Wiktionary

ما

Algerian ArabicEdit

EtymologyEdit

From Arabic مَاء‎ (māʔ, “water”).

NounEdit

ما (mā)

  1. water

Andalusian ArabicEdit

EtymologyEdit

From Arabic مَاء‎ (māʔ, “water”).

NounEdit

ما (mā)

  1. water

ArabicEdit

EtymologyEdit

Cognate with Hebrew מָה‎ (ma) and Ugaritic 𐎎𐎅 (mh).

PronunciationEdit

PronounEdit

مَا • (mā) m

  1. (interrogative) what?
    Synonyms: أَيّ شَيْءٍ‎ (ʔayy šayʔin), أَيْشٍ‎ (ʔayšin), مَاذَا‎ (māḏā)
  2. (indefinite) some, a certain
    • 609–632 CE, Qur'an, 2:26:
      ‏إِنَّ ٱللَّهَ لَا يَسْتَحْيِي أَنْ يَضْرِبَ مَثَلًا مَا بَعُوضَةً فَمَا فَوْقَهَا‎
      ʔinna l-laha lā yastaḥyī ʔan yaḍriba maṯalan mā baʕūḍatan famā fawqahā
      Indeed, God is not timid to present an example: that of a mosquito or what is smaller than it.
  3. (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 quote)
    • ‏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”)
  4. (+ 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.
    • 609–632 CE, Qur'an, 2:106:
      ‏مَا نَنْسَخْ مِنْ آيَةٍ أَوْ نُنْسِهَا نَأْتِ بِخَيْرٍ مِنْهَا أَوْ مِثْلِهَا‎
      mā nansaḵ min ʔāyatin ʔaw nunsihā naʔti biḵayrin minhā ʔaw miṯlihā
      Whatever we abrogate that is a passage or make people forget, we come up with others that are better than or just like it.
    • 609–632 CE, Qur'an, 2:197:
      ‏وَمَا تَفْعَلُوا مِنْ خَيْرٍ يَعْلَمْهُ اللَّٰهُ‎
      wamā tafʕalū min ḵayrin yaʕlamhu llāhu
      Whatever you do that is good, God learns about it.

Derived termsEdit

ParticleEdit

 
English Wikipedia has an article on:
Wikipedia

مَا • (mā)

  1. not; never
    Synonym: (archaic) إِنْ‎ (ʔin)
    See also: لَا‎, لَمْ‎, لَنْ‎, and لَيْسَ‎
    • 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!
    ‏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.

ConjunctionEdit

مَا • (mā)

  1. 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.
  2. A subordinating conjunction following particles or genitival nouns in conditional statements, known as مَا الزَّائِدَة‎ (mā z-zāʔida), 'superfluous mā'
    • 609–632 CE, Qur'an, 2:282:
      ‏[…] وَلَا يَأْبَ ٱلشُّهَدَاءُ إِذَا مَا دُعُوا […]‎
      […] walā yaʔba š-šuhadāʔu ʔiḏā mā duʕū […]
      […] And let not the witnesses refuse when they are called upon. […]
  3. loosely translates to that; introduces a verbal complement to a preposition, standing in place of the definite verbal noun
    Synonym: أَنْ‎ (ʔan)
    • 609–632 CE, Qur'an, 2:10:
      ‏وَلَهُمْ عَذَابٌ أَلِيمٌ بِمَا كَانُوا يَكْذِبُونَ‎
      wa-lahum ʕaḏābun ʔalīmun bi-mā kānū yakḏibūna
      And they will suffer a painful punishment, as they used to lie.
    • 2017, أَتَظُنُّ أَنَّكَ عِنْدَمَا أَحْرَقْتَنِي‎[1], 0:35 from the start:
      ‏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 termsEdit

AdverbEdit

مَا • (mā)

  1. whenever
    (Can we add an example for this sense?)
  2. as far as, to the extent that, to the degree that
    (Can we add an example for this sense?)
  3. (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 notesEdit

  • (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 ArabicEdit

EtymologyEdit

From Arabic مَا‎ (mā).

