a/languages A to L

See also: A, ᴀ, and Appendix:Variations of "a"

Languages (215)

Abau • Afar • Ainu • Akan • Akawaio • Albanian • Ama • Anguthimri • Aragonese • Asturian • Azerbaijani • Bambara • Basque • Bavarian • Beja • Belizean Creole • Big Nambas • Breton • Bube • Cameroon Pidgin • Catalan • Cebuano • Central Mazahua • Chavacano • Chayuco Mixtec • Chibcha • Chichewa • Choctaw • Chuukese • Cimbrian • Coatepec Nahuatl • Copala Triqui • Cora • Cornish • Corsican • Czech • Dakota • Dalmatian • Danish • Dutch • Edo • Egyptian • Emilian • Esperanto • Estonian • Fala • Faroese • Finnish • Franco-Provençal • French • Fula • Ga • Galician • German • Ghomara • Gilbertese • Gothic • Grass Koiari • Gun • Haitian Creole • Hawaiian • Hokkien • Humene • Hungarian • Icelandic • Ido • Igbo • Indo-Portuguese • Indonesian • Ingrian • Interlingua • Inupiaq • Irish • Isoko • Istriot • Italian • Jamaican Creole • Japanese • Jersey Dutch • Kabuverdianu • Kalasha • Kankanaey • Kapampangan • Kari'na • Kashubian • Kawahiva • Kayan • Khiamniungan Naga • K'iche' • Koitabu • Krisa • Ladin • Ladino • Latgalian • Latin • Latvian • Laz • Ligurian • Livonian • Lotha Naga • Louisiana Creole • Lower Sorbian • Ludian • Lushootseed • Luxembourgish

Malay • Maltese • Mandarin • Mandinka • Māori • Mauritian Creole • Mbya Guarani • Mezquital Otomi • Middle Dutch • Middle English • Middle French • Middle Irish • Middle Scots • Middle Welsh • Mizo • Mòcheno • Mopan Maya • Mountain Koiari • Murui Huitoto • Narango • Nauruan • Navajo • Neapolitan • Nheengatu • Nias • Norman • North Frisian • Norwegian Bokmål • Norwegian Nynorsk • Nupe • Nuxalk • Nǀuu • Occitan • Old Czech • Old Danish • Old Dutch • Old English • Old French • Old Frisian • Old Galician-Portuguese • Old Irish • Old Polish • Old Slovak • Old Spanish • Old Swedish • Old Tupi • Omaha-Ponca • Ometepec Nahuatl • Oromo • Palauan • Papiamentu • Paraguayan Guarani • Pennsylvania German • Polish • Portuguese • Rapa Nui • Rawang • Romagnol • Romani • Romanian • Sardinian • Sarikoli • Sassarese • Satawalese • Scots • Scottish Gaelic • Serbo-Croatian • Sicilian • Silesian • Skolt Sami • Slovak • Slovene • Slovincian • Spanish • Sranan Tongo • Sumerian • Swahili • Swedish • Tagalog • Tarantino • Tarifit • Tày • Tlingit • Tok Pisin • Tokelauan • Tooro • Tumbuka • Turkish • Turkmen • Tyap • Unami • Upper Sorbian • Urubú-Kaapor • Vietnamese • Volapük • Votic • Walloon • Welsh • West Makian • Yao (Africa) • Yele • Yola • Yoruba • Yucatec Maya • Zazaki • Zhuang • Zou • Zulu

The entries for a are spread across multiple pages due to their length.

Abau

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /a/

Particle

a

you know? right? (confirmation- or explanation-seeking particle)
it seems; used to convey a statement that is unconfirmed but likely to be agreed upon

Noun

a class II gender f

house
- 2006, “Matthew 7”, in Wycliffe Bible Translators, Inc., transl., God so Sokior-ok Iwon [The New Testament in the Abau language of Papua New Guinea] (overall work in Abau), Wycliffe Bible Translators, Inc., verse 27:
  ... seyr howniy aiopey hay hok a se amnuw-sway.
  ... and the winds blew and beat against that house ...

References

SIL International (2020), “Abau Dictionary”, in Webonary.org‎^[2]

Afar

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /ˈa/ [ˈʔʌ]
Hyphenation: a

Determiner

á

this, these (masculine)

Derived terms

ánnah

References

E. M. Parker; R. J. Hayward (1985), “a”, in An Afar-English-French dictionary (with Grammatical Notes in English), University of London, →ISBN
Mohamed Hassan Kamil (2015), L’afar: description grammaticale d’une langue couchitique (Djibouti, Erythrée et Ethiopie)‎^[3], Paris: Université Sorbonne Paris Cité (doctoral thesis)

Ainu

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Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /a/, [ʔa]

Pronominal Prefix

a (Kana spelling ア)

(transitive indefinite pronominal affix) someone, somebody. An undetermined or unspecified person or thing. It can also refer to someone whose identity is clear from the context.
Synonyms: an, sinuma, asinuma, anihi

Sikite ani a-kupa wa a-koyki.
It bite him with its fangs and killed him.

Hempar wano a-nukar wa an-an?
Since when are you looking at it?

Usage notes

No matter the context, a- is only used with transitive verbs. As for intransitive verbs, the pronominal suffix -an should be used instead.
a- may act as an emphasizing pronoun, emphasizing what, or who is doing the action. This may lead to situations where the context is ambiguous, since the verb could be in the passive voice:

Iperusuy’an aynu a-e.
The starving person ate (something) / The starving person was eaten (by someone/something).

Fortunately, there are many ways to overcome this. In the previous example, the speaker can either use the intransitive variant of e (to eat), ipe, or place an evident object in the phrase; ex. akam a-e → ate a cake.

a- may be often used as an inclusive first-person pronoun (we) as well as a respectful second-person pronoun. See examples two and three.

Prefix

a

When used with verbs, indicates passive voice.
Antonym: i

Kamuy aynu otta pirkano anunuke.
The gods were treated well by the humans.

Particle

a (Kana spelling ア)

Indicates the past tense of an action.
E-pewre ne an kor, e-ramuan a.
You were smart when you were a kid.

Etymology 1

Abbreviation of Ainu wa.

Particle

a (Kana spelling ア)

(Emphatic final particle) Used to put emphasis in a phrase or statement.
Iteki sus sakno mokor a!
Don’t sleep without taking a bath!

