ما
Algerian Arabic
editEtymology
editFrom Arabic مَاء (māʔ, “water”).
Noun
editما (mā)
Andalusian Arabic
editEtymology
editFrom Arabic مَاء (māʔ, “water”).
Noun
editما (mā)
Arabic
editEtymology
editCognate with Hebrew מָה (ma) and Ugaritic 𐎎𐎅 (mh).
Pronunciation
editPronoun
editمَا • (mā) m
- (interrogative) what?
- Synonyms: أَيّ شَيْءٍ (ʔayy šayʔin), أَيْشٍ (ʔayšin), مَاذَا (māḏā)
- (indefinite) some, a certain
- (relative) that which, what
- اِقْرَأْ مَا كَتَبْتُ. ― iqraʔ mā katabtu. ― Read what I wrote.
- مَا تَفْعَلُ تُجَازَى عَلَيْهِ ― mā tafʕalu tujāzā ʕalayhi ― Whatever you do, you are paid back for it.
- سَتُبْدِي لَكَ الْأَيَّامُ مَا كُنْتَ جَاهِلًا
- satubdī laka l-ʔayyāmu mā kunta jāhilan
- (please add an English translation of this quotation)
- وَلَعَلَّ مَا تَخْشَاهُ لَيْسَ بِكَائِن
وَلَعَلَّ مَا تَرْجُوهُ سَوْفَ يَكُون
وَلَعَلَّ مَا هَوَّنْتَ لَيْسَ بِهَيِّن
وَلَعَلَّ مَا شَدَّدْتَ سَوْفَ يَهُون- wa-laʕalla mā taḵšāhu laysa bikāʔin
wa-laʕalla mā tarjūhu sawfa yakūn
wa-laʕalla mā hawwanta laysa bihayyin
wa-laʕalla mā šaddadta sawfa yahūn - And maybe what you’re afraid of isn't existent
And maybe what you desire is going to be
And maybe what you deem easy isn’t convenient
And maybe what you find difficult will be of ease - (literally, “what you fear it / what you desire it / what you find easy / what you find difficult”)
- wa-laʕalla mā taḵšāhu laysa bikāʔin
- (+ past or jussive) whichever; whatever
- Synonyms: أَيَّمَا (ʔayyamā), مَهْمَا (mahmā)
- مَا تَفْعَلْ تُجَازَ عَلَيْهِ
- mā tafʕal tujāza ʕalayhi
- Whatever you do, you will be paid back for it.
Derived terms
edit- رُبَّمَا (rubbamā), رُبَمَا (rubamā): perhaps, maybe
- لِمَا (limā), لِمَ (lima): for what, what for, why
Particle
editمَا • (mā)
- not; never
- Synonym: (archaic) إِنْ (ʔin)
- a. 1374, Ibn al-Khatib, Zaman Al-Wasl:
- وَطَرٌ مَا فِيهِ مِنْ عَيْبٍ سِوَى – أَنَّهُ مَرَّ كَلَمْحِ ٱلْبَصَرِ
- waṭarun mā fīhi min ʕaybin siwā – ʔannahu marra kalamḥi l-baṣari
- The wish that is without a mistake except that it passed like a glance of the eye.
- مَا كَتَبَ. ― mā kataba. ― He never wrote.
- مَا هُوَ بِمَيِّتٍ. ― mā huwa bimayyitin. ― He is not dead.
- مَا شَيْءٌ أَحَبَّ إِلِيَّ مِنْهُ. ― mā šayʔun ʔaḥabba ʔiliyya minhu. ― There is no thing that is more lovely, to me, than that!
- هُمَا مَحَلَّانِ مَا لِلنَّاسِ غَيْرُهُمَـا فَانـْظُرْ لِنَفْسِك مَاذَا أَنْتَ مُخْتَارُ
- They are two places, people have none other than them * So look for yourself, which one will you choose?
- مَا أَحَدٌ مِثْلُهُ. ― mā ʔaḥadun miṯluhu. ― There is none like him.
