à

See also: À, -à, and Appendix:Variations of "a"

à U+00E0, à LATIN SMALL LETTER A WITH GRAVE Composition: a [U+0061] + ◌̀ [U+0300] ← ß [U+00DF] Latin-1 Supplement á → [U+00E1]

Languages (32)

Catalan • Danish • Dutch • Emilian • Finnish • French • Galician • German • Hungarian • Indonesian • Italian • Ladin • Ligurian • Mandarin • Matal • Middle French • Ngam • Norman • Norwegian Bokmål • Portuguese • Rawang • Romagnol • Romani • Scottish Gaelic • Slovak • Slovene • Spanish • Swedish • Tày • Tlingit • Vietnamese • Welsh

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Page categories

Catalan

Letter

à (lower case, upper case À)

1. the letter a with grave accent, used to indicate that a vowel is stressed. Usually written only where stress cannot be predicted from orthography or for disambiguation.

See also

• (Latin-script letters) lletres; A a (À à), B b, C c (Ç ç), D d, E e (É é, È è), F f, G g, H h, I i (Í í, Ï ï), J j, K k, L l (L·L l·l), M m, N n, O o (Ó ó, Ò ò), P p, Q q, R r, S s, T t, U u (Ú ú, Ü ü), V v, W w, X x, Y y, Z z

Danish

Etymology

Etymology tree

Proto-Indo-European *h₂éd

Proto-Italic *ad

Latin ad

Old French a

French àbor.

Danish à

From French à, from Latin ad.

Preposition

à

1. at (indicates an approximate number)
2. each (indicates the price etc)

See also

• a la
• a point

References

• “à” in Den Danske Ordbog

Dutch

Etymology

From French à.

Pronunciation

• Audio:

  (file)

Preposition

à

1. indicates an approximate number

   Kook 2 à 3 aardappelen per persoon. ― Boil 2 or/to 3 potatoes per person.

2. indicates the price etc. each

   10 blikjes à 0,06 € is 0,60 € in totaal. ― 10 cans at €0.06 each is €0.60 in total.

Descendants

• → Indonesian: à

Emilian

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈa/

Verb

à

1. third-person singular present indicative of avair

Finnish

Etymology

Borrowed from French à.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈɑ/
• IPA^(key): [ˈɑ̝]

Adverb

à (not comparable)

1. a, per, each

   Synonyms: see kohti

French

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /a/

• Audio (Paris):

  (file)

• Audio (Canada (Shawinigan)):

  (file)

• Audio (Switzerland (Valais)):

  (file)

• Audio (France (Toulouse)):

  (file)

• Audio (France (Vosges)):

  (file)

• Audio (France):

  (file)

• Audio (France (Grenoble)):

  (file)

• Audio (France (Vosges)):

  (file)

• Audio (France (Hérault)):

  (file)

• Audio (France (Lyon)):

  (file)

• Audio (France (Massy)):

  (file)

• Homophones: a, as
• Rhymes: -a

Notes

• In Canada, à and a are not homophones, à [a], a [ɑː].

Etymology 1

Letter

à (lower case, upper case À)

1. A with grave accent, a letter used in French mostly to distinguish some homographs and in transliteration.

Usage notes

• Use of accents on capital letters is variable. European usage is sometimes to omit accents, though the French Academy considers it incorrect. This is partly due to the keyboard layout used in France. Quebec usage is to put accents on capitals.

Etymology 2

Inherited from Old French a, a merge of Latin ad and ab.

Preposition

à

1. to (destination)

   aller au bout ― go to the end / go all the way

   Je vais à Paris. ― I am going to Paris.

2. at, in, on (said of a particular place)

   à la maison ― at home

   à l'hôtel ― at the hotel

   au comptoir du bar ― at the bar

   au bois ― in the woods

   J'habite à un demi-kilomètre d'ici. ― I live half a kilometer from here.

3. at (said of a particular time)

   à dix heures et quart ― at quarter past ten

   Je pars à cinq heures précises. ― I am leaving at exactly five o'clock.

4. to (until)

   Le spectacle sera de 18h à 21h. ― The show will be from 6 pm to 9 pm.

5. on the, to (some directions)

   Tournez à gauche ! ― Turn [to the] left!

   Ne tournez pas encore à droite ! ― Don't turn [to the] right yet!

   Le vent vire au nord. ― The wind turns north.

   L'école est à gauche. ― The school is on the left.

6. from (origin)

   Nous prenons de l'eau au puits. ― We get water from the well.

   Je l'ai eu à la bibliothèque. ― I got it from the library.

   Voilà la femme à laquelle j'ai acheté mon chien ― There's the woman I bought my dog from.