Etymology 2

Abbreviation of Ainu an.

Conjunction

a (Kana spelling アン)

(When used with kusu) Thanks to, due to, using (something).
Ikaoykikur a kusu, ku-pirka humi.
Thanks to the doctor, I feel better.

Akan

Conjunction

a (Twi)

if
when

Usage notes

Used clause-finally.

Pronoun

a (Twi)

who, that (relative)
Synonym: deɛ

Particle

a (Twi)

emphatic particle
marks polar questions

Akawaio

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /a/

Letter

a (lower case, upper case A)

The first letter of the Akawaio alphabet, written in the Latin script.

References

Stegeman, Ray; Hunter, Rita (2014), Akawaio-English Dictionary and English-Akawaio Index, SIL International, page 2

Albanian

Etymology 1

According to Orel, the particle and conjunction are etymologically identical. From Proto-Albanian *a and cognate to Ancient Greek ἦ (ê, “indeed”).^[1]

From Proto-Albanian *(h)au, from Proto-Indo-European *h₂ew (“that”). Cognate to Ancient Greek αὖ (aû, “on the other hand, again”). A proclitic disjunctive particle, used with one or more parts of the sentence.^[2]

Alternative forms

ha (archaic, Buzuku)^[3]

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /a/

Conjunction

a

or
there

Etymology 2

From Proto-Albanian *(h)an, from Proto-Indo-European *h₂en (“there”). Cognate with Latin an (“yes, perhaps”). Interrogative particle, usually used proclitically in simple sentences.^[4]

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /a/

Particle

a

Letter

a (lower case, upper case A)

The first letter of the Standard Albanian alphabet, written in the Latin script.

References

^ Orel, Vladimir (1998), “a part. ('whether'), conj. ('or')”, in Albanian Etymological Dictionary, Leiden; Boston; Cologne: Brill, →ISBN, page 1
^ Demiraj, Bardhyl et al. (2021), “a”, in DPEWA. Digitales Philologisch-Etymologisches Wörterbuch des Altalbanischen [DPEWA. Digital Philological-Etymological Dictionary of Old Albanian]
^ Mann, S. E. (1948), “a”, in An Historical Albanian–English Dictionary, London: Longmans, Green & Co., page 1
^ Demiraj, Bardhyl et al. (2021), “a”, in DPEWA. Digitales Philologisch-Etymologisches Wörterbuch des Altalbanischen [DPEWA. Digital Philological-Etymological Dictionary of Old Albanian]

Ama

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /ãː/

Noun

a

tree

Anguthimri

Verb

a

(transitive, Mpakwithi) to pull

References

Terry Crowley, The Mpakwithi dialect of Anguthimri (1981), page 184

Aragonese

Etymology

From Latin illa.

Article

a f sg

the
a luenga aragonesa ― the Aragonese language

Asturian

Etymology

From Latin ad.

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /a/ [a]
Rhymes: -a
Syllabification: a

Preposition

a

to, towards

Derived terms

al

Article

a f sg (masculine il, neuter u, masculine plural us, feminine plural as)

(A Estierna) alternative form of la

Noun

a f

a (the name of the letter A, a)

Azerbaijani

Etymology 1

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): (phoneme) /ɑ/, (letter name) [ɑː]

Letter

a (lower case, upper case A)

The first letter of the Azerbaijani alphabet, written in the Latin script.

Noun

a (definite accusative anı, plural alar)

The name of the Latin script letter A/a.

Etymology 2

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): [ɑː]

Interjection

a

ah, oh (indicates surprise)
A, doğrudan? ― Oh, really?

Bambara

Article

a

the (definite article).

Interjection

a

ah (expression of surprise)
eh (expression of reluctance)

Pronoun

a

they, them (plural)
he, she, they (singular)

Synonyms

(they): u

Basque

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /a/ [a]
Rhymes: -a
Hyphenation: a

Letter

a (lower case, upper case A)

The first letter of the Basque alphabet, written in the Latin script.

Noun

a (indeclinable)

The name of the Latin script letter A/a.

Bavarian

Etymology 1

Cognate with German ein, eine, Yiddish אַ (a), אַן (an).

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /ɐ/

Article

a

a

Etymology 2

Unstressed form of ea

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /ɐ/

Pronoun

a

he
Wenn a an Fisch gern essad, kaffad a'n. ― If he likes to eat the fish, he would buy it.

Etymology 3

Cognate with German auch.

Adverb

a

alternative form of aa: also, too, as well

Beja

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /ˈa/

Noun

a f

milk
Ti'a gishiya!
(please add an English translation of this usage example)

Declension

Declension of a (feminine weak)

singular	indefinite		definite
singular	isolated	construct	isolated	construct
nominative	a	aatuu-	tuua	tuaatuu-
accusative	aat	aatoo-	tooa	tuaatoo-
genitive	aati	aatii-	tuaati	tuaatii-
plural	indefinite		definite
plural	isolated	construct	isolated	construct
nominative	a	aataa-	taaa	tiaataa-
accusative	aat	aatee-	teea	tiaatee-
genitive	aati	aatee-	tiaati	tiaatee-

Belizean Creole

Preposition

a

of

References

Crosbie, Paul, ed. (2007), Kriol-Inglish Dikshineri: English-Kriol Dictionary. Belize City: Belize Kriol Project, p. 19.

Big Nambas

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /a/

Preposition

a

to, towards, in

References

Fox, G.J. (1979), Big Nambas Grammar (Pacific Linguistics; B-60)‎^[5], Canberra, ACT: Pacific Linguistics, Research School of Pacific and Asian Studies, Australian National University, →ISBN, page 41
Dodd, R.R. (2014), V’ënen Taut: Grammatical topics in the Big Nambas language of Malekula‎^[6], Hamilton, New Zealand: University of Waikato, pages 213–5

Breton

Etymology 1

From Proto-Brythonic *a, from Proto-Celtic *au, from Proto-Indo-European *h₂ew.

