מַהוּ דְּתֵימָא ... קָא מַשְׁמַע לַן
ORIGINALJBA-016
Bavli / Jewish Babylonian Aramaic · Expected Mistake and Teaching Point
מהו דתימא ... קא משמע לן
JBA-016Jewish Babylonian AramaicBavli and JBA discourse
ORIGINAL LANGUAGE FIRST
מַהוּ דְּתֵימָא ... קָא מַשְׁמַע לַן
Pedagogical transliterationmahu de-teima ... ka mashma lan
Plain meaningyou might have thought ... therefore it teaches us
Any vocalization or pronunciation shown here is pedagogical unless the cited source itself is pointed.WHAT YOU ARE LOOKING AT
מהו דתימא ... קא משמע לן
This paired structure is one of the most useful argumentative patterns in the Bavli. מהו דתימא introduces the plausible but rejected assumption: “you might have thought...” קא משמע לן gives the point the teaching actually establishes: “therefore it teaches us / comes to teach us.” Read the two ends as one argument frame.
HEAR THIS LESSONListen to the full public explanation.Teacher narration is separate from original-language pronunciation.
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SEE HOW IT WORKS
Keep the form, reading, and meaning together.
mahu de-teima ... ka mashma lan
READINGPedagogical reading guide
you might have thought ... therefore it teaches us
MEANINGJewish Babylonian Aramaic
REMEMBER