Arabic - Italian Dictionary
/maː/
ما is a versatile Arabic word meaning "what?" as an interrogative pronoun, "that which" as a relative pronoun, "not" as a negation particle, and "if" or "provided that" in conditional phrases. It translates to various Italian words depending on context.
| # | Type | Arabic | Italian |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | pronoun | ما what? (interrogative pronoun) | che cosa |
| 2 | pronoun | ما what? (interrogative pronoun) | che |
| 3 | pronoun | ما what? (interrogative pronoun) | cosa |
| 4 | adverb | ما negates meaning of another word | non |
| 5 | adverb | ما negates meaning of another word | mica colloquial |
| 6 | pronoun | ما fused relative pronoun: that which; those that; the thing(s) that | quello che |
| 7 | pronoun | ما fused relative pronoun: that which; those that; the thing(s) that | ciò che |
| 8 | pronoun | ما fused relative pronoun: that which; those that; the thing(s) that | quel che |
| 9 | pronoun | ما fused relative pronoun: that which; those that; the thing(s) that | cosa |
| 10 | adverb | ما used as a modifier to indicate surprise, delight, or other strong feelings — see also what, so | che |
| 11 | phrase | ما if, assuming | purché |
| 12 | phrase | ما if, assuming | ammesso che |
| 13 | phrase | ما if, assuming | a patto che |
| 14 | phrase | ما if, assuming | a condizione che |
ما اسمك؟
Che cosa ti chiami? / Qual è il tuo nome?
فعل ما وعد به.
Ha fatto quello che aveva promesso.
ما تأتي، لن أذهب.
A patto che tu venga, non andrò.
ما functions as an interrogative pronoun ("what?"), a relative pronoun ("that which"), a negation particle ("not"), and a conditional conjunction ("if, provided that"). Context determines which meaning applies. Learners often confuse it with other negation particles; note that ما negates verbs and verbless sentences differently than other particles.
Source: Wiktionary · CC BY-SA 4.0