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /a/

Preposition

a (triggers soft mutation)

from (expresses origin)
tud a Vrest ― people from Brest
of (indicates an amount)
un tamm brav a gig ― a nice piece of meat
of (expresses a quality)
ur plac’h a enor ― a girl of honour
after certain adjectives or adverbs expressing quantity
ur voutailh leun a sistr ― a bottle full of cider
after ordinal numbers with a plural noun
tri a vugale ― three children
used in negative sentences with the grammatical object
nʼem eus ket ken a vutun ― I donʼt have any more tobacco
before the infinitive after certain verbs like paouez, mirout, diwall, c'hwitañ
paouezet eo ar glav a gouezhañ ― it has stopped raining [lit. the rain has stopped falling]
after substantivized adjectives used as nouns
ur vrav a blacʼh ― a pretty girl
combined with a personal pronoun
gwelet em boa acʼhanout ― I saw you

an den a gomzan anezhañ ― the man Iʼm talking about

Inflection

Personal forms of a
		singular	plural
1st person		ac'hanon	ac'hanomp
2nd person		ac'hanout	ac'hanoc'h
3rd person	m	anezhañ	anezho
3rd person	f	anezhi	anezho
impersonal		ac'hanor

Etymology 2

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /a/

Particle

a (triggers soft mutation)

preverbal particle used when
1. the subject precedes the verb
  ar mor a zo glas ― the sea is blue
2. the object precedes the verb
  an den-se a glevan ― I hear that man

Pronoun

a (triggers soft mutation)

(relative) that, which, who (used in 'direct' relative clauses, i.e. where the pronoun refers to the subject or the direct object of an inflected verb)
an hini a garan ― the one whom I love

Bube

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /à/

Determiner

a

The augment for class 2, 6, 6b and 16 nouns.

References

Justo Bolekia (2009), Diccionario español-bubi, Akal, →ISBN, page 22

Cameroon Pidgin

Pronoun

a

alternative spelling of I (“1st person singular subject personal pronoun”)

Catalan

Etymology 1

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /a/
Rhymes: -a

Letter

a (lower case, upper case A)

The first letter of the Catalan alphabet, written in the Latin script.

Preposition

a

in, at; indicating a particular time or place
Sóc a Barcelona.
I am in Barcelona.
to; indicating movement towards a particular place
Vaig a Barcelona.
I'm going to Barcelona.
to; indicating a target or indirect object
Escric una carta a la meva àvia.
I'm writing my grandmother a letter.
per
by
dia a dia.
day by day.

Usage notes

When the preposition a is followed by a masculine definite article, el or els, it is contracted with it to the forms al and als respectively. If el would be elided to the form l’ because it is before a word beginning with a vowel, the elision to a l’ takes precedence over contracting to al.

The same occurs with the salat article es, to form as except where es would be elided to s’.

Derived terms

Cebuano

Etymology 1

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /ˈʔa/ [ˈʔa]
Hyphenation: a

Particle

a (Badlit spelling ᜀ)

used as a pause before starting to speak
1. um (as a filler)
2. deprecating or expressing unimportance
3. expressing mild disapproval
4. oh (expressing affirmation or realization)
5. ah (expressing relief)

Etymology 2

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /ˈʔaʔ/ [ˈʔaʔ]
Hyphenation: a

Particle

à (Badlit spelling ᜀ)

used at the start of a sentence with an adjective
1. expressing dismissal or dismissiveness
2. expressing disapproval
3. expressing surprise

Etymology 3

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /ˈʔaʔ/ [ˈʔaʔ]
Hyphenation: a

Verb

à (Badlit spelling ᜀ)

clipping of ala (“to misidentify”)

Central Mazahua

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /a/

Letter

a (lower case, upper case A)

A letter of the Central Mazahua alphabet, written in the Latin script.

Chavacano

Etymology 1

Borrowed from Spanish a.

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /ˈa/ [ˈa]

Letter

a (lower case, upper case A)

(Caviteño, Zamboangueño, Ternateño) the first letter of the Chavacano alphabet (abecedario letter name)

Preposition

a

(Zamboangueño, formal) denotes motion, direction, time, or location relative to a destination or

Synonym: na

Etymology 2

Borrowed from English a.

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /ˈej/ [ˈej]
Rhymes: -ey

Letter

a (lower case, upper case A)

(Zamboangueño) the first letter of the Chavacano alphabet (revised Chabacano orthography letter name)

References

Riego de Dios, Maria Isabelita O. (1989), A Composite Dictionary of Philippine Creole Spanish (PCS) (Studies in Philippine Linguistics), volume 7, number 2, Linguistic Society of the Philippines; Summer Institute of Linguistics, page 53
DepEd Division of Zamboanga City (2016), Revised Zamboanga Chavacano Orthography (Guia para na Enseñanza de Chavacano), Local Government of Zamboanga City

Chayuco Mixtec

Etymology

(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)

Conjunction

a

or

References

Pensinger, Brenda J. (1974), Diccionario mixteco-español, español-mixteco (Serie de vocabularios y diccionarios indígenas “Mariano Silva y Aceves”; 18)‎^[8] (in Spanish), México, D.F.: El Instituto Lingüístico de Verano en coordinación con la Secretaría de Educación Pública a través de la Dirección General de Educación Extraescolar en el Medio Indígena, pages 3, 110

Chibcha

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /a/

Noun

a

open mouth
smell, taste

References

Gómez Aldana D. F., Análisis morfológico del Vocabulario 158 de la Biblioteca Nacional de Colombia. Grupo de Investigación Muysccubun. 2013.

Chichewa

Particle

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /a/

Particle

-a

The genitive particle; associative particle; adjectival particle; of

Usage notes

This particle agrees in class with the noun preceding it.

Inflection

Inflected forms of -a

singular		plural
class 1	wa	class 2	a
class 3	wa	class 4	ya
class 5	la	class 6	a
class 7	cha	class 8	za
class 9	ya	class 10	za
class 12	ka	class 13	ta
class 14	wa
class 15	kwa

locative classes
class 16	class 17	class 18
pa	kwa	mwa

Choctaw

Interjection

a

yes

Chuukese

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /ɑ/

Pronoun

a

Adjective

a

he is
she is
it is

References

Goodenough, Ward H.; Sugita, Hiroshi (1980), “a”, in Trukese–English Dictionary‎^[9], Philadelphia, PA: American Philosophical Society, →ISBN, page 3

Cimbrian

Alternative forms

an (Sette Comuni)

Etymology

From Middle High German ein, from Old High German ein, from Proto-West Germanic *ain.

