Learn Arabic › A1 › أَم
أَم
or (in questions) /ˈʔam/
particleA1#233 most common
Also: or rather, or is it, whether ... or
Example sentences
أَهَذَا كِتَابٌ أَمْ دَفْتَرٌ؟
Is this a book or a notebook?
أَتُفَضِّلُ القَهْوَةَ أَمِ الشَّايَ؟
Do you prefer coffee or tea?
لَا أَدْرِي أَجَاءَ أَخِي أَمْ لَمْ يَأْتِ بَعْدُ.
I do not know whether my brother came or has not yet arrived.
أَتَظُنُّ أَنَّكَ مُحِقٌّ أَمْ أَنَّكَ تُخَادِعُ نَفْسَكَ؟
Do you think you are right, or are you deceiving yourself?
أَكَانَ ذَلِكَ قَرَارَهُ، أَمْ أَنَّهُ خَضَعَ لِضُغُوطِ مَنْ حَوْلَهُ؟
Was that his own decision, or did he yield to the pressure of those around him?
أَمْ حَسِبْتُمْ أَنْ تَدْخُلُوا الْجَنَّةَ وَلَمَّا يَأْتِكُمْ مَثَلُ الَّذِينَ خَلَوْا مِنْ قَبْلِكُمْ؟
Or do you suppose that you will enter Paradise before there has come to you the like of what befell those who passed away before you?
Word family
أَوْor (general, non-question)
إِمَّاeither ... or
هَلْyes/no question marker
أَinterrogative prefix
بَلْrather, but
Etymology
أَم is an old Semitic particle used to join alternatives inside a question. It pairs with the interrogative hamza to ask 'is it X or Y?'. The Hebrew particle אִם, which means 'if' and also marks the second branch of a choice question, comes from the same source. The word has no Indo-European root.
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