أما

See also: آما, اما, and إما

Arabic

Etymology 1

Univerbation 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

• IPA^(key): /ʔam.maː/

Conjunction

أَمَّا • (ʔammā)

1. 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.

   • (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

• 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

• أَمَّا بَعْدُ (ʔammā baʕdu)

Descendants

• Maltese: imma
• Moroccan Arabic: أما (ʔamma)
• → Azerbaijani: amma
• → Bashkir: әммә (əmmə)
• → Khalaj: əmmâ
• → Classical Persian: اَمَّا (ammā)
  • Dari: اَمَّا (ammā)
  • Iranian Persian: اَمَّا (ammâ)
  • Tajik: аммо (ammo)
  • → Hindustani:
    • Urdu: اَمَّا (ammā)
    • Hindi: अम्मा (ammā) (literary, uncommon)
• → Ottoman Turkish: اما (ammâ)
  • Turkish: ama
  • → Albanian: ama (Kosovo)
  • → Armenian: ամա (ama), ամմա (amma)
  • → Laz: ამა (ama)
  • → Macedonian: ама (ama)
• → Hausa: àmmā
  • → Yoruba:

    Latin script: àmọ́

    Arabic script: اموَْ

    • → Gun: àmɔ́
  • → Nupe: àmáà
• → Uzbek: ammo
• → Turkmen: emma

Etymology 2

From أَ (ʔa) +‎ مَا (mā).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ʔa.maː/

Particle

أَمَا • (ʔamā)

1. verily, truly, indeed, oh yes!

   Synonym: أَلَا (ʔalā)

Etymology 3

Root
ء م و (ʔ m w)
6 terms

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ʔa.maː/

Verb

أَمَا • (ʔamā) I (non-past يَأْمُو (yaʔmū), verbal noun أُمَاء (ʔumāʔ) or إِمَاء (ʔimāʔ))

1. to meow (esp. of she-cat)

Conjugation

Conjugation of أَمَا (I, final-weak, a ~ u, no passive, verbal nouns أُمَاء, إِمَاء)

verbal noun الْمَصْدَر						أُمَاء, إِمَاء ʔumāʔ, ʔimāʔ
active participle اِسْم الْفَاعِل						آمٍ ʔāmin
active voice الْفِعْل الْمَعْلُوم
		singular الْمُفْرَد				dual الْمُثَنَّى			plural الْجَمْع
		1st person الْمُتَكَلِّم	2nd person الْمُخَاطَب	3rd person الْغَائِب		2nd person الْمُخَاطَب	3rd person الْغَائِب		1st person الْمُتَكَلِّم	2nd person الْمُخَاطَب	3rd person الْغَائِب
past (perfect) indicative الْمَاضِي	m	أَمَوْتُ ʔamawtu	أَمَوْتَ ʔamawta	أَمَا ʔamā		أَمَوْتُمَا ʔamawtumā	أَمَوَا ʔamawā		أَمَوْنَا ʔamawnā	أَمَوْتُمْ ʔamawtum	أَمَوْا ʔamaw
	f		أَمَوْتِ ʔamawti	أَمَتْ ʔamat			أَمَتَا ʔamatā			أَمَوْتُنَّ ʔamawtunna	أَمَوْنَ ʔamawna
non-past (imperfect) indicative الْمُضَارِع الْمَرْفُوع	m	آمُو ʔāmū	تَأْمُو taʔmū	يَأْمُو yaʔmū		تَأْمُوَانِ taʔmuwāni	يَأْمُوَانِ yaʔmuwāni		نَأْمُو naʔmū	تَأْمُونَ taʔmūna	يَأْمُونَ yaʔmūna
	f		تَأْمِينَ taʔmīna	تَأْمُو taʔmū			تَأْمُوَانِ taʔmuwāni			تَأْمُونَ taʔmūna	يَأْمُونَ yaʔmūna
subjunctive الْمُضَارِع الْمَنْصُوب	m	آمُوَ ʔāmuwa	تَأْمُوَ taʔmuwa	يَأْمُوَ yaʔmuwa		تَأْمُوَا taʔmuwā	يَأْمُوَا yaʔmuwā		نَأْمُوَ naʔmuwa	تَأْمُوا taʔmū	يَأْمُوا yaʔmū
	f		تَأْمِي taʔmī	تَأْمُوَ taʔmuwa			تَأْمُوَا taʔmuwā			تَأْمُونَ taʔmūna	يَأْمُونَ yaʔmūna
jussive الْمُضَارِع الْمَجْزُوم	m	آمُ ʔāmu	تَأْمُ taʔmu	يَأْمُ yaʔmu		تَأْمُوَا taʔmuwā	يَأْمُوَا yaʔmuwā		نَأْمُ naʔmu	تَأْمُوا taʔmū	يَأْمُوا yaʔmū
	f		تَأْمِي taʔmī	تَأْمُ taʔmu			تَأْمُوَا taʔmuwā			تَأْمُونَ taʔmūna	يَأْمُونَ yaʔmūna
imperative الْأَمْر	m		اُؤْمُ uʔmu			اُؤْمُوَا uʔmuwā				اُؤْمُوا uʔmū
	f		اُؤْمِي uʔmī							اُؤْمُونَ uʔmūna