Article

a (oblique masculine an)

(Luserna) a, an
Maria iz a lavròunaren. ― Maria is a Lavaronese.

References

Patuzzi, Umberto, ed., (2013) Luserna / Lusérn: Le nostre parole / Ünsarne börtar / Unsere Wörter [Our Words], Luserna, Italy: Comitato unitario delle isole linguistiche storiche germaniche in Italia / Einheitskomitee der historischen deutschen Sprachinseln in Italien

Coatepec Nahuatl

Noun

a

water

Copala Triqui

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /a˧˨/
Hyphenation: a³²

Particle

a

Sentence-final declarative particle.

Derived terms

particles

a̱ ranj a (“I worry”)

References

Erickson de Hollenbach, Elena; Santillán Merino, Miguel; et al. (2010), Diccionario triqui-español y español triqui: Triqui de San Juan Copala‎^[10] (in Spanish), preliminary version, fourth edition, published August 2022, page 1

Cora

Particle

a

outside
out of view (from the speaker)
entering a shallow domain; entering a domain in a shallow or restricted manner
atyásuuna káasu hece
The water is pouring into the (shallow) pan.

Antonyms

u (“inside; within view”)

References

Eugene Casad, Ronald Langacker (1985), “'Inside' and 'outside' in Cora grammar”, in International Journal of American Linguistics

Cornish

Etymology 1

Onomatopoeic.

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /aː/

Interjection

a

ah

Etymology 2

Compare Welsh a.

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /a/

Particle

a (triggers soft mutation)

Inserted before the verb when a subject or direct object precedes the verb
My a yll dyski neppyth.
I can learn anything.

Etymology 3

From Proto-Brythonic *a, from Proto-Celtic *au, from Proto-Indo-European *h₂ew.

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /a/

Preposition

a (triggers soft mutation)

of (expressing separation, origin, composition/substance or a quality)
An ilow a Gernow yw pur dhivers.
The music of Cornwall is very varied.
of (between a preceding large number and a following plural noun to express quantity)
My a vynn milvil a desennow.
I want a million cakes.
from (indicating provenance)
Yth ov vy skrifer a Gernow.
I am a writer from Cornwall.

Inflection

Inflection of a
		singular	plural
1st person		ahanav	ahanan
2nd person		ahanas	ahanowgh
3rd person	m	anodho	anedha
3rd person	f	anedhi	anedha

Etymology 4

Possibly conjunctive use of Etymology 3. Compare Welsh o (“if”) and Old Irish ó (“when”).

Conjunction

a (triggers hard mutation)

if
Synonyms: mar, mara, maras, mars

Etymology 5

From Proto-Brythonic *ėɣɨd, from Proto-Celtic *ageti, from Proto-Indo-European *h₂eǵ-. Compare Welsh â.

Verb

a

third-person singular present indicative of mos (“to go”)
second-person singular imperative of mos (“to go”)

Corsican

Etymology

From the earlier la.

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /ˈa/
Homophones: à, hà

Article

a f (masculine u, masculine plural i, feminine plural e)

the (feminine)

Usage notes

Before a vowel, a turns into l'

Pronoun

a f

her, it (direct object)

Usage notes

Before a vowel, a turns into l'

References

“a” in INFCOR: Banca di dati di a lingua corsa

Czech

Etymology

Inherited from Old Czech a, from Proto-Slavic *a, from Proto-Balto-Slavic *ō.

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): [ˈa]
Audio: (file)

Conjunction

a

and

Dakota

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /a/

Letter

a (lower case, upper case A)

A letter of the Dakota alphabet, written in the Latin script.

Dalmatian

Etymology

From Latin ad.

Preposition

a

to
at

Danish

Etymology 1

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /æː/, [ˈæːˀ]
Rhymes: -æː
Audio (Copenhagen): (file)

Letter

a (lower case, upper case A)

The first letter of the Danish alphabet, written in the Latin script.

Etymology 2

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /æː/, [ˈæːˀ]
Rhymes: -æː
Audio (Copenhagen): (file)

Noun

a n (singular definite a'et, plural indefinite a'er)

The name of the Latin script letter A/a.

Inflection

Declension of a
gender	singular		plural
gender	indefinite	definite	indefinite	definite
nominative	a	a'et	a'er	a'erne
genitive	a's	a'ets	a'ers	a'ernes

Etymology 3

Alternative forms

à (unofficial but common)

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /æ/, [ˈæˀ]
Rhymes: -æ, -æː
Audio (Copenhagen): (file)

Preposition

a

of, of...each, each containing
at
to, or

Etymology 4

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /æː/, [ˈæːˀ]
Rhymes: -æː
Audio (Copenhagen): (file)

Verb

a

imperative of ae

Dutch

Pronunciation

(letter name): IPA^(key): /aː/
Audio: (file)

Etymology 1

Letter

a (lower case, upper case A)

The first letter of the Dutch alphabet, written in the Latin script.

Etymology 2

From Middle Dutch â, from Old Dutch ā, from Proto-Germanic *ahwō.

Alternative forms

aa (especially in names)
ie

Noun

a f (plural a's, diminutive aatje n)

(archaic) a stream of water

Related terms

Aa
eiland

Etymology 3

Pronoun

a

(Brabant, dialectal) alternative form of u (“you”, objective or reflexive pronoun)

Pronoun

a

(Brabant, dialectal) alternative form of uw (“your”)

Usage notes

The masculine singular form of the possessive pronoun is awe.

Edo

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /à/

Pronoun

a

impersonal pronoun, usually translated into English as "we"

Derived terms

agukisinmwiongie (“morning star”)

Letter

a (lower case, upper case A)

The first letter of the Edo alphabet, written in the Latin script.

References

Rebecca N. Agheyisi (1986), An Ẹdo - English Dictionary‎^[11], Ethiope Publishing Corporation, page 1

Egyptian

Romanization

a

Manuel de Codage transliteration of ꜥ.

Emilian

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /ɐ/
Hyphenation: a

Etymology 1

From Latin ego (“I”), later generalized to the first and second person plural forms.

Pronoun

a (personal, nominative case)

I
we
you (plural)

Usage notes

Becomes aj- before a vowel (proclitic).
Becomes -ja when acting as an enclitic for the first person (singular or plural). For the second person plural, the suppletive form -v is used.

