How to say "what" in Arabic
CognateMeaningwhat
Arabic · Modern Standard Arabic
مَا
māמא
ما
Hebrew · Modern Hebrew
מָה
maمَا
How the two words are related
Cognate
Same Semitic root, same meaning — you already know this word.
Arabic mā and Hebrew מָה are the same ancient interrogative, worn down to its two consonants in both languages — mā hādhā? is exactly מה זה? in miniature, literally 'what this'.
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On the street
How people actually say it in the spoken dialects, where it differs from the standard word.
Egyptian · Cairo and the Nile Delta
إِيه
ēhאיהCairo's what is ēh, usually at the end: ismak ēh?
Moroccan · Morocco — Casablanca, Rabat, Fes
شْنُو
shnuשנוDarija's what is shnu (or āsh).
In a phrase
مَا هَذَا؟
mā hādhāמא הד'אWhat is this?