A Simple Explanation of "من" for Asking "Who": The Arabic Interrogative Noun

Foreword

We've learned interrogative noun "مَا". 

"مَا" is interrogative noun to ask about non-human thing (something that has no intellect). 

"مَا" means "what".

Today, we are going to learn another interrogative noun in Arabic, namely "مَنْ".

A simple explanation about Interrogative noun "مَنْ"

مَنْ: اسْمُ اسْتِفْهَامٍ لِلْعَاقِلِ

man: interrogative noun for those who possess intellect.

A word by word translation

مَنْ (man): who

اِسْم (ism): noun

اسْتِفْهَام (istifhaam): interrogative (interrogation mark)

عاقِل ('aaqil): having an intellect (sense/mind)

When to Use 'من' vs 'ما'"

We use "مَا" when we ask a question about something that doesn't possess intellect, whereas "مَنْ" when we ask a question about those who possess intellect.

We've finished studying the basic theory of مَنْ (man), now let's move on our book Durusul Lughah al-'Arabiyyah volume 1, chapter 1.

Reading the texts and translating them

Let's open Durusul Lughah al-'Arabiyyah book 1, lesson 1.

In the picture above, we learn that interrogative noun (اسم استفهام) "مَنْ" is used to ask about those who have intellect or ask about human. 

Hamzah istifhaam "أ" is used to ask human.

أَهَذَا وَلَدٌ؟ : Is this a boy?

لاَ, هَذَا رَجُلٌ : No, this is a man.

In the picture above, we learn that مَسْجِدٌ (mosque) is a thing. It has no intellect or it is non-human. So, for asking about it, we use interrogative noun مَا (maa).

تَاجِرٌ (a merchant) is human (one who have intellect). Therefore, for asking about it, we use interrogative noun مَنْ (man).

Animal is a thing that has no intellect, so we use interrogative noun مَا (maa).

Hamzah istifhaam "أ" is used to ask non-human.

أَهَذَا قَمِيْصٌ؟ : Is this a shirt?

لاَ, هَذَا مِنْدِيْلٌ: No, this is a handkerchief.

The translation

مَنْ (man): who

مَنْ هَذَا؟ (man hadha?): Who is this?

طَبِيْبٌ (tabiibun): a doctor

وَلَدٌ (waladun): a boy

طَالِبٌ (taalibun): a student

رَجُلٌ (rajulun): a man

تَاجِرٌ  (taajirun): a merchant

كَلْبٌ (kalbun): a dog

قِطٌّ (qittun): a cat

حِمَارٌ (himaarun):  a donkey

حِصَانٌ (hisaanun): a horse

جَمَلٌ (jamalun): a camel

دِيْكٌ (diikun): a rooster

مُدَرِّسٌ (mudarrisun): a teacher

مِنْدِيْلٌ (mindiilun): handkerchief

Summary

1. مَنْ is ism istifhaam (interrogative noun) to ask about those who possess intellect or human.

2. مَنْ means "who".

3. Interrogative particle "أ" or hamzah istifhaam is used to ask yes/no question about those who have an intellect (human) and things that have no intellect (non-human).

4. You've learned the following new Arabic vocabulary: طَبِيْبٌ, وَلَدٌ, طَالِبٌ, رَجُلٌ, كَلْبٌ, قِطٌّ, حِمَارٌ, حِصَانٌ, جَمَلٌ, دِيْكٌ, مُدَرِّسٌ, مِنْدِيْلٌ