7. of (belonging to)

   Synonym: (usually in different grammatical contexts) de

   C'est un ami à moi. ― This is a friend of mine.

   Cette voiture est à John. ― This is John's car.

   le chien à Marie ― Mary's dog [nonstandard: one normally would use de here]

8. by

   Je vais au travail à vélo. ― I go to work by bicycle.

   peu à peu ― bit by bit

   petit à petit ― little by little

   minute à minute ― minute by minute

   jour à jour ― day by day

   un à un ― one by one

9. (before an infinitive) to (used to express something not completed)

   l'équipe à battre ― the team to beat

   Il n'y a jamais grand-chose à faire par ici. ― There's never much to do around here.

   Là où tu ne vois pas grand-chose, je ne trouve qu'une grande abondance de choses qui restent à faire. ― Where you see nothing great, I only see a great abundance of things that need doing.

   Il reste deux tâches à finir. ― There are two things left to finish.

   Il y a de la bière à boire. ― There's some beer to drink.

10. used to make compound nouns to state what something is used for

    moulin à poivre ― pepper mill

    sac à dos ― backpack

    boîte à musique ― music box

11. used to describe a part of something, often translated into English as a compound adjective

    un animal à quatre pattes ― a four-legged animal

    une femme au visage pâle ― a pale-faced woman

    un homme à longue barbe ― a long-bearded man — a man with a long beard

    une chemise à manches courtes ― a short-sleeved shirt

    une maison aux murs de brique ― a brick-walled house / a house with brick walls

12. or, to (used to express an approximate number)

    six à sept personnes ― six or seven people

    de vingt à trente ans ― from twenty to thirty years

    tous les cinq à six ans ― every five or six years

13. used to indicate the recipient or target of certain verb phrases.

    mettre le feu à ― to set fire to

    clouer le bec à ― to shut (someone) up

    donner la chasse à ― to give chase to

14. with; (cooking) cooked with or in

    un café au lait ― coffee with milk

    une tarte aux pommes ― apple pie

    une robe à fleurs ― a dress with flowers

    • 2005, Jacques Bouveresse, "Et Satan conduit le bal..." Kraus, Hitler & le nazisme, which is an introduction to the book La Troisième nuit de Walpurgis, by Karl Kraus, translated by Pierre Deshusses:

      On peut remarquer, à ce propos, que ce n'est pas non plus dans des livre à prétention plus ou moins scientifique que Kraus avait l'habitude de chercher les instruments dont il avait besoin pour la déscription et l'expliquation.

      It may also be noticed, on this matter, that it is also not on books with more or less scientific pretentions that Kraus used to search for the instruments which he needed for description and explanation.

15. till, until (used in farewells)

    à plus tard ― see you later

    à bientôt ― see you soon

    Salut, donc. À demain. ― Bye, then. 'Til tomorrow / see you tomorrow.

16. found in various interjections used as warnings or exhortations

    au voleur ! ― stop thief!

    à l'assassin ! ― murderer!

    au meurtre ! ― murder! murderer!

    à moi ! ― help!

    à l'aide ! ― help!

    au secours ! ― help!

    au feu ! ― fire!

    aux armes ! ― to arms!

    à l'attaque ! ― attack! forward! charge! up and at 'em!

    à l'abordage ! ― on board!

    au boulot ! ― get to work! let's get to work!

    au travail ! ― get to work! let's get to work!

    • 1836, Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra, chapter XL, in Louis Viardot, transl., L’Ingénieux Hidalgo Don Quichotte de la Manche, volume I, Paris: J[acques]-J[ulien] Dubochet et C^ie, éditeurs, […], →OCLC:

      Bien que la faim et le dénûment nous tourmentassent quelquefois, et même à peu près toujours, rien ne nous causait autant de tourment que d'être témoins des cruautés inouïes que mon maître exerçait sur les chrétiens. Chaque jour il en faisait pendre quelqu'un; on empalait celui-là, on coupait les oreilles à celui-ci […] .

      Even though hunger and destitution tormented us sometimes, and even almost always, nothing caused us as much torment as being witnesses to the unheard-of cruelties that my master exercised on the Christians. Every day, he made someone hang; they impaled that one, they cut the ears off of this one […] .

Usage notes

• Expresses location (at/to), time (at), means, manner, price; à may also indicate possession (of or 's), particularly when used with a disjunctive personal pronoun, e.g. à moi, à eux, à elle.
• When à is followed by a definite article, the two combine to give the following combined forms:

à + article	Combined form
à + le	au
à + la	unchanged (à la)
à + l'	unchanged (à l')
à + les	aux

• When expressing location with geographical names, en is generally used with feminine names and names beginning with a vowel, au with masculine names, and aux with plural names. Compare en France, en Iran, au Canada, and aux États-Unis. The most notable exception is à la Barbade.