- مَا مِنْ إِنْسَانٍ فِي الْبَيْتِ. ― mā min ʔinsānin fī l-bayti. ― There is nobody in that house.
- مَا أَرَى شَيْئًا. ― mā ʔarā šayʔan. ― I cannot see a thing!
- مَا يَفْعَلُ ذٰلِكَ إِلَّا شُجَاعٌ. ― mā yafʕalu ḏālika ʔillā šujāʕun. ― No one would do that but the bold.
Conjunction
editمَا • (mā)
- as long as
- A subordinating conjunction following particles or genitival nouns in conditional statements, known as مَا الزَّائِدَة (mā z-zāʔida), 'superfluous mā'
- loosely translates to that; introduces a verbal complement to a preposition, standing in place of the definite verbal noun
- Synonym: أَنْ (ʔan)
- 2017, 0:35 from the start, in أَتَظُنُّ أَنَّكَ عِنْدَمَا أَحْرَقْتَنِي [ʔataẓunnu ʔannaka ʕindamā ʔaḥraqtanī][1], مُهَذِّل الصُّقُور (muhaḏḏil aṣ-ṣuqūr) (actor):
- أَتَظُنُّ أَنَّكَ بَعْدَ مَا أَحْرَقْتَنِي وَرَقَصْتَ كَٱلشَيْطَانِ فَوْقَ رُفَاتِي
- ʔataẓunnu ʔannaka baʕda mā ʔaḥraqtanī wa-raqaṣta ka-š-šayṭāni fawqa rufātī
- Do you think that, after you set me alight, and you danced like Satan over my ashes
- (literally, “do you think that, you, after [that] you burned me and danced like Satan over my ashes”)
Derived terms
edit- (as long as): مَا دَامَ (mā dāma)
- بَعْدَمَا (baʕdamā)
- عِنْدَمَا (ʕindamā)
- حِينَمَا (ḥīnamā)
- كَمَا (kamā)
Adverb
editمَا • (mā)
- whenever
- (Can we add an example for this sense?)
- as far as, to the extent that, to the degree that
- (Can we add an example for this sense?)
- (with an elative in the accusative) (oh) how...!
- مَا أَجْمَلَ ٱلْحَيَاةَ!
- mā ʔajmala l-ḥayāta!
- How beautiful life is!
- مَا أَلَذَّ ٱلطَّعَامَ!
- mā ʔalaḏḏa ṭ-ṭaʕāma!
- How delicious the food is!
- مَا أَعْظَمَكَ!
- mā ʔaʕẓamaka!
- How great you are!
Usage notes
edit- (not): If the negated sentence has a subject complement, the subject complement may occur in the nominative (like the subject), the accusative (as it would in a sentence negated instead with لَيْسَ (laysa)), or (with بِ (bi)) the genitive (as it would in a sentence negated instead with لَيْسَ (laysa)).
- (oh how): The above accusative construction is called تَعَجُّب (taʕajjub, “wonderment; exclamation”) in Arabic. This pattern originated from مَا (mā) meaning “what, something” and the accusative comparative being homophonic to a transitive verb meaning “to make...”. So the example sentence “مَا أَجْمَلَ ٱلْحَيَاةَ” “How beautiful life is!” has the origins in the meaning “Something / What made the life so beautiful?”
- There is another rarer pattern for exclamations, which uses the imperative form of the verb: أَجْمِلْ بِهَا مِنْ حَيَاةٍ! ― ʔajmil bihā min ḥayātin!
Egyptian Arabic
editEtymology
editParticle
editما • (ma)
- that
- بعد ما السباق ابتدى / بعد السباق ما ابتدى
- baʕdi ma s-sibāʔ ibtadā / baʕdi s-sibāʔ ma ibtadā
- After the race began.
- لحد ما ― li-ḥadd ma ― until
Particle
editما or م • (ma- or ma-)
- particle expressing emphasis
- ماتقعد ― ma-tuʔʕud ― Come on, sit down!
