म

See also: स, भ, में, मैं, and ম

म	U+092E, म DEVANAGARI LETTER MA

← भ
[U+092D]

Devanagari

य →
[U+092F]

Translingual

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /mə/

Letter

म (ma)

a letter of the Devanagari alphabet

Apabhramsa

Etymology

Inherited from Prakrit मा (mā), from Ashokan Prakrit 𑀫𑀸 (mā), from Sanskrit मा (mā́).

Particle

म (ma) (attested in Gurjara)^[1]

prohibitive particle: don't
- c. 1088 – 1173, Hemachandra, Siddha-Hema-Śabdanuśāśana Chapter 8 4.379.1:^[2]^[3]
  महु कंतहो बे दोसडा
  हेल्लि म झंखहि आलु ।
  mahu kaṃtaho be dosaḍā
  helli ma jhaṃkhahi ālu.
  1928 translation by Parashuram Lakshman Vaidya
  My lover has [only] two flaws
  my friend, do not tell a lie

Descendants

Central Indo-Aryan:
- Old Hindi: म (ma)
Eastern Indo-Aryan:
- Old Bengali: মা
Northwestern Indo-Aryan:
- Punjabic:
  - ⇒ Old Punjabi: ਮ(ਖਟੂ) (ma(khaṭū) /⁠ma(khaṭṭū)⁠/, “not earning, idle”, adjective), ਮ(ਚਾਂਗਵਾ) (ma(cāṅgavā), “not good, bad”, adjective)
- Sindhic:
  - Kachchi: ma
    Gujarati script: મ
    
    Khojki script: 𑈤
    
    Khudabadi script: 𑋗
  - Sindhi: ma
    Arabic script: مَ (ma)
    
    Devanagari script: म
    
    Khojki script: 𑈤
    
    Khudabadi script: 𑋗
Western Indo-Aryan:
- Old Gujarati: म (ma)
  - Gujarati: મા (mā)
  - Marwari: mā
    Devanagari script: मा
    Mahajani script: 𑅬 (m /⁠mā⁠/)
- Romani: ma

References

^ Sheth, Hargovind Das T[rikamcand] (1923–1928), “म”, in पाइअ-सद्द-महण्णवो [pāia-sadda-mahaṇṇavo, Ocean of Prakrit words] (in Hindi), Calcutta: [Published by the Author], page 660.
^ Kantilal Vyas (1982), Apabhraṁśa of Hemacandra (Prakrit text series)‎^[1], Prakrit Text Society, →LCCN, page 133
^ Ratanlal Sanghvi (1963), Siddhahaimaśabdānuśāsana‎^[2], volume 2, →LCCN, page 515

Bantawa

Pronunciation

Noun

म (ma)

Dhivehi

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): [mə] (Can we verify⁽⁺⁾ this pronunciation?)

Letter

म • (ma)

The tenth consonant in Dhivehi, written in Devanagari

Hindi

Pronunciation

(Standard Hindi) IPA^(key): /mə/, [mɐ]

Letter

म • (ma)

the twenty-fifth consonant in Hindi

Marathi

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /mə/
Audio: (file)

Letter

म • (ma)

The twenty-fourth consonant in Marathi.

Nepali

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): [mʌ]
Phonetic Devanagari: म
Audio: (file)

Letter

म • (ma)

The twenty-fifth consonant in Nepali.

Pronoun

म • (ma)

I (first person singular pronoun)

Declension

Declension of Nepali pronouns

* Yellow background indicates irregularity.