• Logically following the previously described rule, à combines with the relative pronouns, which themselves contain an element of the definite article, producing these forms:

à + article	Combined form
à + lequel	auquel
à + laquelle	à laquelle
à + lesquels	auxquels
à + lesquelles	auxquelles

• Certain French verbs require à after them, either as part of a fixed construction or to distinguish a particular meaning or usage. In many cases, English translations do not use a corresponding preposition. See Appendix:French verbs followed by à.
  • Many French verbs use à to introduce an indirect object or other complement. Their English equivalents may instead take a direct object or use a different construction.
  • When the complement introduced by à is replaced by an indirect object pronoun (me, te, lui, nous, vous, leur), à is no longer written separately. English often expresses the relationship differently.

Tu manques à Marie. ― Marie misses you.

Tu lui manques. ― She misses you.

Tu me manques. ― I miss you.

• The pronoun y can replace an object introduced by à when it refers to a place or thing, but not a person.

Derived terms

compounds and contractions

• au
• aujourd'hui
• auquel
• aux
• auxquelles
• auxquels
• jusqu'à

locutions and syntagma

• à ... près
• à bientôt
• à côté de
• à deux doigts
• à deux pas
• à droite
• à gauche
• à la
• à la fois
• à la hauteur
• à l'avance
• à l'extérieur
• à l'heure
• à l'instar de
• à l'intérieur
• à mon avis
• à partir de
• à propos
• à propos de
• à-côtés
• à-coups
• aux côtés de
• bout à bout
• ce à quoi
• côte à côte
• face à
• jusqu'à ce que
• par rapport à
• tout à fait

Descendants

• → Danish: à
• → Dutch: à
• → German: à
• → Hungarian: à
• → Norwegian Bokmål: à, a
• → Swedish: à

Further reading

• “à”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012

Galician

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [aː]
• Hyphenation: à

Contraction

à f (masculine ao, masculine plural aos, feminine plural às)

1. reintegrationist spelling of á

Further reading

• “à”, in Dicionário Estraviz de galego (in Galician), 2014–2026

German

Etymology

Etymology tree

Proto-Indo-European *h₂éd

Proto-Italic *ad

Latin ad

Old French a

French àbor.

German à

Borrowed from French à.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /aː/

• Audio (Germany (Berlin)):

  (file)

Preposition

à [with nominative or dative or accusative]

1. (business, colloquial) at (a specified price or rate of exchange per item)

   Vier Briefmarken à 75 Cent, das macht drei Euro, bitte!

   Four stamps at 75 cents each, that's three euros, please!

Usage notes

• Generally not followed by articles or adjectives, but if necessary it may be construed with nominative, dative, or accusative: à ein or einem or einen Euro.

Synonyms

• zu (je)

Related terms

• à la

Hungarian

Etymology

Etymology tree

Proto-Indo-European *h₂éd

Proto-Italic *ad

Latin ad

Old French a

French àbor.

Hungarian à

From French à.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [ˈaː]
• Rhymes: -aː

Letter

à (lower case, upper case À)

1. (commerce, dated) at, @ (at the given rate for each item)

   Synonyms: darabja, egyenként

2. (formal, often in the phrase à la) a la, in the style of, after the manner of

   Synonyms: módján, modorában, stílusában

Declension

Inflection (stem in long/high vowel, back harmony)

	singular	plural
nominative	à	à-k
accusative	à-t	à-kat
dative	à-nak	à-knak
instrumental	à-val	à-kkal
causal-final	à-ért	à-kért
translative	à-vá	à-kká
terminative	à-ig	à-kig
essive-formal	à-ként	à-kként
essive-modal	—	—
inessive	à-ban	à-kban
superessive	à-n	à-kon
adessive	à-nál	à-knál
illative	à-ba	à-kba
sublative	à-ra	à-kra
allative	à-hoz	à-khoz
elative	à-ból	à-kból
delative	à-ról	à-król
ablative	à-tól	à-któl
non-attributive possessive – singular	à-é	à-ké
non-attributive possessive – plural	à-éi	à-kéi

Possessive forms of à

possessor	single possession	multiple possessions
1st person sing.	à-m	à-im
2nd person sing.	à-d	à-id
3rd person sing.	à-ja	à-i
1st person plural	à-nk	à-ink
2nd person plural	à-tok	à-itok
3rd person plural	à-juk	à-ik

Derived terms

• à la carte

See also

• (Latin-script letters) betű; A a, Á á, B b, C c, Cs cs, D d, Dz dz, Dzs dzs, E e, É é, F f, G g, Gy gy, H h, I i, Í í, J j, K k, L l, Ly ly, M m, N n, Ny ny, O o, Ó ó, Ö ö, Ő ő, P p, R r, S s, Sz sz, T t, Ty ty, U u, Ú ú, Ü ü, Ű ű, V v, Z z, Zs zs. Only in the extended alphabet: Q q W w X x Y y. Commonly used: ch. Also defined: à ë. In surnames: ä aa cz ds eé eö ew oe oó th ts ÿ and others.

