أنا

See also: آنا‎ and انا‎

Arabic

Alternative forms

انا‎

Etymology 1

From Proto-Semitic *ʾanāku, from Proto-Afro-Asiatic *ˀanāku, hence also Proto-Berber *ənakkʷ (Kabyle nekk) and Egyptian *ˀanāku (Coptic ⲁⲛⲟⲕ (anok)).

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /ˈʔana/
IPA^(key): /ˈʔanaː/
Audio (file)

Pronoun

أَنَا • (ʾana, ʾanā) m, f

(enclitic form ـِيَ‎ (-iya) or ـِي‎ (-ī) or ـنِي‎ (-nī) or ـنِيَ‎ (-niya))

I (first person singular subject pronoun)

Usage notes

أَنَا‎ (ʾanā) has four enclitic forms which are employed in different contexts and are generally not interchangeable. The enclitic forms ـنِي‎ (-nī) and ـنِيَ‎ (-niya) are attached to verbs, prepositions ending in نْ‎ (n) with no final vowel (e.g., مِنْ‎ (min) and عَنْ‎ (ʿan)), and the sisters of إِنَّ‎ (ʾinna) except لَعَلَّ‎ (laʿalla). The forms ـِي‎ (-ī) and ـيَ‎ (-ya) are used elsewhere, but in cases where ـِي‎ (-ī) would be preceded by a long vowel, only ـيَ‎ (-ya) is used.

‏سَاعِدْنِي‎ ― sāʿidnī ― help me
‏كِتَابِي‎ ― kitābī ― my book
‏عَلَيَّ‎ ― ʿalayya ― on me

Isolated pronouns
		singular	dual	plural
1st person		أَنَا‎ (ʾanā), إِيَّايَ‎ (ʾiyyāya)	نَحْنُ‎ (naḥnu), إِيَّانَا‎ (ʾiyyānā)
2nd person	m	أَنْتَ‎ (ʾanta), إِيَّاكَ‎ (ʾiyyāka)	أَنْتُمَا‎ (ʾantumā), إِيَّاكُمَا‎ (ʾiyyākumā)	أَنْتُمْ‎ (ʾantum), إِيَّاكُم‎ (ʾiyyākum)
2nd person	f	أَنْتِ‎ (ʾanti), إِيَّاكِ‎ (ʾiyyāki)	أَنْتُمَا‎ (ʾantumā), إِيَّاكُمَا‎ (ʾiyyākumā)	أَنْتُنَّ‎ (ʾantunna), إِيَّاكُنَّ‎ (ʾiyyākunna)
3rd person	m	هُوَ‎ (huwa), إِيَّاهُ‎ (ʾiyyāhu)	هُمَا‎ (humā), إِيَّاهُمَا‎ (ʾiyyāhumā)	هُمْ‎ (hum), إِيَّاهُمْ‎ (ʾiyyāhum)
3rd person	f	هِيَ‎ (hiya), إِيَّاهَا‎ (ʾiyyāhā)	هُمَا‎ (humā), إِيَّاهُمَا‎ (ʾiyyāhumā)	هُنَّ‎ (hunna), إِيَّاهُنَّ‎ (ʾiyyāhunna)
Enclitic pronouns
		singular	dual	plural
1st person		ـنِي‎ (-nī), ـي‎ (-ī), ـيَ‎ (-ya)*	ـنَا‎ (-nā)
2nd person	m	ـكَ‎ (-ka)	ـكُمَا‎ (-kumā)	ـكُم‎ (-kum)
2nd person	f	ـكِ‎ (-ki)	ـكُمَا‎ (-kumā)	ـكُنَّ‎ (-kunna)
3rd person	m	ـهُ‎ (-hu), ـهِ‎ (-hi)**	ـهُمَا‎ (-humā), ـهِمَا‎ (-himā)**	ـهُم‎ (-hum), ـهِم‎ (-him)**
3rd person	f	ـهَا‎ (-hā)	ـهُمَا‎ (-humā), ـهِمَا‎ (-himā)**	ـهُنَّ‎ (-hunna), ـهِنَّ‎ (-hinna)**
* Specifically, ـنِي‎ (-nī, “me”) is attached to verbs, but ـي‎ (-ī) or ـيَ‎ (-ya, “my”) is attached to nouns. In the latter case, ـيَ‎ (-ya) is attached to nouns whose construct state ends in a long vowel or diphthong (e.g. in the sound masculine plural and the dual), while ـي‎ (-ī) is attached to nouns whose construct state ends in a short vowel, in which case that vowel is elided (e.g. in the sound feminine plural, as well as the singular and broken plural of most nouns). Furthermore, -ū of the masculine sound plural is assimilated to -ī before ـيَ‎ (-ya) (presumably, -aw of masculine defective -an plurals is similarly assimilated to -ay). Prepositions use ـِي‎ (-ī) or ـيَ‎ (-ya), even though in this case it has the meaning of “me” rather than “my”. The sisters of inna can use either form (e.g. إِنَّنِي‎ (ʾinnanī) or إِنِّي‎ (ʾinnī)), but the longer form (e.g. إِنَّنِي‎ (ʾinnanī)) is usually preferred. ** ـهِـ‎ (-hi-) occurs after -i, -ī, or -ay, and ـهُـ‎ (-hu-) elsewhere (after -a, -ā, -u, -ū, -aw).

Etymology 2

From أَنَا‎ (ʾanā, “I”), calque of German Ich, possibly through ego.

Noun

أَنَا • (ʾanā) f, m

(psychology) ego

Declension

Declension of noun أَنَا (ʾanā)

Singular	singular invariable
Singular	Indefinite	Definite	Construct
Informal	أَنَا ʾanā	الْأَنَا‎ al-ʾanā	أَنَا ʾanā
Nominative	أَنَا ʾanā	الْأَنَا‎ al-ʾanā	أَنَا ʾanā
Accusative	أَنَا ʾanā	الْأَنَا‎ al-ʾanā	أَنَا ʾanā
Genitive	أَنَا ʾanā	الْأَنَا‎ al-ʾanā	أَنَا ʾanā

References

Wehr, Hans (1979), “أنا”, in J. Milton Cowan, editor, A Dictionary of Modern Written Arabic, 4th edition, Ithaca, NY: Spoken Language Services, →ISBN

Egyptian Arabic

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /ˈänä/

Pronoun

أنا‎ • ('ána) m, f

I

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