Declension of the first-person pronouns
	Singular		Plural
Nominative	म mʌ	हामी ɦämi	हामीहरू ɦämiɦʌɾu
Instrumental	मैले mʌi̯le	हामीले ɦämile	हामीहरूले ɦämiɦʌɾule
Accusative	मलाई mʌläi	हामीलाई ɦämiläi	हामीहरूलाई ɦämiɦʌɾuläi
Genitive	मेरो meɾo	हाम्रो ɦämro	हामीहरूको ɦämiɦʌɾuko
Locative	ममा mʌmä	हामीमा ɦämimä	हामीहरूमा ɦämiɦʌɾumä

Declension of the second-person pronouns
	Singular			Plural
	Low	Mid	High	Low/Mid	High
Nominative	तँ t̪ʌ̃	तिमी t̪imi	तपाईं t̪ʌpäĩ	तिमीहरू t̪imiɦʌɾu	तपाईंहरू t̪ʌpäĩ̤ːɾu
Instrumental	तैँले t̪ʌ̃ĩ̯le	तिमीले t̪imile	तपाईंले t̪ʌpäĩle	तिमीहरूले t̪imiɦʌɾule	तपाईंहरूले t̪ʌpäĩ̤ːɾule
Accusative	तँलाई t̪ʌ̃läi	तिमीलाई t̪imiläi	तपाईंलाई t̪ʌpäĩläi	तिमीहरूलाई t̪imiɦʌɾuläi	तपाईंहरूलाई t̪ʌpäĩ̤ːɾuläi
Genitive	तेरो t̪eɾo	तिम्रो t̪imro	तपाईंको t̪ʌpäĩko	तिमीहरूको t̪imiɦʌɾuko	तपाईंहरूको t̪ʌpäĩ̤ːɾuko
Locative	तँमा t̪ʌ̃mä	तिमीमा t̪imimä	तपाईंमा t̪ʌpäĩmä	तिमीहरूमा t̪imiɦʌɾumä	तपाईंहरूमा t̪ʌpäĩ̤ːɾumä

Declension of the third-person pronouns
	Singular					Plural
	Low/Mid			High		Low/Mid			High
Nominative	यो jo	त्यो t̪jo	ऊ u	यहाँ jä̤ː	वहाँ wä̤ː	यिनीहरु iniɦʌɾu	तिनीहरु t̪iniɦʌɾu	उनीहरू uniɦʌɾu	यहाँहरू jä̤ːɾu	वहाँहरू wä̤ːɾu
Instrumental	यसले esle	त्यसले t̪esle	उसले usle	यहाँले jä̤ːle	वहाँले wä̤ːle	यिनीहरुले iniɦʌɾule	तिनीहरुले t̪iniɦʌɾule	उनीहरूले uniɦʌɾule	यहाँहरूले jä̤ːɾule	वहाँहरूले wä̤ːɾule
Accusative	यसलाई esläi	त्यसलाई t̪esläi	उसलाई usläi	यहाँलाई jä̤ːläi	वहाँलाई wä̤ːläi	यिनीहरुलाई iniɦʌɾuläi	तिनीहरुलाई t̪iniɦʌɾuläi	उनीहरूलाई uniɦʌɾuläi	यहाँहरूलाई jä̤ːɾuläi	वहाँहरूलाई wä̤ːɾuläi
Genitive	यसको esko	त्यसको t̪esko	उसको usko	यहाँको jä̤ːko	वहाँको wä̤ːko	यिनीहरुको iniɦʌɾuko	तिनीहरुको t̪iniɦʌɾuko	उनीहरूको uniɦʌɾuko	यहाँहरूको jä̤ːɾuko	वहाँहरूको wä̤ːɾuko
Locative	यसमा esmä	त्यसमा t̪esmä	उसमा usmä	यहाँमा jä̤ːmä	वहाँमा wä̤ːmä	यिनीहरुमा iniɦʌɾumä	तिनीहरुमा t̪iniɦʌɾumä	उनीहरूमा uniɦʌɾumä	यहाँहरूमा jä̤ːɾumä	वहाँहरूमा wä̤ːɾumä

Declension of the interrogative pronouns
	Singular			Plural
Nominative	को ko	जो d͡zo	के ke	को को ko ko	जो जो d͡zo d͡zo	के के ke ke
Instrumental	कसले kʌsle	जसले d͡zʌsle	केले kele	कसकसले kʌskʌsle	जसजसले d͡zʌsd͡zʌsle	—
Accusative	कसलाई kʌsläi	जसलाई d͡zʌsläi	केलाई keläi	कसकसलाई kʌskʌsläi	जसजसलाई d͡zʌsd͡zʌsläi	—
Genitive	कसको kʌsko	जसको d͡zʌsko	केको keko	कसकसको kʌskʌsko	जसजसको d͡zʌsd͡zʌsko	—
Locative	कसमा kʌsmä	जसमा d͡zʌsmä	केमा kemä	कसकसमा kʌskʌsmä	जसजसमा d͡zʌsd͡zʌsmä	—