Further reading

• à in Géza Bárczi, László Országh, et al., editors, A magyar nyelv értelmező szótára [The Explanatory Dictionary of the Hungarian Language] (ÉrtSz.), Budapest: Akadémiai Kiadó, 1959–1962. Fifth ed., 1992: →ISBN.
• à in Nóra Ittzés, editor, A magyar nyelv nagyszótára [A Comprehensive Dictionary of the Hungarian Language] (Nszt.), Budapest: Akadémiai Kiadó, 2006–2031 (work in progress; published a–ez as of 2026).
• à and (with subscription) à  in Ferenc Pusztai, editor, Magyar értelmező kéziszótár [A Concise Explanatory Dictionary of Hungarian] (ÉKsz.²), 2nd, expanded and revised edition, Budapest: Akadémiai Kiadó, 2003 (online searchable version under development).

Indonesian

Etymology

Unadapted borrowing from Dutch à, from French à, from Old French a, a merge of Latin ad and ab.

Pronunciation

• (Standard Indonesian) IPA^(key): /a/ [a]
• Rhymes: -a
• Homophones: A, a

Preposition

à (dated)

1. indicates an approximate number

   Synonyms: kira-kira, sekitar, lebih kurang

   Lama perjalanan yang ditempuh 20 à 30 menit. ― The journey takes around 20 to 30 minutes.

2. indicates the price of a thing etc. per each

   Near-synonyms: masing-masing, (informal) @

   Dia membeli 5 sisir pisang à Rp 5.000. ― He bought five fingers of bananas for Rp. 5,000 each.

Further reading

• “à”, in Kamus Besar Bahasa Indonesia [Great Dictionary of the Indonesian Language] (in Indonesian), Jakarta: Agency for Language Development and Cultivation – Ministry of Education, Culture, Research, and Technology of the Republic of Indonesia, 2016

Italian

Letter

à f or m (lower case, upper case À, invariable)

1. The letter ⟨a⟩ in a stressed final syllable.

Verb

à

1. obsolete spelling of ha, third-person singular present indicative of avere

Ladin

Verb

à

1. third-person singular present indicative of avei (“has”)
2. third-person plural present indicative of avei (“have”)

Ligurian

Verb

à

1. third-person singular present indicative of avéi (“has”)

Mandarin

Alternative forms

• a — nonstandard

Romanization

à (a⁴, Zhuyin ㄚˋ)

1. Hanyu Pinyin reading of 啊
2. Hanyu Pinyin reading of 阿
3. Hanyu Pinyin reading of 𫮄
4. Hanyu Pinyin reading of 𮥀

Matal

Pronoun

à

1. he, she

Middle French

Preposition

à

1. (16th century onwards) alternative form of a: at; to
   • 1537, Cicero (original author), Epistres familiaires traduictz de latin en francois et nouvellement imprimez link

     on les vend à Paris

     They are being sold in Paris

Ngam

Alternative forms

• wà

Etymology

Cognate to Sar à.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈa˨/

Particle

à

1. initial interrogative particle on a question

References

• Keegan, John (2014). The Eastern Sara Languages. Ceunca, Spain: Morkeg Books. p. 223.
• Mudiwa, Olukayode (2001). An Analysis of Proto-Sara. Addis Ababa, Ethiopia: Addis Ababa Books. p. 156.

Norman

Etymology

Etymology tree

Proto-Indo-European *h₂éd

Proto-Italic *ad

Latin ad

Norman à

From Latin ad.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /a/

Preposition

à

1. to, at

Noun

à m (plural às)

1. at sign

   Synonyms: colînmachon, siez

References

• Spence, N.C.W. (1960). Glossary of Jersey-French. Oxford: Blackwell. p. 39.

Norwegian Bokmål

Alternative forms

• a (unaccented form)

Etymology

First attested in 1869. Unadapted borrowing from French à (“to, in, on, at”), from Old French a (“to, towards, belonging to”), ultimately from Latin ad (“to, towards, at”), from Proto-Italic *ad (“toward, to, at”), from Proto-Indo-European *h₂éd (“near, at”). French à also reflects a historical merger with Latin ab (“from, away from”).

