أما
Arabic
editEtymology 1
editUniverbation of أَن (ʔan, “that”) + مَا (mā, relative), the original thought being “that this matter be touched”, “be it that”, or just a dialectal variant of disjunctive إِمَّا (ʔimmā, “be it that”) as أَمَّا (ʔammā) can well be used for positing two alternatives.
Pronunciation
editConjunction
editأَمَّا • (ʔammā)
- as for; followed by a noun or pronoun, itself followed by the particle فَـ (fa-)
- 609–632 CE, Qur'an, 92:4-10:
- إِنَّ سَعْيَكُمْ لَشَتَّى
فَأَمَّا مَنْ أَعْطَى وَٱتَّقَى
وَصَدَّقَ بِٱلْحُسْنَى
فَسَنُيَسِّرُهُ لِلْيُسْرَى
وَأَمَّا مَن بَخِلَ وَٱسْتَغْنَى
وَكَذَّبَ بِٱلْحُسْنَى
فَسَنُيَسِّرُهُ لِلْعُسْرَى- ʔinna saʕyakum lašattā
fa-ʔammā man ʔaʕṭā wa-ttaqā
wa-ṣaddaqa bi-l-ḥusnā
fa-sanuyassiruhu li-l-yusrā
wa-ʔammā man baḵila wa-staḡnā
wa-kaḏḏaba bi-l-ḥusnā
fa-sanuyassiruhu li-l-ʕusrā - Indeed, your efforts are diverse.
As for he who gives and fears Allah
And believes in the best [reward],
We will ease him toward ease.
But as for he who withholds and considers himself free of need
And denies the best [reward],
We will ease him toward difficulty.
- ʔinna saʕyakum lašattā
- (Can we date this quote?), (Please provide the book title or journal name):
- وَلَمْ أَرَ كَٱلمَعْرُوفِ؛ أَمَّا مَذَاقُهُ / فَحُلْوٌ، وَأَمَّا وَجْهُهُ فَجَمِيلُ
- wa-lam ʔara ka-l-maʕrūfi; ʔammā maḏāquhu / fa-ḥulwun, wa-ʔammā wajhuhu fa-jamīlu
- (please add an English translation of this quotation)
Usage notes
edit- It doesn't affect the case of the noun that follows:
- أَمَّا ٱلرَّجُلُ فَهُوَ فَقِيرٌ. ― ʔammā r-rajulu fahuwa faqīrun. ― As for the man, he is poor.
- أَمَّا ٱلرَّجُلَ ٱلْفَقِيرَ فَلَا تَقْهَرْ! ― ʔammā r-rajula l-faqīra falā taqhar! ― As for the poor man, don't oppress him!
Derived terms
edit- أَمَّا بَعْدُ (ʔammā baʕdu)
Descendants
edit- Maltese: imma
- Moroccan Arabic: أما (ʔamma)
- → Azerbaijani: amma
- → Bashkir: әммә (əmmə)
- → Khalaj: əmmâ
- → Classical Persian: اَمَّا (ammā)
- → Ottoman Turkish: اما (ammâ)
- → Hausa: àmmā
- → Uzbek: ammo
Etymology 2
editPronunciation
editParticle
editأَمَا • (ʔamā)
Moroccan Arabic
editEtymology
editPronunciation
editConjunction
editأما • (ʔamma)
South Levantine Arabic
editEtymology
editPronunciation
editConjunction
editأما • (ʔamma)
- whereas, as for, but
- Synonym: بسّ (bass)
- used to indicate surprise or other strong feelings in an exclamation
- Synonym: ما (ma)
Usage notes
editCategories:
- Arabic univerbations
- Arabic 2-syllable words
- Arabic terms with IPA pronunciation
- Arabic lemmas
- Arabic conjunctions
- Arabic palindromes
- Arabic terms with quotations
- Arabic terms with usage examples
- Arabic compound terms
- Arabic particles
- Moroccan Arabic terms inherited from Arabic
- Moroccan Arabic terms derived from Arabic
- Moroccan Arabic 2-syllable words
- Moroccan Arabic terms with IPA pronunciation
- Moroccan Arabic terms with audio pronunciation
- Moroccan Arabic lemmas
- Moroccan Arabic conjunctions
- South Levantine Arabic terms inherited from Arabic
- South Levantine Arabic terms derived from Arabic
- South Levantine Arabic terms with IPA pronunciation
- South Levantine Arabic terms with audio pronunciation
- South Levantine Arabic lemmas
- South Levantine Arabic conjunctions
- South Levantine Arabic terms with usage examples