ما
Algerian Arabic
Etymology
From Arabic مَاء (māʾ, “water”).
Noun
ما (mā)
- water
Andalusian Arabic
Etymology
From Arabic مَاء (māʾ, “water”).
Noun
ما (mā)
- water
Arabic
Etymology
Cognate with Hebrew מָה (ma) and Ugaritic 𐎎𐎅 (mh).
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /maː/
Pronoun
مَا • (mā) m
- (interrogative) what?
- Synonyms: أَيّ شَيْءٍ (ʾayy šayʾin), مَاذَا (māḏā), أَيْشٍ (ʾayšin)
- (indefinite) some, a certain
- 609–632 CE, Qur'an, 2:26:
- إِنَّ ٱللَّهَ لَا يَسْتَحْيِي أَنْ يَضْرِبَ مَثَلًا مَا بَعُوضَةً فَمَا فَوْقَهَا
- ʾinna l-laha lā yastaḥyī ʾan yaḍriba maṯalan mā baʿūḍatan famā fawqahā
- Indeed, God is not timid to present an example: that of a mosquito or what is smaller than it.
-
- (relative) that which, what
- اِقْرَأْ مَا كَتَبْتُ.
- iqraʾ mā katabtu.
- Read what I wrote.
- سَتُبْدِي لَكَ الْأَيَّامُ مَا كُنْتَ جَاهِلًا
- satubdī laka l-ʾayyāmu mā kunta jāhilan
- (please add an English translation of this quote)
- وَلَعَلَّ مَا تَخْشَاهُ لَيْسَ بِكَائِن
وَلَعَلَّ مَا تَرْجُوهُ سَوْفَ يَكُون
وَلَعَلَّ مَا هَوَّنْتَ لَيْسَ بِهَيِّن
وَلَعَلَّ مَا شَدَّدْتَ سَوْفَ يَهُون- wa-laʿalla mā taḵšāhu laysa bikāʾin
wa-laʿalla mā tarjūhu sawfa yakūn
wa-laʿalla mā hawwanta laysa bihayyin
wa-laʿalla 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-laʿalla mā taḵšāhu laysa bikāʾin
- (relative) something which
- (conditional) whichever; whatever, all that
- Synonyms: أَيْمَا (ʾaymā), مَهْمَا (mahmā)
- مَا تَفْعَلْ مِنْ خَيْرٍ تَنَلْ جَزَاءَهُ
- mā tafʿal min ḵayrin tanal jazāʾahu
- (please add an English translation of this usage example)
- 609–632 CE, Qur'an, 2:106:
- مَا نَنْسَخْ مِنْ آيَةٍ أَوْ نُنْسِهَا نَأْتِ بِخَيْرٍ مِنْهَا أَوْ مِثْلِهَا
- mā nansaḵ min ʾāyatin ʾaw nunsihā naʾti biḵayrin minhā ʾaw miṯlihā
- (please add an English translation of this quote)
- 609–632 CE, Qur'an, 2:197:
- وَمَا تَفْعَلُوا مِنْ خَيْرٍ يَعْلَمْهُ اللَّٰهُ
- wamā tafʿalū min ḵayrin yaʿlamhu llāhu
- (please add an English translation of this quote)
Derived terms
- لِمَا (limā), لِمَ (lima): for what, what for, why
Particle
مَا • (mā)
- not
Conjunction
مَا • (mā)
- as long as
- 609–632 CE, Qur'an, 9:7:
- فَمَا ٱسْتَقَامُوا لَكُمْ فَٱسْتَقِيمُوا لَهُمْ
- fa-mā staqāmū lakum fa-staqīmū lahum
- So as long as they are straight with you, be straight with them.
-
- A subordinating conjunction following particles or genitival nouns in conditional statements, known as مَا الزَّائِدَة (mā z-zāʾida), 'additional mā'
- 609–632 CE, Qur'an, 2:282:
- […] وَلَا يَأْبَ ٱلشُّهَدَاءُ إِذَا مَا دُعُوا […]
- […] walā yaʾba š-šuhadāʾu ʾiḏā mā duʿū […]
- […] And let not the witnesses refuse when they are called upon. […]
-
- loosely translates to that; introduces a verbal complement to a preposition, standing in place of the definite verbal noun
- Synonym: أَنْ (ʾan)
- 609–632 CE, Qur'an, 2:10:
- وَلَهُمْ عَذَابٌ أَلِيمٌ بِمَا كَانُوا يَكْذِبُونَ
- wa-lahum ʿaḏābun ʾalīmun bi-mā kānū yakḏibūna
- And they will suffer a painful punishment, as they used to lie.
- 2017, أَتَظُنُّ أَنَّكَ عِنْدَمَا أَحْرَقْتَنِي, 0:35 from the start:
- أَتَظُنُّ أَنَّكَ بَعْدَ مَا أَحْرَقْتَنِي وَرَقَصْتَ كَٱلشَيْطَانِ فَوْقَ رُفَاتِي
- ʾataẓunnu ʾannaka baʿda mā ʾaḥraqtanī 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
- (as long as): مَا دَامَ (mā dāma)
- بَعْدَمَا (baʿdamā)
- عِنْدَمَا (ʿindamā)
- حِينَمَا (ḥīnamā)
- كَمَا (kamā)
Adverb
مَا • (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 ʾajmala l-ḥayāta!
