau
❌ Dia mau tidak menjawab pertanyaan itu.
Wrong for the intended refusal — this can suggest an option not to answer rather than tidak mau.
✅ Dia tidak mau menjawab pertanyaan itu tanpa didampingi pengacara.
He/She refuses to answer that question without a lawyer present.
Reading nonhuman mau as literal desire
❌ Gelas itu mau jatuh berarti gelasnya mempunyai keinginan.
Incorrect interpretation — the construction marks an imminent fall.
✅ Gelas itu mau jatuh karena posisinya terlalu dekat dengan tepi meja.
The glass is about to fall because it is too close to the edge of the table.
Inventing a productive meN- form
❌ Saya memau warna biru untuk dinding kamar.
Incorrect Standard Indonesian — mau does not productively form neutral memau.
✅ Saya mau warna biru untuk dinding kamar.
I want blue for the bedroom wall.
Joining mau to its complement
❌ Kami maumakan sebelum naik kereta.
Incorrect spelling — mau remains separate.
✅ Kami mau makan sebelum naik kereta malam.
We want to eat before boarding the night train.
Key Takeaways
- Invariant mau expresses desire, willingness, refusal, practical intention, offers, and contextual imminence.
- It can precede a predicate or an elliptical nominal choice: mau makan, mau kopi, mau yang biru.
- Tidak mau rejects willingness; belum mau leaves a later change open.
- Nonhuman mau means “be about to” in conversational contexts, not literal desire.
- The lexical family is small: learn kemauan, maunya, semaunya, and avoid inventing productive active/passive forms.
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Start learning Indonesian →Related Topics
- mau: Want, Willingness, and ImminenceA1 — Use mau for desire, consent, everyday plans, refusal, offers, and contextually imminent events.
- ingin and menginginkan: Verb Family and UsageB1 — Learn how complement type distinguishes modal-like ingin from transitive menginginkan, passive diinginkan, and the noun keinginan.
- akan: Prospective and Predicted EventsA1 — Use akan to present an event as prospective, predicted, planned, or formally committed without treating it as an obligatory future tense.
- hendak: Formal IntentionB1 — Use hendak for purposeful intention, imminent action, and elevated questions, while distinguishing hendaknya from personal intention.
- tidak with Verbs and AdjectivesA1 — Use tidak before verbal and adjectival predicates, control its scope with modals and frequency words, and answer negative questions naturally.
- Offering Food, Help, and ServicesB1 — Make, repeat, accept, and refuse Indonesian offers while recognizing hospitality, permission, and hierarchy.