- ماه هو قال كده ― ma-hu huwwa ʔāl kida ― But that's really what he said.
- used with suffix ـش to express negation
- ماتقعدش ― ma-tuʔʕud-š ― Don't sit down!
- مفيش ― ma-fīš ― There's no
Pronoun
editما • (ma)
See also
editHassaniya Arabic
editEtymology
editFrom Arabic مَاء (māʔ, “water”).
Noun
editما (mā)
Moroccan Arabic
editEtymology 1
editPronunciation
editNoun
editما • (mā) m (plural ميايه (myāyih) or مياه (myāh)) (usually uncountable)
Etymology 2
editPronunciation
editParticle
editما • (ma)
Etymology 3
editPronunciation
editPronoun
editما • (mā)
- (relative) that which, what
Mozarabic
editEtymology
editFrom Latin mea (“my”). Compare French ma.
Determiner
editما (mā) (feminine, masculine مو)
References
editPersian
editEtymology 1
editFrom Middle Persian 𐭫𐭭𐭤 (LNE /amāh/, “we, us”), from Old Persian 𐎠𐎶𐎠𐎧𐎶 (amāxam) (genitive plural form of the first person plural pronoun), ultimately from the PIE variant *mey of the personal pronoun *wey.
Pronunciation
edit- (Classical Persian) IPA(key): [mɑː]
- (Iran, formal) IPA(key): [mɒː]
- (Tajik, formal) IPA(key): [mɔ]
Readings | |
---|---|
Classical reading? | mā |
Dari reading? | mā |
Iranian reading? | mâ |
Tajik reading? | mo |
Pronoun
editDari | ما |
---|---|
Iranian Persian | |
Tajik | мо |
ما • (mâ)
See also
editsingular | plural | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
nominative | accusative5 | nominative | accusative5 | |||
1st person | general | من man |
مرا marā |
ما mā |
- | |
informal1 | مه ma |
مره mara |
ماره māra | |||
2nd person | familiar | تو tū, tō2 |
ترا turā |
شما šumā |
- | |
formal | شما šumā |
- | ||||
informal1 | - | تره tura |
شمایا šumāyā |
شمایاره šumāyāra | ||
3rd person | distal | general | او ō |
- | آنان4 ānān |
- |
آن ān |
آنها4 ān‑hā | |||||
formal | وی3 way |
ایشان ēšān | ||||
ایشان ēšān | ||||||
informal, normal1 | او ū |
اوره ūra |
اونا ūnā |
ایناره ūnāra | ||
informal, emphatic I1 | اونو ūnū |
اونوره ūnūra |
وا wā |
واره wāra | ||
informal, emphatic II1 | اونمو ūnamū |
اونموره ūnamūra |
اونموا ūnamwā |
اونمواره ūnamwāra | ||
proximal | general | این īn |
- | اینان īnān |
- | |
اینها īn‑hā | ||||||
informal, normal1 | ای ī |
ایره īra |
اینا īnā |
ایناره īnāra | ||
informal, emphatic I1 | اینی īnī |
اینیره īnīra |
یا yā |
یاره yāra | ||
informal, emphatic II1 | اینمی īnamī |
اینمیره īnamīra |
اینمیا īnamyā |
اینمیاره īnamyāra | ||
Etymology 2
editInterjection
editما • (mâ)
- (vocalization of a cow) moo
Etymology 3
editSee the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.
Noun
editما • (mâ)
- unhamzated form of ماء
South Levantine Arabic
editPronunciation
editEtymology 1
editParticle
editما • (mā or ma)
Usage notes
edit- Usually this ما (mā) is stressed. However, it can optionally be used together with ـش (-š), in which case the stress shifts to the end of the verbal phrase.