Doublet of ad (“regarding, concerning”). Compare Italian a, Catalan a, Occitan a, Galician a, Portuguese a and Spanish a (“to, at”); more distantly, English at.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ɑː/, [ɑː]

• Audio:

  (file)

• Audio:

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɑː
• Homophone: a
• Hyphenation: à

Preposition

à

1. to, up to; used between numbers to indicate an approximate range

   Det kan ta ett à to år. ― It may take one to two years.

   • 1869, Bjørnstjerne Bjørnson, En ny feriefart:

     på hver lystfarende nordmand kommer ti à tyve fremmede

     for every Norwegian travelling for pleasure, there are ten to twenty foreigners

2. (commerce) at, each; used to state the price or value of each unit

   Fem kilo à 60 kroner. ― Five kilos at 60 kroner per kilo.

   • 1998, Geir Pollen, Hutchinsons eftf., page 79:

     to hundre og femti nummererte [bok]eksemplarer à tusen kroner

     two hundred and fifty numbered [book] copies at one thousand kroner each

3. at, on, in, per; used especially to specify the size, denomination, duration, frequency or numerical level of each unit

   Kurset består av ti økter à to timer. ― The course consists of ten sessions of two hours each.

   • 1872–1883, Henrik Ibsen, Samlede verker, volume XVII, page 92:

     [75 thaler] i sedler à 25 thaler

     [75 thalers] in 25-thaler banknotes

   • 2001, Jan Christopher Næss, Jotapata:

     tolv perioder à ca. fire uker

     twelve periods of approximately four weeks each

   à poeng med — level on points with; having the same score as

   Etter ti kamper lå laget à poeng med serielederen. ― After ten matches, the team was level on points with the league leader.

   • 2019 February 11, Dagsavisen, page 29:

     Leeds og Norwich var à poeng på tabelltoppen før helgen

     Leeds and Norwich were level on points at the top of the table before the weekend

4. Used in several French-derived multiword expressions.

   à jour (“up to date”), à la (“in the style of”), à la carte (“à la carte”), à la mode (“in fashion”)

Usage notes

• The grave accent is optional in Bokmål; a is also a standard spelling. The accent can help distinguish this French-derived preposition from unrelated words and prepositions also spelled a.

References

• “à” in The Bokmål Dictionary.
• “à” in Norwegian Academy Dictionary (NAOB).

Portuguese

Alternative forms

• á (pre-standardization spelling)
• aa (obsolete)

Pronunciation

• (Brazil) IPA^(key): /a/

• (Portugal) IPA^(key): /a/

• Audio (Brazil (São Paulo)):

  (file)

• Audio (Portugal (Porto)):

  (file)

• Homophone: a (Brazil)
• Hyphenation: à

Etymology 1

Contraction

à f sg

2. contraction of a (“to”) +‎ a f sg (“the”): feminine singular of ao

   Vou à praia.

   I’m going to the beach.

   • 2000, J. K. Rowling, translated by Lia Wyler, Harry Potter e a Câmara Secreta [Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets] (Harry Potter; 2), Rio de Janeiro: Rocco, →ISBN, page 217:

     Quando tiver uma dúvida, vá à biblioteca.

     When you have a question, go to the library.

Quotations

For quotations using this term, see Citations:ao.

Preposition

à

2. misspelling of a
3. forms adverbs meaning "in a manner related or resembling"
5. ellipsis of à moda (“way, manner, -style”)

   bife à milanesa ― veal Millanese or (by extension) breaded steak

6. accented preposition, the preposition a is accented when it comes before feminine words in prepositional, adverbial and conjunctive phrases; in

   Ele escreveu à caneta.

   He wrote in pen.

Usage notes

• The grave accent is used to differentiate the preposition of a simple article. In "He wrote in pen", the respective particle without the diacritic will make the sentence have another meaning: "He wrote the pen."

Derived terms

• à caçador
• à francesa
• à milanesa
• à pai Adão
• à parmegiana

Etymology 2

From homophone há.

Verb

à

1. misspelling of há

Further reading

• “à”, in Dicionário Aulete Digital (in Portuguese), Rio de Janeiro: Lexikon Editora Digital, 2008–2026
• “à”, in Dicionário Priberam da Língua Portuguesa (in Portuguese), Lisbon: Priberam, 2008–2026

Rawang

Suffix

à (upper case À)

1. verbal suffix for marking past tense on transitive verbs.

   Wedø wà yàngà.

   They did it like that.

   Àngbøø̀ng lòng vnáng bǿngà.

   I forgot his name.

Romagnol

Alternative forms

• a

Etymology

See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

Verb

à

1. third-person singular/plural present indicative of avér (“to have”)

Romani

Letter

à (lower case, upper case À)

1. (International Standard) The letter a with the grave accent.