Etymology 2

Inherited from Latin id (“it”).

Pronoun

a (impersonal)

it, used as a dummy subject.
1. Used when the subject has not been introduced yet.
2. Used with impersonal verbs that describe the weather.
3. Used with existential and dative constructions.

Usage notes

The verb following a is always singular, even if the implied subject is plural.
Lacks an enclitic form. In case of inversion, it is simply dropped altogether.

Related terms

Emilian personal pronouns

Dialect of Bologna
Number	Person		disjunctive (tonic)	nominative (subject)	accusative (direct complement)	dative (indirect complement)	reflexive	comitative (with)
singular	first		mé	a	m			mîg
	second	plain	té	t				tîg
	second	polite	vó	a	v			vòsc
	third	m	ló	al		i	s	sîg
		f	lî	la
		n	-	a	-
plural	first	m	nuèter	a	s			nòsc
	first	f	nuètri	a	s			nòsc
	second	m	vuèter	a	v			vòsc
	second	f	vuètri	a	v			vòsc
	third	m	låur	i	i	i	s	sîg
	third	f	låur	äl	li	i	s	sîg

Dialect of Comacchio
Number	Person		disjunctive (tonic)	nominative (subject)	accusative (direct complement)	dative (indirect complement)	reflexive	comitative (with)
singular	first		méi	a	m			mìegh
	second	plain	téi	t				tìegh
	second	polite	véu	a	v			vòsch
	third	m	léu	al, el		gh	s	sìegh
		f	lìe	la, le
		n	-	a, e	-
plural	first	m	nùete	a	s			nòsch
	first	f	nùetri	a	s			nòsch
	second	m	vùete	a	v			vòsch
	second	f	vùetri	a	v			vòsch
	third	m	laur	i	i	gh	s	sìegh
	third	f	laur	il	li	gh	s	sìegh

Dialect of Ferrara
Number	Person		disjunctive (tonic)	nominative (subject)	accusative (direct complement)	dative (indirect complement)	reflexive	comitative (with)
singular	first		mi	a	m			miégh
	second	plain	ti	t				tiégh
	second	polite	vu	a	v			vòsch
	third	m	lu	al		gh	s	siégh
		f	lié	la
		n	-	a, e	-
plural	first		nu	a	s			nòsch
	second		vu	a	v			vòsch
	third	m	lór	i	i	gh	s	siégh
	third	f	lór	il	li	gh	s	siégh

Dialect of Modena
Number	Person		disjunctive (tonic)	nominative (subject)	accusative (direct complement)	dative (indirect complement)	reflexive	comitative (with)
singular	first		mè	a	m			mēgh
	second	plain	tè	t				tēgh
	second	polite	vò	a	v			vôsch
	third	m	lò	al		gh	s	sēgh
		f	lē	la
		n	-	a	-
plural	first	m	nuêter	a	s			nôsch
	first	f	nuêtri	a	s			nôsch
	second	m	vuêter	a	v			vôsch
	second	f	vuêtri	a	v			vôsch
	third	m	lōr	i	i	gh	s	sēgh
	third	f	lōr	el	li	gh	s	sēgh

Dialect of Parma
Number	Person		disjunctive (tonic)	nominative (subject)	accusative (direct complement)	dative (indirect complement)	reflexive	comitative (with) archaic
singular	first		mi	a	m			mégh
	second	plain	ti	t				tégh
	second	polite	vu	a	v			vosch
	third	m	lu	al		gh	s	ségh
		f	le	la
		n	-	a	-
plural	first	m	nuätor	a	s			nosch
	first	f	nuätri	a	s			nosch
	second	m	vuätor	a	v			vosch
	second	f	vuätri	a	v			vosch
	third		lór	i	ja	gh	s	ségh

Dialect of Piacenza
Number	Person		disjunctive (tonic)	nominative (subject)	accusative (direct complement)	dative (indirect complement)	reflexive	comitative (with) obsolete
singular	first		mé	a	m			meg
	second	plain	té	t				teg
	second	polite	vö	a	v			vosc
	third	m	lü	al		g	s	seg
		f	lè	la
		n	-	a	-
plural	first	m	nuätar	a	s			nosc
	first	f	nuätri	a	s			nosc
	second	m	vuätar	a	v			vosc
	second	f	vuätri	a	v			vosc
	third		lur	i	ja	g	s	seg

Dialect of Reggio Emilia
Number	Person		disjunctive (tonic)	nominative (subject)	accusative (direct complement)	dative (indirect complement)	reflexive	comitative (with)
singular	first		mé	a	m			mēgh
	second	plain	té	t				tēgh
	second	polite	vó	a	v			vôsch
	third	m	ló	al		gh	s	sēgh
		f	lē	la
		n	-	a	-
plural	first	m	nuêter	a	s			nôsch
	first	f	nuêtri	a	s			nôsch
	second	m	vuêter	a	v			vôsch
	second	f	vuêtri	a	v			vôsch
	third	m	lòur	i, a	i	gh	s	sēgh
	third	f	lòur	al	li	gh	s	sēgh

Dialect of
Number	Person		disjunctive (tonic)	nominative (subject)	accusative (direct complement)	dative (indirect complement)	reflexive	comitative (with)
singular	first
	second	plain
	second	polite
	third	m
		f
		n	-
plural	first	m
	first	f
	second	m
	second	f
	third	m
	third	f

Etymology 3

Inherited from Latin ad. In some cases, from ab instead.

Preposition

a

to (dative)
Used before infinitives when filling the role of a subject.
-like (Used to indicate resemblance with the noun that follows)

Esperanto

Pronunciation

(phoneme)

IPA^(key): /a/

(letter)

IPA^(key): /ˈa/
Audio 1: (file)
Audio 2: (file)

Letter

a (lower case, upper case A)

The first letter of the Esperanto alphabet, written in the Latin script.

Noun

a (accusative singular a-on, plural a-oj, accusative plural a-ojn)

The name of the Latin script letter A/a.

Estonian

Etymology 1

a on Estonian Wikipedia

Pronunciation

(letter name, aa): IPA^(key): /ˈɑː/
(phoneme): IPA^(key): /ɑ/

Letter

a (lower case, upper case A)

The first letter of the Estonian alphabet, called aa and written in the Latin script.