ParticleEdit

ما • (ma)

  1. 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

ParticleEdit

ما or م • (ma- or ma-)

  1. 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.
  2. used with suffix ـش to express negation
    ‏ماتقعدش‎‎ ― ma-tuʾʕud-š ― Don't sit down!
    ‏مفيش‎‎ ― ma-fīš ― There's no

PronounEdit

ما • (ma)

  1. what?
    Synonym: إيه‎
  2. certain
    ‏في مكان ما‎‎ ― fī makān ma ― somewhere

See alsoEdit

HassaniyaEdit

EtymologyEdit

From Arabic مَاء‎ (māʔ, “water”).

NounEdit

ما (mā)

  1. water

Moroccan ArabicEdit

Etymology 1Edit

From Arabic مَاء‎ (māʔ).

PronunciationEdit

  • IPA(key): /maː/
  • Audio(file)

NounEdit

ما • (mā) m (plural ميايه‎ (myāyih) or مياه‎ (myāh)) (usually uncountable)

  2. water

Etymology 2Edit

From Arabic مَا‎ (mā, “not”).

PronunciationEdit

  • IPA(key): /maː/
  • Usually unstressed and shortened to /ma/.
  • Audio(file)

ParticleEdit

ما • (ma)

  2. not

Etymology 3Edit

From Arabic مَا‎ (mā, “what”).

PronunciationEdit

PronounEdit

ما • (mā)

  2. (relative) that which, what

MozarabicEdit

EtymologyEdit

From Latin mea (“my”). Compare French ma.

DeterminerEdit

ما (mā) (feminine, masculine مو‎)

  1. 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?

ReferencesEdit

  1. ^ Jones, Alan (1988) Romance Kharjas in Andalusian Arabic Muwaššaḥ Poetry (Oxford Oriental Institute Monographs; 9), Ithaca Press London, →ISBN, pages 123-124

PersianEdit

 
Persian Wikipedia has an article on:
ما‎
Wikipedia fa

EtymologyEdit

From Middle Persian 𐭫𐭭𐭤‎ (LNE /amāh/, “we, us”), from Old Persian 𐎠𐎶𐎠𐎧𐎶 (amāxam), genitive plural form of the first person plural pronoun.

PronunciationEdit

PronounEdit

Dari ما
Iranian Persian
Tajik мо (mo)

ما • (mâ)

  1. we
  2. (generally with following را‎) us
  3. (at end of an ezafe) our

See alsoEdit

Persian personal pronouns
singular plural
1st person من‎ (man) ما (mâ)
2nd person familiar تو‎ (to) شما‎ (šomâ)
polite شما‎ (šomâ)
3rd person general او‎ (u)
اون‎ (on)* 		آن‌ها‎ (ân-hâ), آنان‎ (ânân)
اونا‎ (onâ)*
formal وی‎ (vey) ایشان‎ (išân)
polite ایشان‎ (išân)
* colloquial pronunciations

InterjectionEdit

ما • (mâ)

  1. sound of a cow, moo

South Levantine ArabicEdit

PronunciationEdit

Etymology 1Edit

From Arabic مَا‎ (mā, “not”).

ParticleEdit

ما • (mā or ma)

  1. 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 notesEdit
  • 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 alsoEdit

Etymology 2Edit

From Arabic مَا‎ (mā, “what”).

ParticleEdit

ما • (ma)

  1. used to link a preposition to a verbal phrase
    ‏بعد ما راح‎‎ ― baʕd-ma rāḥ ― after he went
  2. 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
  3. 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
  4. 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 notesEdit
  • 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.

UshojoEdit

EtymologyEdit

From Shina مہ‎ (meh).

PronounEdit

ما (mā)

  1. I, me
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