See also

• (Latin-script letters) A a, B b, C c, D d, E e, F f, G g, H h, X x, I i, J j, K k, Kh kh, L l, M m, N n, O o, P p, Ph ph, R r, S s, T t, Th th, U u, V v, Z z International Standard: (À à, Ä ä, Ǎ ǎ), Ć ć, Ćh ćh, (È è, Ë ë, Ě ě), (Ì ì, Ï ï, Ǐ ǐ), (Ò ò, Ö ö, Ǒ ǒ), Rr rr, Ś ś, (Ù ù, Ü ü, Ǔ ǔ), Ź ź, Ʒ ʒ, Q q, Ç ç, ϴ θ. Pan-Vlax: Č č, Čh čh, Dž dž, (Dź dź), Ř ř, Š š, (Ś ś), Ž ž, (Ź ź).

Scottish Gaelic

Alternative forms

• á (superseded in Scotland)

Etymology

From Old Irish a. Cognates include Irish as and Manx ass.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /a/ (as if spelled a)
• Hyphenation: à

Preposition

à (+ dative, no mutation, before the definite article às)

1. from, out of

Inflection

Personal inflection of à

	Person:		simple	emphatic
singular	first		asam	asamsa
	second		asad	asadsa
	third	m	às	às-san
		f	aiste	aistese
plural	first		asainn	asainne
	second		asaibh	asaibhse
	third		asta	astasan

Synonyms

• bho, o

Further reading

• Edward Dwelly (1911), “à”, in Faclair Gàidhlig gu Beurla le Dealbhan [The Illustrated Gaelic–English Dictionary], 10th edition, Edinburgh: Birlinn Limited, →ISBN
• Gregory Toner, Sharon Arbuthnot, Máire Ní Mhaonaigh, Marie-Luise Theuerkauf, Dagmar Wodtko, editors (2019), “7 a”, in eDIL: Electronic Dictionary of the Irish Language

Slovak

Etymology

Etymology tree

Proto-Indo-European *h₂éd

Proto-Italic *ad

Latin ad

Old French a

French àubor.

Slovak à

Unadapted borrowing from French à. First attested in the 20th century.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /aː/, [aː]
• Rhymes: -aː

Preposition

à [with nominative and cardinal number]

1. for, per (expresses the price per piece , for a certain quantity)

   Synonym: po

   štyri fotky à 20 Sk ― four photos for 20 Sk

   päť žrebov à 10 Sk ― five lottery tickets for 10 Sk

Related terms

• déjà vécu, déjà vu
• hommage à
• peu à peu
• tête à tête
• tour-à-bec
• vis-à-vis
• à bas
• à conto
• à fond perdu
• à jour
• à la
• à la baisse
• à la carte
• à la hausse
• à la longue
• à la mode
• à la tête
• à part
• à propos
• à remettre en main propre
• à tout prix

Further reading

• “à”, in Slovníkový portál Jazykovedného ústavu Ľ. Štúra SAV [Dictionary portal of the Ľ. Štúr Institute of Linguistics, Slovak Academy of Science] (in Slovak), https://slovnik.juls.savba.sk, 2003–2026

Slovene

Etymology 1

Letter a with grave (◌̀) to signify short stressed vowel.

Pronunciation

• (phoneme): IPA^(key): /a/
• (letter name, non-tonal transcription): IPA^(key): /kràːtki àː/, /kràːtki áː/ kratki a
• Rhymes: -aː

Letter

à (lower case, upper case À)

1. Additional letter, used in some words to denote the short stress on a.

Symbol

à

1. (non-tonal SNPT) Phonetic transcription of sound [a].

Etymology 2

Letter a with acute (◌̀) to signify long stressed vowel.

Pronunciation

• (Natisone Valley dialect, phoneme): IPA^(key): /a/

Letter

à (lower case, usually no upper case, upper case À)

1. (Natisone Valley dialect) Additional letter, used in some words to denote the long stress on a.

Etymology 3

From French à, from latin Latin ad 'to'.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /àː/, /áː/, /á/

• Audio (non-tonal, long):

  (file)

• Audio (non-tonal, short):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -aː
• Homophones: A, a

Preposition

à

1. for, per (the price, mass etc.) [with accusative]

   Synonyms: po, za

   • 1886, Krain Landtag, Bericht über die Verhandlungen des Krainischen Landtages zu Laibach: nach den stenographischen Aufzeichnungen‎^[2], page 219:

     Meso à 105 gramov.

     Meat per 105 grams.

See also

• a
• á
• ȃ
• ā
• ȁ

Further reading

• “à”, in Slovarji Inštituta za slovenski jezik Frana Ramovša ZRC SAZU (in Slovene), 2014–2026

Spanish

Preposition

à

1. obsolete spelling of a

Swedish

Etymology

Etymology tree

Proto-Indo-European *h₂éd

Proto-Italic *ad

Latin ad

Old French a

French àbor.