Noun

a (genitive a or a', partitive a-d or a'd)

the letter a (the first letter of the Estonian alphabet)
(music) A (note)
Synonym: la

Declension

(the first letter of the Estonian alphabet):

Declension of a (ÕS type 26i/idee, no gradation)
		singular	plural
nominative		-	-d
accusative	nom.	-
accusative	gen.	-
genitive		-	-de
partitive		-d	-id -sid
illative		-sse	-desse -isse
inessive		-s	-des -is
elative		-st	-dest -ist
allative		-le	-dele -ile
adessive		-l	-del -il
ablative		-lt	-delt -ilt
translative		-ks	-deks -iks
terminative		-ni	-deni
essive		-na	-dena
abessive		-ta	-deta
comitative		-ga	-dega

(music):

Declension of a (ÕS type 26i/idee, no gradation)
		singular	plural
nominative		'	'd
accusative	nom.	'
accusative	gen.	'
genitive		'	'de
partitive		'd	'id 'sid
illative		'sse	'desse 'isse
inessive		's	'des 'is
elative		'st	'dest 'ist
allative		'le	'dele 'ile
adessive		'l	'del 'il
ablative		'lt	'delt 'ilt
translative		'ks	'deks 'iks
terminative		'ni	'deni
essive		'na	'dena
abessive		'ta	'deta
comitative		'ga	'dega

Etymology 2

Clipping of aga. Probably influenced by Russian а (a).

Conjunction

a

(colloquial, in fast speech) but

Etymology 3

Noun

a

abbreviation of aasta
abbreviation of aar

References

a in Sõnaveeb (Eesti Keele Instituut)
“a”, in [EKSS] Eesti keele seletav sõnaraamat [Descriptive Dictionary of the Estonian Language] (in Estonian) (online version), Tallinn: Eesti Keele Sihtasutus (Estonian Language Foundation), 2009

Fala

Etymology 1

From Old Galician-Portuguese á, from Latin illa (“that”).

Article

a f sg (plural as, masculine u or o, masculine plural us or os)

Feminine singular definite article; the
- 2000, Domingo Frades Gaspar, Vamus a falal: Notas pâ coñocel y platical en nosa fala, Editora regional da Extremadura, Chapter 1: Lengua Española:
  A grandeda da lengua española é indiscotibli, i sei estudio, utilización defensa debin sel algo consostancial a nos, […]
  The greatness of the Spanish language is unquestionable, and its study, use and defense must be something consubstantial to us, […]

Pronoun

a

Third person singular feminine accusative pronoun; her

Etymology 2

From Old Galician-Portuguese a, from Latin ad (“to”).

Preposition

a

to
- 2000, Domingo Frades Gaspar, Vamus a falal: Notas pâ coñocel y platical en nosa fala, Editora regional da Extremadura, Chapter 1: Lengua Española:
  A grandeda da lengua española é indiscotibli, i sei estudio, utilización defensa debin sel algo consostancial a nos, […]
  The greatness of the Spanish language is unquestionable, and its study, use and defense must be something consubstantial to us, […]

References

Valeš, Miroslav (2021), Diccionariu de A Fala: lagarteiru, mañegu, valverdeñu (web), 2nd edition, Minde, Portugal: CIDLeS, published 2022, →ISBN, page 36

Faroese

Etymology

From Latin a.

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /ɛaː/
Homophone: æ
Rhymes: -ɛaː

Letter

a (lower case, upper case A)

The first letter of the Faroese alphabet, written in the Latin script.

Finnish

Etymology 1

The Finnish orthography using the Latin script was based on those of Swedish, German, and Latin, and was first used in the mid-16th century. No earlier script is known. See the Wikipedia article on Finnish for more information, and a for information on the development of the glyph itself.

Pronunciation

(sound): IPA^(key): /ɑ/

Letter

a (lower case, upper case A)

The first letter of the Finnish alphabet, called aa and written in the Latin script.

Etymology 2

German musical notation.

Noun

a

(music) A (note)

Usage notes

Capitalized for the great octave or any octave below that, or in names of major keys; not capitalized for the small octave or any octave above that, or in names of minor keys.

Declension

Inflection of a (Kotus type 18/maa)

	singular	plural
nominative	a	a:t
genitive	a:n	a:iden a:itten
partitive	a:ta	a:ita
accusative	a a:n	a:t
inessive	a:ssa	a:issa
elative	a:sta	a:ista
illative	a:han	a:ihin
adessive	a:lla	a:illa
ablative	a:lta	a:ilta
allative	a:lle	a:ille
essive	a:na	a:ina
translative	a:ksi	a:iksi
abessive	a:tta	a:itta
instructive	–	a:in
comitative	–	a:ineen

Derived terms

compounds

Franco-Provençal

Etymology

Inherited from Latin ad.

Preposition

a (ORB)

to
at
of (possessive)

Derived terms

a revêre

References

Stich, Dominique (2003), “a”, in Dictionnaire francoprovençal/français, français/francoprovençal: Dictionnaire des mots de base du francoprovençal: Orthographe ORB supradialectale standardisée, Thonon-les-Bains: Éditions Le Carré: “a (sert parfois à la possession)”.

French

Etymology 1

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /a/

Letter

a (lower case, upper case A)

The first letter of the French alphabet, written in the Latin script.

Noun

a m or f (plural as)

a, the name of the Latin-script letter A

Derived terms

e dans l'a

Etymology 2

Quebec eye-dialect spelling of elle (“she”).

Pronunciation

(CA) IPA^(key): /a/

Pronoun

a f

(Quebec, colloquial) alternative form of elle (“she”)
C'te fille-là, a'a l'air cute.
That girl, she looks cute.

Etymology 3

From Old French a, at from Vulgar Latin *at, from Latin habet.

Pronunciation

(France) IPA^(key): /a/
(Canada) IPA^(key): /ɑ/, /ɔ/
Homophones: à, (one etymology) as
Rhymes: -a

Verb

a

third-person singular present indicative of avoir
Elle a un chat.
She has a cat.

Il chouine tout le temps qu'il a mal aux chevilles.
He whines all the time that his ankles hurt.

Fula

Etymology 1

Letter

a (lower case, upper case A)

The first letter of the Fula alphabet, written in the Latin script.

