# ما
## Algerian Arabic
### Etymology

From Arabic مَاء (māʔ, “water”).

### Noun

ما (mā)
* water

## Andalusian Arabic
### Etymology

From Arabic مَاء (māʔ, “water”).

### Noun

ما (mā)
* water

## Arabic
### Etymology

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

### Pronunciation

* IPA: /maː/

### Pronoun

مَا • (mā) m
* (interrogative) what?
    Synonyms: أَيّ شَيْءٍ (ʔayy šayʔin), أَيْشٍ (ʔayšin), مَاذَا (māḏā)
* (indefinite) some, a certain
** 609–632 CE, Qur'an, 2:26:إِنَّ ٱللّٰهَ لَا يَسْتَحْيِي أَنْ يَضْرِبَ مَثَلًا مَا بَعُوضَةً فَمَا فَوْقَهَاʔinna llāha lā yastaḥyī ʔan yaḍriba maṯalan mā baʕūḍatan fa-mā fawqahāIndeed, 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. ― iqraʔ mā katabtu. ― Read what I wrote.
    مَا تَفْعَلُ تُجَازَى عَلَيْهِmā tafʕalu tujāzā ʕalayhiWhatever you do, you are paid back for it.
** سَتُبْدِي لَكَ الْأَيَّامُ مَا كُنْتَ جَاهِلًاsatubdī 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 يَهُونwa-laʕalla mā taḵšāhu laysa bikāʔin wa-laʕalla mā tarjūhu sawfa yakūn wa-laʕalla mā hawwanta laysa bihayyin wa-laʕalla mā šaddadta sawfa yahūnAnd 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”)
* (+ past or jussive) whichever; whatever
    Synonyms: أَيَّمَا (ʔayyamā), مَهْمَا (mahmā)
    مَا تَفْعَلْ تُجَازَ عَلَيْهِmā tafʕal tujāza ʕalayhiWhatever 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 مِثْلِهَاmā nansaḵ min ʔāyatin ʔaw nunsihā naʔti bi-ḵayrin minhā ʔaw miṯlihāWhatever 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 اللَّٰهُwamā tafʕalū min ḵayrin yaʕlamhu llāhuWhatever you do that is good, God learns about it.

#### Derived terms

* رُبَّمَا (rubbamā), رُبَمَا (rubamā): perhaps, maybe
* لِمَا (limā), لِمَ (lima): for what, what for, why

### Particle

مَا • (mā)
* 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 ٱلْبَصَرِwaṭarun mā fīhi min ʕaybin siwā – ʔannahu marra kalamḥi l-baṣariThe 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 مُخْتَارُhumā maḥallāni mā li-n-nāsi ḡayruhumā fānẓur li-nafsik māḏā ʔanta muḵtāruThey 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

مَا • (mā)
* as long as
** 609–632 CE, Qur'an, 9:7:فَمَا ٱسْتَقَامُوا لَكُمْ فَٱسْتَقِيمُوا لَهُمْfa-mā staqāmū lakum fa-staqīmū lahumSo 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-zāʔida), 'superfluous mā'
** 609–632 CE, Qur'an, 2:282:[…] وَلَا يَأْبَ ٱلشُّهَدَاءُ إِذَا مَا دُعُوا […][…] wa-lā yaʔba š-šuhadāʔu ʔiḏā mā duʕū […] […] 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 (ʔan)
** 609–632 CE, Qur'an, 2:10:وَلَهُمْ عَذَابٌ أَلِيمٌ بِمَا كَانُوا يَكْذِبُونَwa-lahum ʕaḏābun ʔalīmun bi-mā kānū yakḏibūnaAnd they will suffer a painful punishment, as they used to lie.
** 2017, 0:35 from the start, in أَتَظُنُّ أَنَّكَ عِنْدَمَا أَحْرَقْتَنِي [ʔataẓunnu ʔannaka ʕindamā ʔaḥraqtanī]‎, مُهَذِّل الصُّقُور (muhaḏḏil aṣ-ṣuqūr) (actor):أَتَظُنُّ أَنَّكَ بَعْدَ مَا أَحْرَقْتَنِي وَرَقَصْتَ كَٱلشَيْطَانِ فَوْقَ رُفَاتِيʔataẓunnu ʔannaka baʕda mā ʔaḥraqtanī wa-raqaṣta ka-š-šayṭāni fawqa rufātīDo 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 (baʕdamā)
* عِنْدَمَا (ʕindamā)
* 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 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

* (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 (mā ʔajmala l-ḥayāta, “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!(please add an English translation of this usage example)

## Egyptian Arabic
### Etymology

From Arabic مَا (mā).

### Particle

ما • (ma)
* that
    بعد ما السباق ابتدى / بعد السباق ما ابتدىbaʕdi ma s-sibāʔ ibtadā / baʕdi s-sibāʔ ma ibtadāAfter the race began.
    لحد ما ― li-ḥadd ma ― until

### Particle

ما 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 (-š) to express negation
    ماتقعدش ― ma-tuʔʕud-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 Arabic
### Etymology

From Arabic مَاء (māʔ, “water”).

### Noun

ما (mā)
* water

## Moroccan Arabic
### Etymology 1

From Arabic مَاء (māʔ).

#### Pronunciation

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

#### Particle

ما • (ma)
* not

### Etymology 3

From Arabic مَا (mā, “what”).

#### Pronunciation

* IPA: /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, Kharja A16 :كتال مي ما المَهْ / ككري ما المهْki-tālə mī mā alma / ki-karəyyu mā almaWho grabs my soul? / Who […] my soul?

### References

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

## Pahari-Potwari
### Etymology

from Inherited from Sanskrit मातृ (mātṛ, “mother”), from Proto-Indo-Iranian *máHtā, from Proto-Indo-European *méh₂tēr.

### Noun

ما (mā)
* mother

## Persian
### Etymology 1

From Middle Persian 𐭫𐭭𐭤 (LNE /⁠amāh⁠/, “we, us”), from Old Persian 𐎠𐎶𐎠𐎧𐎶 (amāxam) (genitive plural form of the first person plural pronoun), ultimately from the variant *mey of Proto-Indo-European *wéy. Compare Proto-Slavic *my, Lithuanian mẽs and Old Armenian մեք (mekʻ).

#### Pronunciation

* (Classical Persian) IPA: [mɑː]
* (Dari, formal) IPA: [mɑː]
* (Dari, formal) IPA: [mɑː]
** (Kabuli) IPA: [mɑː]
** (Hazaragi) IPA: [mɔː]
* (Iran, formal) IPA: [mɒː]
* (Tajik, formal) IPA: [mɔ]
* Audio (Iran):(file)

#### Pronoun

ما • (mâ)
* we, us; the first-person plural pronoun.
* (poetic or humble) I, me; the first-person singular pronoun, used to show deference to the listener or in poetic contexts.

##### See also

* colloquial pronunciations
$^1$ Only applies to Dari. $^2$ Only applies to Classical Persian. $^3$ Not formal in Tajik. $^4$ The plural forms آن‌ها and آنان are typically interchangeable. $^5$ All accusative pronouns can be created with the nominative + را; only unique forms are included.

### Etymology 2

Onomatopoeic.

#### Interjection

ما • (mâ)
* (vocalization of a cow) moo

### Etymology 3

See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

#### Noun

ما • (mâ)
* unhamzated form of ماء

## South Levantine Arabic
### Pronunciation

* IPA: /maː/, [mæː]
* IPA: /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
### Etymology

From Shina مہ (meh).

### Pronoun

ما (mā)
* I, me