The Hail Mary may be one of the most often prayed prayers in the Catholic Church, but have you ever compared the Hail Mary in Latin and English? Even those who don’t speak Latin may recognize pieces of the prayer from other sources.
For instance, you may have heard the operatic Ave Maria written by Schubert. The words being sung are literally the words to the Hail Mary in Latin! You may also have heard others say, “Ora pro nobis.” This translates to “pray for us” in English.
Like with the Pater Noster, we believe in knowing what we pray. Here is the Hail Mary in Latin and English.
The Hail Mary in Latin and English
| Latin | English |
| Ave Maria | Hail Mary |
| Gratia plena | Full of Grace |
| Dóminus tecum. | The Lord is with thee |
| Benedicta tu in muliéribus, | Blessed art thou among women |
| Et benedíctus fructus ventris tui, | And blessed is the fruit of thy womb |
| Iesus. | Jesus |
| Sancta María | Holy Mary |
| Mater Dei, | Mother of God |
| Ora pro nobis peccatoribus | Pray for us sinners |
| Nunc et in hora mortis nostrae. | Now and at the hour of our death. |
| Amen. | Amen. |
Pronouncing the Hail Mary in Latin
Latin can include some surprising pronunciations for native English speakers. Here are a few pointers to help you with pronunciation of the Hail Mary in Latin.
- The a sounds more like a short o sound in English, so ave is pronounced "aw-vay."
- The e pronounced like a long a in English, so Mater would be pronounced like "maw-tair."
- Latin did not have the letter j, and so Jesus is spelled Iesus. The I in the beginning is pronounced similarly to y in English. So the proper pronunciation is something like "yay-soos."
- The i is pronounced like a long e, so nobis would sound like "no-bees," but with the emphasis on the first syllable.
- Most vowels will be pronounced separately (except ae). So Dei is said as "day-ee."
You can learn more about proper Latin pronunciations here.
Translation Notes
In the previous section, we matched the traditional English formula to the Latin rather than a strict word for word translation. While the Hail Mary in Latin translates to English nicely, let’s reflect on Latin text.
Ave Maria.
Ave is a Roman greeting meaning to be well. Interestingly, this sort of greeting would have also been used to greet the emperor by Roman gladiators, so it carries a connotation of deep respect for our Blessed Mother.
Gratia plena.
This phrase may be the most contentious of the entire prayer. It comes directly from the greeting of St. Gabriel, the archangel, during the Annunciation. You may recognize gratia as being related to grace, and plena would be related to the English word plenty. It is meant to convey God’s outpouring of Grace on Mary who was Immaculately Conceived, or born without sin.
This is often translated by Protestants as highly favored one. While this is an accurate translation, it minimizes the role of Mary in salvation history to some extent. Catholic Answers explains that both the English and Latin translations fail to fully capture the meaning of the originally Greek from the Gospel of Luke. Luke uses the Greek word, kecharitomene, which implies that the outpouring of Grace is an action that has already been performed.
Mary is not just highly favored, but she has received a singular gift unlike that received by any other person.
Mater Dei
Here we have another controversial statement. Mater Dei translates to “mother of God” in English. While Protestants might bristle at this title, it is well documented in the Gospel that Mary conceived God the Son, by the workings of the Holy Spirit, and she gave birth to our Lord in Bethlehem.
It is part of the mystery of the Incarnation that God would take on a human nature, but it is long settled that Jesus is fully God and fully man. As a man, Jesus had a mother, and by honoring his Blessed Mother, we honor Jesus.
Now that you know the Hail Mary in English and Latin, you’re prepared to tap into centuries of Sacred Tradition!