Swedish à

Borrowed from French à (“to; at”). First attested in 1644.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /aː/

Preposition

à

1. @, at ... each [since 1644 ]

   5 st à 3 kr för totalt 15 kr

   5 pcs. at 3 kronor each for a total of 15 kronor

   • 2017 April 1, "Ovärdigt Finland att marginalisera dem med autism och deras närstående" [Unworthy of Finland to marginalize those with autism and their relatives] (letter to the editor), Hufvudstadsbladet, Helsinki: KSF Media, accessed 11 November 2020:

     Hade vi följt Sveriges exempel (LSS, 1994), skulle den personliga assistansen (à 11 euro per timme) vid det här laget vara en profession.

     If we had followed Sweden's example (LSS, 1994), the personal assistance (at 11 euros per hour) would have been a profession by this point.

2. (dated) ... to ... [since 1670]

   2 à 3 kg

   2 to 3 kilograms

   • 1850 August 13, “Landsorts-tidningar, Wisby [Non-capital newspapers, Visby]”, in Post- och Inrikes Tidningar, page 2:

     Sistlidne Fredag gaf den sydliga vinden, som då började blåsa med laber kultie signalen till skådespelets början; dagen derpå defilerade i prydlig ordning en svärm af seglare omkring 40 à 50 tre- och två-mastare, många i full skrud, med läsegel och skyskrap!

     Last Friday, the southern wind, which began to blow gently, gave the signal for the start of the spectacle; the next day, a swarm of sailboats, around 40 to 50 three- and two-masters, paraded in orderly fashion, many in full regalia, with studding sails and skyscrapers!

   • 1963, Margit Abenius, Memoarer från det inre‎^[3], page 136:

     Jag har hela mitt liv, dvs. en 25 à 30 år fantiserat om en ny form, någonting som inte vore roman och inte essä, […]

     I have my whole life, i.e. a 25 to 30 year fantasized about a new form, something that would not be a novel and not an essay, […]

   Synonyms: –, till

Derived terms

• à-pris (“unit price”)

References

• “à”, in Svenska Akademiens ordlista [Wordlist of the Swedish Academy] (in Swedish)

Tày

Pronunciation

• (Thạch An – Tràng Định) IPA^(key): [ʔaː˧˨]
• (Trùng Khánh) IPA^(key): [ʔaː˩]

Etymology 1

Particle

à

1. Question particle.

   Hết đảy mí à? ― Can you do it?

   Pây liê̱u mí à? ― Wanna go play?

Etymology 2

Compare a.

Noun

à (Nôm form 妸)

1. blood paternal aunt (younger than one's father)

   me̱ à ― (polite) paternal aunt

Etymology 3

Particle

à

1. yeah

   À chư̱ dá.

   Yeah, that's right.

Etymology 4

Particle

à (Nôm form 呵)

1. Sound made during singing.

References

• Hoàng Văn Ma; Lục Văn Pảo; Hoàng Chí (2006), Từ điển Tày-Nùng-Việt [Tay-Nung-Vietnamese dictionary] (in Vietnamese), Hanoi: Nhà xuất bản Từ điển Bách khoa Hà Nội
• Lương Bèn (2011), Từ điển Tày-Việt [Tay-Vietnamese dictionary]‎^[4][5] (in Vietnamese), Thái Nguyên: Nhà Xuất bản Đại học Thái Nguyên
• Dương Nhật Thanh; Hoàng Tuấn Nam (2003), Hoàng Triều Ân, editor, Từ điển chữ Nôm Tày [A Dictionary of (chữ) Nôm Tày]‎^[6] (in Tày and Vietnamese), Hanoi: Nhà xuất bản Khoa học xã hội [Social Sciences Publishing House]

Tlingit

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /aː/

Letter

à (lower case, upper case À)

1. (Canada) A letter of the Tlingit alphabet, written in the Latin script.

