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ma

German, adverb

ma is spelled M-A (2 letters) and appears 48 times per million words in written German, the 1,771st most frequent German word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). Ma is a German adverb meaning “pronunciation spelling of mal” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). On this page, Ma. is a different word: “abbreviation of Mundart”. On this page, Maß is a different word: “measure (standard against which something can be judged)”. On this page, maß is a different word: “first/third-person singular preterite of messen”.

What does ma mean in English?

adverb

  1. 1

    colloquialpronunciation spelling of mal

noun

as Ma.
  1. 1

    abbreviation of Mundart

noun

as Maß
  1. 1

    neutermeasure (standard against which something can be judged)

  2. 2

    neutersize

  3. 3

    neuterextent

noun

as Maß
  1. 1

    femininea litre/tankard of beer

verb

as maß
  1. 1

    first/third-person singular preterite of messen

Source: English Wiktionary, German section, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0).

How German dictionaries define it

noun: 1. Einheit, in der etwas gemessen wird 2. genormter Gegenstand, mit oder an dem etwas gemessen wird; auch eine Norm im übertragenen Sinne, zum Beispiel für Moral 3. gemessene Größe; auch in übertragenem Sinne für die Kurven einer Frau 4. Abstufung einer Intensität

noun: 1. ein Liter Flüssigkeit 2. ein Liter frisch gezapftes bayerisches Bier im Glaskrug oder Steinkrug (ohne Angabe des Inhalts)

abbreviation: 1. mittelalterlich 2. mundartlich

abbreviation: 1. Mittelalter 2. Magistratsabteilung 3. Kraftfahrzeugkennzeichen für den Bezirk Mattersburg 4. Kraftfahrzeugkennzeichen für die Stadt Mannheim

abbreviation: 1. Mittelalter

suffix: 1. nachgestelltes Wortbildungselement in sächlichen Substantiven aus dem Griechischen

noun: 1. Kurzform für Mama

The definition in the German Wiktionary, in German.

Source: German Wiktionary, dump of September 1, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org.

Forms of ma

  • Maßes genitive
  • Maße plural
  • Maßen dative definite plural
  • Maas alternative obsolete
  • Maaß alternative obsolete
  • Masz alternative uncommon
  • Mass alternative Switzerland Liechtenstein
  • M. abbreviation
  • MA. alternative
  • Pa masculine
  • Papa masculine
  • Mas nominative plural

Source: English Wiktionary and German Wiktionary (dumps of September 2, 2026 and September 1, 2026).

English words that translate to ma

Source: the translation tables of the English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026.

How common is ma in German?

ma appears 48 times per million words in written German.

Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).

What to look up after ma