Learn ArabicB1 › أَيْنَما

أَيْنَما

wherever /ʔajnaˈmaː/

particleB1#2488 most common

Also: anywhere that, in whatever place

Example sentences

أَيْنَما تَذْهَبْ أَذْهَبْ مَعَكَ.
Wherever you go, I go with you.
أَيْنَما تَكُنْ أَكُنْ بِقُرْبِكَ.
Wherever you are, I'll be near you.
أَيْنَما تَذْهَبِي فِي هٰذِهِ الْمَدِينَةِ تَجِدِي مَطْعَمًا جَيِّدًا.
Wherever you go in this city, you'll find a good restaurant.
أَيْنَما وُجِدَ الظُّلْمُ وُجِدَتِ الْمُقَاوَمَةُ.
Wherever injustice exists, resistance exists.
أَيْنَما تَوَلَّيْتَ وَجْهَكَ فِي هٰذِهِ الْمَدِينَةِ الْعَتِيقَةِ صَادَفْتَ أَثَرًا يُخَلِّدُ حِقْبَةً غَابِرَةً.
Wherever you turned your face in this ancient city, you came across a trace that immortalizes a bygone era.
أَيْنَما غَابَتِ الْإِرَادَةُ السِّياسِيَّةُ تَعَثَّرَتِ الْإِصْلَاحَاتُ الِاقْتِصَادِيَّةُ مَهْمَا بَلَغَتْ دِقَّةُ تَصْمِيمِهَا.
Wherever political will is absent, economic reforms falter, however carefully they are designed.

Word family

أَيْنَwhere?حَيْثُwhere (non-interrogative)حَيْثُماwherever
كَيْفَماhowever, in whatever way
مَتَىwhen?

Etymology

أَيْنَما is built from أَيْنَ, the interrogative and locative particle meaning 'where', plus the suffix ما, which strips away the question and turns the word into an open, conditional sense: 'wherever'. This ما-suffixation is a regular pattern in Arabic grammar, used to convert several interrogatives into unconditional adverbs. The construction is native Semitic and attested since the earliest Classical Arabic texts, including the Quran.

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