In Arabic, when you want to make general statements like "whoever does this" or talk about "whatever happened," you use مَن and ما. These function as general relative pronouns to describe unspecified people or things.
Using مَن (Whoever / The one who)
Use مَن to refer to people. It translates to "whoever," "he who," or "anyone who." You will often see it at the beginning of proverbs and wise sayings, usually followed by two verbs describing an action and its consequence.
| Whoever sows reaps. | من زرع حصد.man zaraa hasada. |
| Whoever keeps silent survives. | من سكت نجا.man sakata najâ. |
It can also be used in the middle of a sentence to refer to the person receiving an action.
| Indeed, the wolf eats whoever sleeps in the forest. | إن الذئب يأكل من ينام في الغابة.inna adh-dhi'ba ya'kulu man yanâmu fi l-ghâbati |
Using ما (Whatever / That which)
Use ما to refer to non-human things, actions, or concepts. It translates to "whatever," "what," or "that which."
| The lion eats whatever he wants. | الأسد يأكل ما يريد.al-asadu ya'kulu mâ yurîdu. |
| The fool always does whatever he wants. | يفعل الأحمق ما يريد دائما.yaf'alu al-ahmaqu mâ yurîdu dâ'iman |
Fables and Wisdom
These relative pronouns are incredibly common in traditional fables to capture the moral truths of the animal kingdom.
| Whoever believes the fox is a fool. | من يصدق الثعلب فهو أحمق.man yusaddiqi ath-tha'laba fahuwa ahmaq. |
| Whatever the fox said is not the truth. | ما قاله الثعلب ليس حقيقة.mâ qâlahu-th-tha'labu laysa haqîqatan |
Combining with Prepositions and Pronouns
You can attach prepositions directly to these words. For example, combining لِـ (to/for) with مَن creates لِمَن (to whoever / to the one who).
| The dog gave advice to whoever asked. | أعطى الكلب نصيحة لمن سأل.a'ṭâ al-kalbu naṣîḥatan liman sa'ala. |
Additionally, when using مَن or ما to set up a situation, the second half of the sentence will often use a pronoun suffix (like ـه or ـها) that refers back to the person or thing mentioned in the first half.
| Whoever digs a pit falls into it. | من حفر حفرة سقط فيها.man hafara hufratan saqata fiha |
| The wolf hides what he dug in the ground. | يخفي الذئب ما حفره في الأرض.yukhfî adh-dhi'bu mâ hafarahu fî al-ardi |