Moroccan Arabic

Etymology

From Arabic أَمَّا (ʔammā).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ʔam.ma/

• Audio:

  (file)

Conjunction

أما • (ʔamma)

1. as for
2. but

North Levantine Arabic

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈʔam.ma/

Etymology 1

This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium. Particularly: “Semi-learned borrowing from Arabic إمَّا (ʔimmā)?”

Conjunction

أما • (ʔamma)

1. or

   Synonym: أو (ʔaw)

Usage notes

• Rarely occurs outside of the term يا أما (yā ʔamma, “either, or”), but seems to see some use in South Lebanon in phrases similar to أما شي (ʔamma šī, “...or something”).

Derived terms

• يا أمّا (yā ʔamma)

Etymology 2

This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium. Particularly: “Related to ما (ma)?”

Determiner

أما • (ʔamma)

1. what (a)...!, such...!, how...! (before nouns or adjectives)
   • (Can we date this quote?), “المثل حِكمة الشعبْ” (32:42 from the start), in الأَدَب الشَّعْبِيّ فِي لُبْنَانْ: سِلْسِلَةْ أَحَادِيث مَعَ سَلَام الرَّاسِي [al-ʔadab aš-šaʕbiyy fī lubnān: silsilat ʔaḥādīṯ maʕa salām ar-rāsī, Folklore in Lebanon: a chain of narrations with Salam al-Rassi]‎, spoken by سلام الراسي [Salam al-Rassi]:

     قال أما قلة عقل كبس... كبس بانزين وراح تركني!

     qāl ʔamma qillit ʕaql kabas... kabas bēnzīn w rāḥ tarakni!

     He said, how asinine! and stepped... stepped on the gas and went and left me!

     (literally, “what littleness of mind!”)

Synonyms

• شو (šu), أيش (ʔēš, ʔayš) (before adjectives or verb phrases)
• قديه (ʔaddē) ~ قديش (ʔaddēš) (unconstrained)
• ما (ma) (before elatives)
• ملا (malla, milla) (before nouns or adjectives)

South Levantine Arabic

Etymology

From Arabic أَمَّا (ʔammā).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ʔam.ma/, [ˈʔam.ma]

• Audio (al-Lidd):

  (file)

Conjunction

أما • (ʔamma)

1. whereas, as for, but

   Synonym: بسّ (bass)

   ألف دينار ممكن اعطيك — أمّا ألفين، هلا والله ما بقدر.

   ʔalf dīnār mumken aʕṭīk, ʔamma ʔalfēn halla walla mā baʔdar.

   I can give you a thousand dinars — as for two thousand, I really can't right now.

   كل هادا، معليش — أمّا يكذب علي كمان؟

   kull hāda, maʕlēš — ʔamma yikzeb ʕalay kamān?

   All of this is fine — but that he should lie to me too?

2. used to indicate surprise or other strong feelings in an exclamation

   Synonym: ما (ma)

   دخلنا جول — أمّا شو جول!

   daḵalna gōl — ʔamma šū gōl!

   We scored a goal — what a goal!

Usage notes

• Note that ما (ma) can only be used in the third sense before an elative adjective, whereas أمّا (ʔamma) is more flexible. Although أمّا (ʔamma) could be used before an elative adjective, it is most commonly seen before a nominal phrase introduced by شو (šū).