The Cebuano/Bisaya word mahi means “be able to / manage to”. Pronounced MA-hi, it is used as a verb by native Cebuano speakers across Cebu, Bohol, Leyte, and much of Mindanao. This page covers what mahi means in Bisaya, how to pronounce it correctly, how to use it in a sentence, and related words in the same category.
Bisaya word
mahi
English meaning
be able to
Part of speech
Verb
In Bisaya (Cebuano), mahi translates to “be able to / manage to”. The word covers a range of closely related meanings — be able to, manage to — and the right choice depends on context.
As a verb in the Verbs category, “mahi” is part of the core Bisaya vocabulary that learners encounter early on. Native speakers use it across all registers — casual home conversations in Cebu, busy marketplaces in Bohol, and everyday interactions throughout the Visayas and Mindanao.
Capital letters mark the stressed syllable — say it louder and slightly longer.
Bisaya stress is phonemic — the wrong stress can make a word hard for native speakers to recognise. For mahi, put the main stress on the uppercase syllable in MA-hi. A good technique is to clap on the stressed syllable as you say the word: ma-hi. Once the rhythm is natural, drop the clapping and let muscle memory take over.
In Bisaya, verbs like "mahi" are frequently modified with prefixes and suffixes to show tense, focus, and mood. Adding "mag-" often signals a future or habitual action, while "mi-" or "nag-" marks completed past actions. The verb "mahi" (be able to) is a core action word that appears regularly in everyday Cebuano conversation. Practice using it in simple sentences first, then gradually add particles like "na" (already) or "pa" (still/yet) to make your speech sound more natural to native speakers.
Expand your vocabulary by learning other Bisaya verbs in the same category as “mahi”.
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