Usages of ما
ما هذا؟ هذا قلم.mâ hâdhâ? hâdhâ qalamun.
What is this? This is a pen.
ما هذه؟ هذه حقيبة.mâ hâdhihi? hâdhihi haqîbah.
What is this? This is a bag.
ما هذه؟ هذه ورقة صغيرة.mâ hâdhihi? hâdhihi waraqatun saghîratun.
What is this? This is a small paper.
ما الاسم؟mā al-ismu?
What is the name?
ما لون السيارة؟mâ lawnu s-sayyârah?
What is the car's color?
ما سعر الإطار؟mâ si'ru al-'itâr?
What is the tire's price?
ما رقم لوحة السيارة؟mā raqmu lawḥati s-sayyārati
What is the car's plate number?
ما رقم الهاتف؟mâ raqmu l-hâtif?
What is the phone number?
ما هذه الأشياء الجديدة؟mâ hâdhihi l-ashyâ'u l-jadîdah?
What are these new things?
ما رقم الغرفة؟ رقم الغرفة واحد.mâ raqmu al-ghurfati? raqmu al-ghurfati wâhid.
What is the room number? The room number is one.
مرحبا، ما اسمك؟marhaban, mâ ismuka?
Hello, what is your name?
ما هوايتك في وقت الفراغ؟mâ hiwâyatuka fî waqti l-farâgh?
What is your hobby in your free time?
الأسد يأكل ما يريد.al-asadu ya'kulu mâ yurîdu.
The lion eats whatever he wants.
ما قاله الثعلب ليس حقيقة.mâ qâlahu-th-tha'labu laysa haqîqatan
Whatever the fox said is not the truth.
لا يسمع الغراب ما يقوله الذئب.lâ yasma'u al-ghurâbu mâ yaqûluhu adh-dhi'bu
The crow does not hear what the wolf says.
يخفي الذئب ما حفره في الأرض.yukhfî adh-dhi'bu mâ hafarahu fî al-ardi
The wolf hides what he dug in the ground.
يفعل الأحمق ما يريد دائما.yaf'alu al-ahmaqu mâ yurîdu dâ'iman
The fool always does whatever he wants.
الكلب يأكل ما سقط من الطاولة.al-kalbu ya'kulu mâ saqata mina at-tâwilati.
The dog eats whatever fell from the table.
يأخذ الصياد ما يجد في الغابة.ya'khudhu as-sayyâdu mâ yajidu fi al-ghâbati
The hunter takes whatever he finds in the forest.
ما مهنتك، أأنت مهندس أم طبيب؟mâ mihnatuka, a'anta muhandisun am tabîbun?
What is your profession, are you an engineer or a doctor?
عندما رأيت الباب مفتوحا، أدركت ما حدث.indamâ ra'aytu al-bâba maftûhan, adraktu mâ hadatha
When I saw the door open, I realized what happened.
ما لونك المفضل؟mâ lawnuka-l-mufaddalu?
What is your favourite colour?
لما رأيت اللص، أدركت ما حصل.lammâ ra'aytu l-lissa, adraktu mâ hasala
When I saw the thief, I realized what had happened.
ما رأيك؟ في رأيي، الفكرة جيدة.mâ ra'yuka? fî ra'yî, al-fikratu jayyidatun.
What do you think? In my opinion, the idea is good.
ما كان سيحدث في السباق كان متوقعا.mâ kâna sayahduthu fî s-sibâqi kâna mutawaqqa'an
What was going to happen in the race was expected.
ما مساحة هذه الحديقة؟mâ misâhatu hâdhihil hadîqah
What is the area of this garden?
ما طول هذا الشارع؟mâ tûlu hâdhâ ash-shâri'i؟
What is the length of this street?
ما المكونات؟ هل الزبدة مكون مهم؟mâ al-mukawwinât? hal az-zubdatu mukawwinun muhimm?
What are the ingredients? Is butter an important ingredient?