Declension of the indefinite pronouns
	Singular		Plural
Nominative	कोही koɦi	केही keɦi	कोही कोही koɦi koɦi	केही केही keɦi keɦi
Instrumental	कसैले kʌsʌi̯le	—	कसकसैले kʌskʌsʌi̯le	—
Accusative	कसैलाई kʌsʌi̯läi	—	कसैकसैलाई kʌsʌi̯kʌsʌi̯läi	—
Genitive	कसैको kʌsʌi̯ko	—	कसैकसैको kʌsʌi̯kʌsʌi̯ko	—
Locative	कसैमा kʌsʌi̯mä	—	कसैकसैमा kʌsʌi̯kʌsʌi̯mä	—

Old Gujarati

Etymology

Inherited from Gurjara Apabhramsa म (ma), from Prakrit मा (mā), from Ashokan Prakrit 𑀫𑀸 (mā), from Sanskrit मा (mā́).^[1]

Adverb

म • (ma)^[2]

not

Descendants

Gujarati: મા (mā)
Marwari: mā
Devanagari script: मा

Mahajani script: 𑅬 (m /⁠mā⁠/)

References

More information

^ Turner, Ralph Lilley (1969–1985), “mā́”, in A Comparative Dictionary of the Indo-Aryan Languages, London: Oxford University Press, page 574
^ जयंत कोठारी [Jayant Kothari] (1995), “म”, in मध्यकालीन गुजराती शब्दकोश [Mediaeval Gujarati Dictionary], लालभाई दलपतभाईनो वंडो, पानकोरनाका, अहमदावाद ३८० ००१ [Lalbhai Dalpatbhai Road, Pankornaka, Ahmedabad 380 001]: कलिकालसर्वज्ञ श्री हेमचन्द्राचार्य नवम जन्मशताब्दी स्मृति संस्कार शिक्षण निधि [Kalikāla-Sarvajña Śrī Hemacandrācārya Navama Janma-Śatābdī Smṛti Saṃskāra Śikṣaṇa Nidhi], page 373, column 2.

Sanskrit

Alternative scripts

ম (Assamese script)
ᬫ (Balinese script)
ম (Bengali script)
𑰦 (Bhaiksuki script)
𑀫 (Brahmi script)
မ (Burmese script)
મ (Gujarati script)
ਮ (Gurmukhi script)
𑌮 (Grantha script)
ꦩ (Javanese script)
𑂧 (Kaithi script)
ಮ (Kannada script)
ម (Khmer script)
ມ (Lao script)
മ (Malayalam script)
ᠮᠠ (Manchu script)
𑘦 (Modi script)
ᠮᠠ᠋ (Mongolian script)
𑧆 (Nandinagari script)
𑐩 (Newa script)
ମ (Odia script)
ꢪ (Saurashtra script)
𑆩 (Sharada script)
𑖦 (Siddham script)
ම (Sinhalese script)
𑩴 (Soyombo script)
𑚢 (Takri script)
ம (Tamil script)
మ (Telugu script)
ม (Thai script)
མ (Tibetan script)
𑒧 (Tirhuta script)
𑨢 (Zanabazar Square script)

Pronunciation

(Vedic) IPA^(key): /mɐ/
(Classical Sanskrit) IPA^(key): /mɐ/

Etymology 1

Letter

म • (ma)

the twenty-fifth consonant in Sanskrit
the labial nasal consonant

Derived terms

मकार (makāra, “the name or sound of the letter म (ma)”)