- ما كتب ― mā katab ― he didn't write
Audio (Ramallah): (file) - ما كتبش ― ma katabš ― he didn't write
Audio (Ramallah): (file) - ما تنسى ― mā tinsa ― don't forget
Audio (Ramallah): (file) - ما تنساش ― ma tinsāš ― don't forget
Audio (Ramallah): (file) - ما بحكي إنكليزي ― mā biḥki ʔinglīzi ― he doesn't speak English
Audio (Ramallah): (file) - ما بحكيش إنكليزي ― ma biḥkīš ʔinglīzi ― he doesn't speak English
Audio (Ramallah): (file)
See also
edit- مش (miš)
Etymology 2
editParticle
editما • (ma)
- used to link a preposition to a verbal phrase
- used to turn a question word into a relative determiner; -ever
- used before an elative adjective to indicate surprise or other strong feelings in an exclamation
- used before a verbal phrase to contradict a statement or subvert an expectation; does, did
Usage notes
edit- In all these senses the ما (ma) is unstressed. In the fourth sense, the contradicting phrase should be uttered with rising intonation to distinguish this sense of ما (ma) from the sense of negation. When a subject pronoun is used in the fourth sense, ما (ma) precedes it; this yields the invariable form ماهو (mahū) used before nominal phrases with the same meaning.
Ushojo
editEtymology
editPronoun
editما (mā)
- Algerian Arabic terms inherited from Arabic
- Algerian Arabic terms derived from Arabic
- Algerian Arabic lemmas
- Algerian Arabic nouns
- arq:Water
- Andalusian Arabic terms inherited from Arabic
- Andalusian Arabic terms derived from Arabic
- Andalusian Arabic lemmas
- Andalusian Arabic nouns
- xaa:Water
- Arabic 1-syllable words
- Arabic terms with IPA pronunciation
- Arabic lemmas
- Arabic pronouns
- Arabic terms with quotations
- Arabic terms with usage examples
- Arabic particles
- Arabic conjunctions
- Arabic adverbs
- Arabic jussive particles
- Arabic negatives
- Arabic interrogative pronouns
- Arabic indefinite pronouns
- Arabic relative pronouns
- Egyptian Arabic terms inherited from Arabic
- Egyptian Arabic terms derived from Arabic
- Egyptian Arabic lemmas
- Egyptian Arabic particles
- Egyptian Arabic terms with usage examples
- Egyptian Arabic pronouns
- Hassaniya Arabic terms inherited from Arabic
- Hassaniya Arabic terms derived from Arabic
- Hassaniya Arabic lemmas
- Hassaniya Arabic nouns
- mey:Water
- Moroccan Arabic terms inherited from Arabic
- Moroccan Arabic terms derived from Arabic
- Moroccan Arabic 1-syllable words
- Moroccan Arabic terms with IPA pronunciation
- Moroccan Arabic terms with audio links
- Moroccan Arabic lemmas
- Moroccan Arabic nouns
- Moroccan Arabic masculine nouns
- Moroccan Arabic uncountable nouns
- Moroccan Arabic particles
- Moroccan Arabic pronouns
- ary:Water
- Mozarabic terms inherited from Latin
- Mozarabic terms derived from Latin
- Mozarabic lemmas
- Mozarabic determiners
- Mozarabic terms with quotations
- Persian terms inherited from Middle Persian
- Persian terms derived from Middle Persian
- Persian terms derived from Old Persian
- Persian terms with IPA pronunciation
- Persian terms with audio links
- Persian lemmas
- Persian pronouns
- Persian onomatopoeias
- Persian interjections
- Persian non-lemma forms
- Persian noun forms
- Persian unhamzated forms
- South Levantine Arabic terms with IPA pronunciation
- South Levantine Arabic terms with audio links
- South Levantine Arabic terms inherited from Arabic
- South Levantine Arabic terms derived from Arabic
- South Levantine Arabic lemmas
- South Levantine Arabic particles
- South Levantine Arabic terms with usage examples
- Ushojo terms borrowed from Shina
- Ushojo terms derived from Shina
- Ushojo lemmas
- Ushojo pronouns