Usage notes

Common to all varieties of Fula (Fulfulde / Pulaar / Pular).

Etymology 2

Pronoun

a

you (second person singular subject pronoun; short form)

Usage notes

Common to all varieties of Fula (Fulfulde / Pulaar / Pular).
Used in all conjugations except the affirmative non-accomplished, where the long form is used instead.

Ga

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Etymology 1

(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /á/

Interjection

a

expresses surprise or puzzlement; huh?, what?

Etymology 2

(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /à/

Article

a def

the (definite article); used after a word ending in /a/

Usage notes

a is the definite article used when the preceding word ends in /a/. For other phonetic environments, see le⁵.

Galician

Etymology 1

Etymology tree

Proto-Indo-European *h₂éd

Proto-Italic *ad

Latin ad

Galician a

Inherited from Latin ad (“to, toward”).

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /a/ [ɐ]
Rhymes: -a
Hyphenation: a

Preposition

a

to, toward; indicating direction of motion
introducing an indirect object
used to indicate the time of an action
(with de) to, until; used to indicate the end of a range
de cinco a oito ― from five to eight
by, on, by means of; expresses a mode of action
a pé ― on foot
for; indicates price or cost

Usage notes

The preposition a regularly forms contractions when it precedes the definite article o, a, os, and as. For example, a o ("to the") contracts to ao or ó, and a a ("to the") contracts to á.

Derived terms

at/to + the table
-	Singular	Plural
Masculine	ao (ó)	aos (ós)
Feminine	á	ás

Etymology 2

From Old Galician-Portuguese a, from Latin illa, feminine of ille (“that”).

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /a̝/

Article

a f (masculine singular o, feminine plural as, masculine plural os)

(definite) the
A porta diu volta nos couzós.
The door swung back in its sockets.

Usage notes

The definite article o (in all its forms) regularly forms contractions when it follows the prepositions a (“to”), con (“with”), de (“of, from”), and en (“in”). For example, con a (“with the”) contracts to coa, and en a (“in the”) contracts to na.

Also, the definite article presents a second form that could be represented as <-lo/-la/-los/-las>, or either lack any specific representation. Its origin is in the assimilation of the last consonant of words ended in -s or -r, due to sandhi, with the /l/ present in the article in pre-Galician-Portuguese period. So Vou comer o caldo or Vou come-lo caldo are representations of /ˈβowˈkomelo̝ˈkaldo̝/ ("I'm going to have my soup"). This phenomenon, rare in Portuguese, is already documented in 13th century Medieval Galician texts, as the Cantigas de Santa Maria.^[1]

Derived terms

á
coa
da
na

Etymology 3

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /ˈa/

Letter

a (lower case, upper case A)

The first letter of the Galician alphabet, written in the Latin script.

Noun

a m (plural as)

The name of the Latin script letter A/a.

Etymology 4

See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

Pronoun

a

accusative of ela

Usage notes

Due to sandhi, the accusative form o (in all its forms) regularly changes to -lo after verbal forms ended in ⟨r⟩ or ⟨s⟩, and to -no after verbal forms ended in a semivowel:

Eu apagueina 'I quenched it' < apaguei‿a
Ti apagáchela 'You quenched it' < apagaches‿a
El apagouna 'He quenched it' < apagou‿a
Nós apagámola 'We quenched it' < apagamos‿a
Temos de apagala 'We must quench it' < apagar‿a

References

^ Vaz Leão, Ângela (2000), “Questões de linguagem nas Cantigas de Santa Maria, de Afonso X”, in Scripta‎^[1], volume 4, number 7, →DOI, retrieved 16 November 2017, pages 11-24

“a”, in Dicionario da Real Academia Galega (in Galician), A Coruña: Royal Galician Academy, 2012–2026
Seoane, Ernesto Xosé González; Granja, María Álvarez de la; Agrelo, Ana Isabel Boullón (2006–2022), “a”, in Dicionario de Dicionarios do galego medieval [Dictionary of dictionaries of Medieval Galician] (in Galician), Santiago de Compostela: Instituto da Lingua Galega
Antón Santamarina, editor (2006–2013), “a”, in Dicionario de Dicionarios da lingua galega [Dictionary of Dictionaries of the Galician language] (in Galician), Santiago de Compostela: Instituto da Lingua Galega
Barreiro, Xavier Varela; Guinovart, Xavier Gómez (2006–2018), “a”, in Corpus Xelmírez: corpus lingüístico da Galicia medieval [Corpus Xelmírez: linguistic corpus of Medieval Galicia] (in Galician), Santiago de Compostela: Instituto da Lingua Galega

German

Etymology 1

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /a/, /ä/
Rhymes: -aː

Letter

a n (lower case, upper case A)

The first letter of the German alphabet, written in the Latin script.

Noun

a n (strong, genitive a or as, plural a or as)

alternative form of A

Usage notes

The genitive and plural forms as are colloquial.

Declension

Declension of a [neuter, strong]
	singular			plural
	indef.	def.	noun	def.	noun
nominative	ein	das	a	die	a, as
genitive	eines	des	a, as	der	a, as
dative	einem	dem	a	den	a, as
accusative	ein	das	a	die	a, as

Etymology 2

Noun

a

abbreviation of a-Moll
abbreviation of Ar

Ghomara

Etymology

Inherited from Proto-Berber.

Pronunciation

(Iɛraben) IPA^(key): [ɛ]

Particle

a

introduces a relative clause: who, that, which
Tan a lla g lbir. ― The one that is in the well.

References

Mourigh, Khalid (2015) A Grammar of Ghomara Berber (Thesis)‎^[13], Leiden

Gilbertese

**Gilbertese numbers ^(edit)**
← 3	4	5 →
Cardinal: a

Etymology

From Proto-Micronesian *paa-, *pa-, from Proto-Oceanic *pat, from Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *əpat, from Proto-Austronesian *Səpat.

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /a/

Numeral

a

four

References

Bingham, Hiram; Sabatier, Father Ernest with Luomala, Goo, and Banner (1978–), “a”, in Trussel, Stephen, Groves, Gordon W., compilers, A Combined Kiribati–English Online Dictionary‎^[14]

Gothic

Romanization

a

romanization of 𐌰

Grass Koiari

Pronoun

a

you (singular)

References

2010, Terry Crowley & Claire Bowern, An Introduction to Historical Linguistics, fourth edition, Oxford University Press, →ISBN, page 142.

