أنا
Arabic
Alternative forms
- انا
Etymology 1
From Proto-Semitic *ʔanāku, from Proto-Afroasiatic *ˀanāku, hence also Proto-Berber *ənăkkʷ (Kabyle nekk) and Egyptian jnk (Coptic ⲁⲛⲟⲕ (anok)).
Pronoun
أَنَا • (ʔana, ʔanā) m or f (enclitic form ـِيَ (-iya) or ـِي (-ī) or ـنِي (-nī) or ـنِيَ (-niya))
- I (first person singular subject pronoun)
Usage notes
أَنَا (ʔanā) has four enclitic forms which are employed in different contexts and are generally not interchangeable. The enclitic forms ـنِي (-nī) and ـنِيَ (-niya) are attached to verbs, prepositions ending in نْ (n) with no final vowel (e.g., مِنْ (min) and عَنْ (ʕan)), and the sisters of إِنَّ (ʔinna) except لَعَلَّ (laʕalla). The forms ـِي (-ī) and ـيَ (-ya) are used elsewhere, but in cases where ـِي (-ī) would be preceded by a long vowel, only ـيَ (-ya) is used.
- سَاعِدْنِي ― sāʕidnī ― help me
- كِتَابِي ― kitābī ― my book
- عَلَيَّ ― ʕalayya ― on me
Descendants
See also
| Isolated nominative pronouns | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| singular | dual | plural | ||
| 1st person | أَنَا (ʔanā) | نَحْنُ (naḥnu) | ||
| 2nd person | m | أَنْتَ (ʔanta) | أَنْتُمَا (ʔantumā) | أَنْتُمْ (ʔantum) |
| f | أَنْتِ (ʔanti) | أَنْتُنَّ (ʔantunna) | ||
| 3rd person | m | هُوَ (huwa) | هُمَا (humā) | هُمْ (hum), هُمُ (humu)1 |
| f | هِيَ (hiya) | هُنَّ (hunna) | ||
| Isolated accusative pronouns | ||||
| singular | dual | plural | ||
| 1st person | إِيَّايَ (ʔiyyāya) | إِيَّانَا (ʔiyyānā) | ||
| 2nd person | m | إِيَّاكَ (ʔiyyāka) | إِيَّاكُمَا (ʔiyyākumā) | إِيَّاكُم (ʔiyyākum) |
| f | إِيَّاكِ (ʔiyyāki) | إِيَّاكُنَّ (ʔiyyākunna) | ||
| 3rd person | m | إِيَّاهُ (ʔiyyāhu) | إِيَّاهُمَا (ʔiyyāhumā) | إِيَّاهُمْ (ʔiyyāhum) |
| f | إِيَّاهَا (ʔiyyāhā) | إِيَّاهُنَّ (ʔiyyāhunna) | ||
| Enclitic accusative and genitive pronouns | ||||
| singular | dual | plural | ||
| 1st person | ـنِي (-nī), ـنِيَ (-niya), ـي (-y), ـيَ (-ya)2 | ـنَا (-nā) | ||
| 2nd person | m | ـكَ (-ka) | ـكُمَا (-kumā) | ـكُم (-kum) |
| f | ـكِ (-ki) | ـكُنَّ (-kunna) | ||
| 3rd person | m | ـهُ (-hu), ـهِ (-hi)3 | ـهُمَا (-humā), ـهِمَا (-himā)3 | ـهُم (-hum), ـهِم (-him)3 |
| f | ـهَا (-hā) | ـهُنَّ (-hunna), ـهِنَّ (-hinna)3 | ||
| 1. هُمْ (hum) becomes هُمُ (humu) before the definite article الـ (al--). 2. Specifically, ـنِي (-nī, “me”) is attached to verbs, but ـِي (-ī) or ـيَ (-ya, “my”) is attached to nouns. In the latter case, ـيَ (-ya) is attached to nouns whose construct state ends in a long vowel or diphthong (e.g. in the sound masculine plural and the dual), while ـِي (-ī) is attached to nouns whose construct state ends in a short vowel, in which case that vowel is elided (e.g. in the sound feminine plural, as well as the singular and broken plural of most nouns). Furthermore, -ū of the masculine sound plural is assimilated to -ī before ـيَ (-ya) (presumably, -aw of masculine defective -an plurals is similarly assimilated to -ay). Prepositions use ـِي (-ī) or ـيَ (-ya), even though in this case it has the meaning of “me” rather than “my”. The sisters of inna can use either form (e.g. إِنَّنِي (ʔinnanī) or إِنِّي (ʔinnī)). 3. ـهِـ (-hi-) occurs after -i, -ī, or -ay, and ـهُـ (-hu-) elsewhere (after -a, -ā, -u, -ū, -aw). | ||||
Declension
| Singular | singular invariable | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Indefinite | Definite | Construct | |
| Informal | أَنَا ʔanā |
الْأَنَا al-ʔanā |
أَنَا ʔanā |
| Nominative | أَنَا ʔanā |
الْأَنَا al-ʔanā |
أَنَا ʔanā |
| Accusative | أَنَا ʔanā |
الْأَنَا al-ʔanā |
أَنَا ʔanā |
| Genitive | أَنَا ʔanā |
الْأَنَا al-ʔanā |
أَنَا ʔanā |
References
- Wehr, Hans (1979), “أنا”, in J. Milton Cowan, editor, A Dictionary of Modern Written Arabic, 4th edition, Ithaca, NY: Spoken Language Services, →ISBN
Moroccan Arabic
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /ʔa.na/
Audio (file)
Pronoun
أنا • (ʔana) m or f
See also
| Moroccan Arabic personal pronouns | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Singular | Plural | ||
| 1st person | أنا (ʔana), آنا (ʔāna) | حنا (ḥna) | |
| 2nd person | m | انت (nta), انتينا (ntīna), انتين (ntīn) | انتوما (ntūma), انتوم (ntūm) |
| f | انت (nti), انتينا (ntīna), انتين (ntīn) | ||
| 3rd person | m | هو (huwwa) | هوما (hūma), هوم (hūm) |
| f | هي (hiyya) | ||
Etymology 2
(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)
North Levantine Arabic
Pronoun
أنا • (ʾana) m or f
South Levantine Arabic
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /ʔa.na/, [ˈʔa.na]
Audio (Jerusalem) (file)