Learn Arabic › B1 › إِنَّما
إِنَّما
only /ʔin.na.ˈmaː/
particleB1#1593 most common
Also: merely, rather, it is only that
Example sentences
إِنَّما أُريدُ الماءَ.
I only want water.
إِنَّما هو طالِبٌ.
He is only a student.
إِنَّما نَجَحَ بِسَبَبِ العَمَلِ الجادِّ.
He succeeded only because of hard work.
لا أَطلُبُ المالَ، إِنَّما أَطلُبُ العَدلَ.
I am not asking for money; I am only asking for justice.
إِنَّما الأَعمالُ بِالنِّيّاتِ.
Actions are judged only by their intentions.
ما قَصَدْتُ الإِساءَةَ، إِنَّما أَرَدْتُ أَن أُوَضِّحَ المَوقِفَ بِكُلِّ صَراحَةٍ.
I did not mean offense; I only wanted to clarify the situation with full honesty.
Word family
Etymology
إِنَّما is a compound of the emphatic particle إِنَّ ("indeed") and the particle ما. Here ما acts as a كافّة, a "restraining" element that stops إِنَّ from governing a following noun in the accusative. The fusion turns emphasis into restriction, so the phrase comes to mean "only" or "it is only that."
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