ما قياس هذا الحذاء الوردي؟mâ qiyâsu hâdhâ l-hidhâ'i l-wardiyy?
What is the measurement of this pink shoe?
ما هو ارتفاع هذا الجبل؟mâ huwa irtifâ'u hâdhâ al-jabali
What is the height of this mountain?
ما معنى هذه الجملة؟mâ ma'nâ hâdhihil jumlah?
What is the meaning of this sentence?
ما هي رتبتك العسكرية يا يوسف؟mâ hiya rutbatuka al-askariyyatu yâ yûsufu?
What is your military rank, Yusuf?
ما هو برجك؟mâ huwa burjuka?
What is your zodiac sign?
ما هي وجهتك الدولية القادمة؟mâ hiya wijhatuka ad-dawliyyatu al-qâdimah
What is your next international destination?
ما لقب الحاكم؟ السلطان.mâ laqabu l-hâkimi? as-sultânu.
What is the ruler's title? Sultan.
ما جنسيتك؟ أنا مصري.mâ jinsiyyatuka? anâ misriyyun.
What is your nationality? I am Egyptian.
ما درجة الحرارة اليوم؟mâ darajatu l-harârati l-yawma
What is the temperature today?
ما مجموع السكان في الحي؟maa majmu'u s-sukkaani fil-hayy?
What is the total of the residents in the neighborhood?
ما الصيغة التي تطلبها؟ma assighatu allati tatlubuha?
What is the format that you are requesting?
ما القرار الرسمي حيال المستخدمين الذين استردوا أموالهم؟mâ al-qarâru ar-rasmiyyu hiyâla al-mustakhdimîna alladhîna istaraddû amwâlahum?
What is the official decision regarding the users who got their money back?
ما سبب انقطاع خدمة الإنترنت؟mâ sababu inqitâ'i khidmati l-internet?
What is the reason for the internet service outage?
ما هي سعة البطارية الشمسية الجديدة؟ma hiya sa'atu al-battariyyati ash-shamsiyyati al-jadidati?
What is the capacity of the new solar battery?
تفاجأ الرئيس بما أيده أعداؤنا.tafâja'a ar-ra'îsu bimâ ayyadahu a'dâ'unâ.
The president was surprised by what our enemies supported.
انحازت إلى صديقتها وأيدت ما قاله حلفاؤنا.inhâzat ilâ sadîqatihâ wa-ayyadat mâ qâlahu hulafâ'unâ
She sided with her friend and supported what our allies said.
ما فرض من قبل الإدارة مرفوض.mâ furida min qibali l-idârati marfûdun
What was imposed by the administration is unacceptable.
يجب أن تفندي ما يزعمه خصمك.yajibu an tufannidî mâ yaz'umuhu khasmuki.
You must refute what your opponent claims.
قد نتحدث عما قرأناه في الصحيفة.qad natahaddathu 'ammâ qara'nâhu fis-sahîfah
We might talk about what we read in the newspaper.
يا فاطمة، هي مهتمة بما تكتبينه عن الرقابة.yâ fâtimatu, hiya muhtammatun bimâ taktubînahu 'ani ar-riqâbati.
Fatima, she is interested in what you are writing about censorship.
ما شرابك المفضل؟mâ sharâbuka l-mufaddal
What is your favourite drink?
ما السبب المحتمل لهذا الخطأ؟ma as-sababu al-muhtamalu li-hâdha al-khata'?
What is the likely reason for this mistake?
لا نكسب بما فيه الكفاية.lâ naksibu bimâ fîhi l-kifâyah.
We don't earn enough.
الرواتب ليست عالية بما فيه الكفاية.ar-rawâtibu laysat 'âliyatan bimâ fîhi l-kifâyah
Salaries are not high enough.
ما هي عجائب الدنيا السبع؟mâ hiya ajâ'ibu ad-dunyâ as-sab'u?
What are the seven wonders of the world?
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