Etymology 2

Sanskrit personal pronouns
first person	singular	dual	plural
lemma	म (ma)	आव (āva)	अस्म (asma)
nominative case	अहम् (aham)	आवाम् (āvām)	वयम् (vayam)
enclitic form(s)	मा (mā), मे (me)	नौ (nau)	नः (naḥ)
second person	singular	dual	plural
lemma	त्व (tva)	युव (yuva)	युष्म (yuṣma)
nominative case	त्वम् (tvam)	युवाम् (yuvām)	यूयम् (yūyam)
enclitic form(s)	त्वा (tvā), ते (te)	वाम् (vām)	वः (vaḥ)

Inherited from Proto-Indo-Iranian *aȷ́ʰám, *maHám, from Proto-Indo-European *me. See अहम् (aham) for more.

Alternative forms

मद् (mad), मत् (mat) — combining forms, alternative constructions of pronominal base

Pronoun

म • (ma)

base of the first person singular pronoun; I

Declension

Declension of the first person singular pronoun
	singular
nominative	अहम् (ahám)
accusative	माम् (mā́m)
instrumental	मया (máyā)
dative	मह्यम् (máhyam)
ablative	मत् (mát), मत्तः (mattáḥ)
genitive	मम (máma)
locative	मयि (máyi), मे¹ (mé¹)
enclitic accusative	मा (mā)
enclitic dative/genitive	मे (me)

¹Vedic

Descendants

See अहम् (aham) and मह्यम् (mahyam).

References

Monier Williams (1899), “म”, in A Sanskrit–English Dictionary, […], new edition, Oxford: At the Clarendon Press, →OCLC, page 771.
Mayrhofer, Manfred (1992), “ahám”, in Etymologisches Wörterbuch des Altindoarischen [Etymological Dictionary of Old Indo-Aryan]‎^[3] (in German), volume 1, Heidelberg: Carl Winter Universitätsverlag, page 155
Hellwig, Oliver (2010–2026), “mad”, in DCS - The Digital Corpus of Sanskrit, Berlin, Germany.

[1] Sheth, Hargovind Das T[rikamcand] (1923–1928), “म”, in पाइअ-सद्द-महण्णवो [pāia-sadda-mahaṇṇavo, Ocean of Prakrit words] (in Hindi), Calcutta: [Published by the Author], page 660.

[2] Kantilal Vyas (1982), Apabhraṁśa of Hemacandra (Prakrit text series)‎^[1], Prakrit Text Society, →LCCN, page 133

[3] Ratanlal Sanghvi (1963), Siddhahaimaśabdānuśāsana‎^[2], volume 2, →LCCN, page 515

[4] Turner, Ralph Lilley (1969–1985), “mā́”, in A Comparative Dictionary of the Indo-Aryan Languages, London: Oxford University Press, page 574

[5] जयंत कोठारी [Jayant Kothari] (1995), “म”, in मध्यकालीन गुजराती शब्दकोश [Mediaeval Gujarati Dictionary], लालभाई दलपतभाईनो वंडो, पानकोरनाका, अहमदावाद ३८० ००१ [Lalbhai Dalpatbhai Road, Pankornaka, Ahmedabad 380 001]: कलिकालसर्वज्ञ श्री हेमचन्द्राचार्य नवम जन्मशताब्दी स्मृति संस्कार शिक्षण निधि [Kalikāla-Sarvajña Śrī Hemacandrācārya Navama Janma-Śatābdī Smṛti Saṃskāra Śikṣaṇa Nidhi], page 373, column 2.

[1]

[2]

[3]

[1]

[2]

Translingual

Pronunciation

Letter

See also

Apabhramsa

Etymology

Particle

Descendants

References

Further reading

Bantawa

Pronunciation

Noun

Further reading

Dhivehi

Pronunciation

Letter

Hindi

Pronunciation

Letter

See also

Marathi

Pronunciation

Letter

Nepali

Pronunciation

Letter

Pronoun

Declension

Old Gujarati

Etymology

Adverb

Descendants

References

Sanskrit

Alternative scripts

Pronunciation

Etymology 1

Letter

Derived terms

See also

Etymology 2

Alternative forms

Pronoun

Declension

Descendants

References