متى ما

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Arabic

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Etymology

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متى (when; whenever) +‎ ـمَا (-mā, soever).

Conjunction

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مَتَى مَا (matā mā) (+ past or jussive)

  1. when; whenever; if ever
    مَتَى مَا تَجِئْ عِنْدِي أَسْعَدْ كَثِيرًا
    matā mā tajiʔ ʕindī ʔasʕad kaṯīran
    Whenever you come by my place, I feel so happy.
    • 7th century CE, Kaʿb ibn Zuhayr, أَعلَمُ أَنّي مَتى ما يَأتِني قَدَري [My Fate]:
      أَعْلَمُ أَنِّي مَتَى مَا يَأْتِنِي قَدَرِي * فَلَيْسَ يَحْبِسُهُ شُحٌّ وَلَا شَفَقُ
      ʔaʕlamu ʔannī matā mā yaʔtinī qadarī * falaysa yaḥbisuhu šuḥḥun walā šafaqū
      I know so well that when my fate
      Comes by for me, neither grudging
      Nor pitying can hold him back.