- How beautiful life is!
Usage notes
- (oh how): The above accusative construction is called تَعَجُّب (taʿajjub, “amazement”) in Arabic. According to traditional grammar, if a nominative were used in the example above (resulting in mā ʾajmalu l-ḥayāh), it would turn into a question meaning: “What is the most beautiful kind of life?”
Egyptian Arabic
Etymology
From Arabic مَا (mā).
Particle
ما • (ma)
- that
- بعد ما السباق ابتدى / بعد السباق ما ابتدى
- baʕdi ma s-sibāʾ ibtadā / baʕdi s-sibāʾ ma ibtadā
- After the race began.
- لحد ما ― li-ḥadd ma ― until
Particle
ما or م • (ma- or ma-)
- particle expressing emphasis
- ماتقعد ― ma-tuʾʕ ud ― Come on, sit down!
- ماه هو قال كده ― ma-hu huwwa ʾāl kida ― But that's really what he said.
- used with suffix ـش to express negation
- ماتقعدش ― ma-tuʾʕud-š ― Don't sit down!
- مفيش ― ma-fīš ― There's no
Pronoun
ما • (ma)
- what?
- Synonym: إيه
- certain
- في مكان ما ― fī makān ma ― somewhere
See also
- مما (mimma)
- لما (lamma)
- ياما (yama)
Hassaniya
Etymology
From Arabic مَاء (māʾ, “water”).
Noun
ما (mā)
- water
Moroccan Arabic
Etymology 1
From Arabic مَاء (māʾ).
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /maː/
Audio (file)
Noun
ما • (mā) m (plural ميايه (myāyih) or مياه (myāh)) (usually uncountable)
- water
Etymology 2
From Arabic مَا (mā, “not”).
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /maː/
- Usually unstressed and shortened to /ma/.
Audio (file)
Particle
ما • (ma)
- not
Etymology 3
From Arabic مَا (mā, “what”).
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /maː/
Audio (file)
Pronoun
ما • (mā)
- (relative) that which, what
Mozarabic
Etymology
From Latin mea (“my”). Compare French ma.
Determiner
ما (mā) (feminine, masculine مو)
- my
- c. 1100, Anonymous, Kharja A16 :[1]
- كتال مي ما المَهْ / ككري ما المهْ
- ki-tālə mī mā alma / ki-karəyyu mā alma
- Who grabs my soul? / Who […] my soul?
- كتال مي ما المَهْ / ككري ما المهْ
References
- Jones, Alan (1988) Romance Kharjas in Andalusian Arabic Muwaššaḥ Poetry (Oxford Oriental Institute Monographs; 9), Ithaca Press London, →ISBN, pages 123-124
Persian
Etymology
From Middle Persian 𐭫𐭭𐭤 (LNE /amāh/, “we, us”), from Old Persian 𐎠𐎶𐎠𐎧𐎶 (amāxam), genitive plural form of the first person plural pronoun.
Pronunciation
- (Classical Persian) IPA(key): /mɑː/
- (Dari Persian) IPA(key): /mɑː/
- (Iranian Persian) IPA(key): /mɒː/
- (Tajik) IPA(key): /mɔ/
audio (Iranian Persian) (file)
Pronoun
| Dari | ما |
|---|---|
| Iranian Persian | |
| Tajik | мо (mo) |
ما • (mâ)
- we
- (generally with following را) us
- (at end of an ezafe) our
Interjection
ما • (mâ)
- sound of a cow, moo
South Levantine Arabic
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /maː/, [mæː]
- IPA(key): /ma/, [ma]
Audio (Ramallah) (file)
Etymology 1
From Arabic مَا (mā, “not”).
Particle
ما • (mā or ma)
- don't, didn't (used to negate a verbal phrase)
- ما بدّه ييجي عالحفلة.
- mā biddo yīji ʕal-ḥafle
- He doesn't want to come to the party.
Audio (Ramallah) (file) - ما قلتلّوش؟
- ma ʔult-illūš?
- You didn't tell him?
- Synonyms: ـش (-š), (imperative) لا (la)
Usage notes
- 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
- مش (miš)
Etymology 2
From Arabic مَا (mā, “what”).
Particle
ما • (ma)
- used to link a preposition to a verbal phrase
- بعد ما راح ― baʕd-ma rāḥ ― after he went
- used to turn a question word into a relative determiner; -ever
- إيمتى ما بدك ― ʔēmta-ma biddak ― whenever you want
- شو ما قال ― šū-ma ʔāl ― whatever he said
- used before an elative adjective to indicate surprise or other strong feelings in an exclamation
- ما أحلاها! ― ma ʔaḥlā-ha! ― how beautiful she is!
- Synonym: أمّا
- used before a verbal phrase to contradict a statement or subvert an expectation; does, did
- ليش ما راح؟ ما (هو) راح! ― lēš mā rāḥ? ma (huwwe) rāḥ! ― Why didn't he go? He did go!
- Invariable form: ماهو (mahū)
Usage notes
- 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
Pronoun
ما (mā)
- I, me