   Synonym: aa

See also

• Canada:
• (Latin-script letters) A a, Á á, À à,  â, Ch ch, Chʼ chʼ, D d, Dł dł, Dz dz, E e, É é, È è, Ê ê, G g, Gw gw, Gh gh, Ghw ghw, H h, I i, Í í, Ì ì, Πî, J j, K k, Kw kw, Kʼ kʼ, Kʼw kʼw, Kh kh, Khw khw, Khʼ khʼ, Khʼw khʼw (L l), Ł ł, Łʼ łʼ (M m), N n (O o), S s, Sʼ sʼ, Sh sh, T t, Tʼ tʼ, Tl tl, Tlʼ tlʼ, Ts ts, Tsʼ tsʼ, U u, Ú ú, Ù ù, Û û, W w, X x, Xw xw, Xʼ xʼ, Xʼw xʼw, Xh xh, Xhw xhw, Xhʼ xhʼ, Xhʼw xhʼw, Y y (Ÿ ÿ), ․
• US:
• (Latin-script letters) A a, Á á, Aa aa, Áa áa, Ch ch, Chʼ chʼ, D d, Dl dl, Dz dz, E e, É é, Ee ee, Ée ée, Ei ei, Éi éi, G g, Gw gw, G̱ g̱, G̱w g̱w, H h, I i, Í í, J j, K k, Kw kw, Kʼ kʼ, Kʼw kʼw, Ḵ ḵ, Ḵw ḵw, Ḵʼ ḵʼ, Ḵʼw ḵʼw, L l, Lʼ lʼ (Ḻ ḻ, M m), N n (O o), Oo oo, Óo óo, S s, Sʼ sʼ, Sh sh, T t, Tʼ tʼ, Tl tl, Tlʼ tlʼ, Ts ts, Tsʼ tsʼ, U u, Ú ú, W w, X x, Xw xw, Xʼ xʼ, Xʼw xʼw, X̱ x̱, X̱w x̱w, X̱ʼ x̱ʼ, X̱ʼw x̱ʼw, Y y (Ÿ ÿ, Y̱ y̱), ․

Vietnamese

Pronunciation

• (Hà Nội) IPA^(key): [ʔaː˨˩]
• (Huế) IPA^(key): [ʔaː˦˩]
• (Saigon) IPA^(key): [ʔaː˨˩]

• Audio (Hà Nội):

  (file)

• Audio (Saigon):

  (file)

Etymology 1

Letter

à (lower case, upper case À)

1. The letter a with the grave accent.

See also

• (Quốc ngữ letters) chữ cái; A a (À à, Ả ả, àã, Á á, Ạ ạ), Ă ă (Ằ ằ, Ẳ ẳ, Ẵ ẵ, Ắ ắ, Ặ ặ),  â (Ầ ầ, Ẩ ẩ, Ẫ ẫ, Ấ ấ, Ậ ậ), B b, C c (Ch ch), D d, Đ đ, E e (È è, Ẻ ẻ, Ẽ ẽ, É é, Ẹ ẹ), Ê ê (Ề ề, Ể ể, Ễ ễ, Ế ế, Ệ ệ), G g (Gh gh, Gi gi), H h, I i (Ì ì, Ỉ ỉ, Ĩ ĩ, Í í, Ị ị), K k (Kh kh), L l, M m, N n (Ng ng, Ngh ngh, Nh nh), O o (Ò ò, Ỏ ỏ, Õ õ, Ó ó, Ọ ọ), Ô ô (Ồ ồ, Ổ ổ, Ỗ ỗ, Ố ố, Ộ ộ), Ơ ơ (Ờ ờ, Ở ở, Ỡ ỡ, Ớ ớ, Ợ ợ), P p (Ph ph), Q q (Qu qu), R r, S s, T t (Th th, Tr tr), U u (Ù ù, Ủ ủ, Ũ ũ, Ú ú, Ụ ụ), Ư ư (Ừ ừ, Ử ử, Ữ ữ, Ứ ứ, Ự ự), V v, X x, Y y (Ỳ ỳ, Ỷ ỷ, Ỹ ỹ, Ý ý, Ỵ ỵ)

Etymology 2

Interjection

à

1. oh; I see

Etymology 3

Particle

à

1. Question particle.

   Thế à?

   Really?

   Cháu mới về à?

   So you've come back.

   Nhóm mày có bốn người thôi à?

   There's only four members in your group, isn't there?

2. Denote surprise or a sudden recollection

   à quên ― oh I forgot

Usage notes

• In contrast to không which is used to make a yes-no question, à is used to seek confirmation, roughly equivalent to Japanese ね (ne) or the English use of tag questions. Compare to nhỉ, which is similar to Japanese よ (yo) in that it is used to make a light assertion or remark. However, à denotes a speaker's stronger belief that the hearer will agree with him or her than the expression phải không.
• The negative reply to this type of question can start with không phải only to questions with a nominal predicate. Otherwise, the negative reply starts with không (or its variants, such as hông) or some other negators such as đâu.
• Not to be confused with ạ (politeness particle).

Etymology 4

Verb

à

1. (rare) to rush, to charge at the same time

   Synonym: òa

Welsh

Pronunciation

• (phoneme): IPA^(key): /a/

Letter

à (lower case, upper case À)

1. The letter A, marked for its short pronunciation in monosyllabic words.