Gun

Etymology

Cognates include Fon à.

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /à/

Pronoun

à

you (second-person singular subject pronoun)

Haitian Creole

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /a/

Article

a

the, definite article

Usage notes

This term only follows words that end with an oral (non-nasal) consonant and an oral vowel in that order, and can only modify singular nouns.

Hawaiian

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /a/, [ə]

Conjunction

a

and (used between sentences)
until, up to

Preposition

a

of, belonging to

Usage notes

Used for acquired possessions, while o is used for possessions that are inherited, out of personal control, and for things that can be got into (houses, clothes, cars).

Derived terms

Hokkien

For pronunciation and definitions of a – see 阿. (This term is the pe̍h-ōe-jī form of 阿).

Humene

Pronoun

a

second person singular object pronoun

References

Andrew Pawley et al., "The Trans New Guinea family", in The Languages and Linguistics of the New Guinea Area: A Comprehensive Guide (2018, →ISBN)

Hungarian

Etymology 1

See az.

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): [ɒ]
Audio: (file)
Rhymes: -ɒ

Article

a (definite)

the
a hölgy ― the lady
(before some time phrases) this
a héten ― (during) this week

a télen ― (in) this winter

Usage notes

Used before words starting with a consonant.

Related terms

az (for words starting with a vowel sound)

Pronoun

a (demonstrative)

(in reduplicated constructions formed with postpositions) that
A mellett a ház mellett vártam rá. ― I waited for him/her next to that house.

Determiner

a (demonstrative)

(rare, only in consonant-initial fixed phrases, with zero article) alternative form of az (“that”)
Foglalja össze, miről szóltak az a heti beszédek és leckék.^[1] ― Summarize what that week’s sermons and lessons were about.

November 12-én, az a havi frissítőkedden jelenhet meg. ― It may be released on November 12th, on the Patch Tuesday of that month.

Kérjük szíves tájékoztatásukat a tekintetben, hogy… (= abban a tekintetben, see az) ― We kindly request your information in that [= the] aspect…

amondó vagyok, hogy… ― I am of the opinion that…, what/all I can / want to say is that… (literally, “I am that-sayer/-saying…”)

Etymology 2

Pronunciation

(letter or phoneme itself): IPA^(key): [ˈɒː]^[2]
(identifier or musical note): IPA^(key): [ˈaː] (in the names of minor scales; see also A)

Letter

a (lower case, upper case A)

The first letter of the Hungarian alphabet, written in the Latin script.
(music) designation of the sixth note from C and the corresponding tone

Derived terms

a-moll

References

^ a heti at e-nyelv.hu
^ Siptár, Péter and Miklós Törkenczy. The Phonology of Hungarian. The Phonology of the World’s Languages. Oxford University Press, 2007. →ISBN, p. 280

Icelandic

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): [ˈaː]
Rhymes: -aː

Letter

a (lower case, upper case A)

The first letter of the Icelandic alphabet, written in the Latin script.

Noun

a

The name of the Latin script letter A/a.

Declension

This noun needs an inflection-table template.

Ido

Pronunciation

(context pronunciation, letter name) IPA^(key): /a/

Letter

a (lower case, upper case A)

The first letter of the Ido alphabet, written in the Latin script.

Noun

a (plural a-i)

The name of the Latin script letter A/a.

Preposition

a

apocopic form of ad

Related terms

e (“and”)
o (“or”)

Igbo

Letter

a (lower case, upper case A)

The first letter of the Igbo alphabet, written in the Latin script.

Etymology 1

Alternative forms

e (neutral tongue position)

Pronunciation

(high-tone): IPA^(key): /á/
(low-tone): IPA^(key): /à/

Pronoun

a

(indefinite) somebody, one, they, people (an unspecified individual).
A gwara ya ka ọ bịa.
He/she was told to come.

Usage notes

Often gets translated into English with the passive voice.

Etymology 2

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /à/

Determiner

a

this.

Related terms

ahụ

Indo-Portuguese

Etymology

Etymology tree

Egyptian 𓃾 (kꜣ)der.

Phoenician 𐤀 (ʾ)bor.

Ancient Greek Α (A)bor.

Etruscan 𐌀 (a)influ.

Latin A

Latin a

Old Galician-Portuguese a

Portuguese a

Indo-Portuguese a

Inherited from Portuguese a.

Pronunciation

(Sri Lankan Creole) IPA^(key): /a/, /ə/

Preposition

a

to
- 1883, Hugo Schuchardt, Kreolische Studien, volume 3 (overall work in German):
  […] , que da-cá su quião que ta pertencê a êll.
  […] , to give him his share which belongs to him.

Indonesian

Pronunciation

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

Letter

a (lower case, upper case A)

The first letter of the Indonesian alphabet, called a and written in the Latin script.
The name of the Latin script letter A/a.

Ingrian

Etymology

Borrowed from Russian а (a).

Pronunciation

(Ala-Laukaa) IPA^(key): /ˈɑ/, [ˈɑ]
(Soikkola) IPA^(key): /ˈɑ/, [ˈɑ]
(Hevaha) IPA^(key): /ˈɑ/, [ˈɑ]
Rhymes: -ɑ
Hyphenation: a

Conjunction

a

and, but
- 1936, N. A. Iljin and V. I. Junus, Bukvari iƶoroin șkouluja vart, Leningrad: Riikin Ucebno-pedagogiceskoi Izdateljstva, page 17:
  A siä Jaakko, kuhu määt?
  And you Jaakko, where are you going?
- 1936, L. G. Terehova, V. G. Erdeli, translated by Mihailov and P. I. Maksimov, Geografia: oppikirja iƶoroin alkușkoulun kolmatta klaassaa vart (ensimäine osa) [Geography: textbook for Ingrian elementary school third grade (first part)], Leningrad: Riikin Ucebno-Pedagogiceskoi Izdateljstva, page 7:
  keskipäivääl hää [päivyt] on kaikkiin ylemmääl, a siis alkaa laskiissa.
  on midday it [the Sun] is highest, and then it starts to descend.

References

Ruben E. Nirvi (1971), Inkeroismurteiden Sanakirja, Helsinki: Suomalais-Ugrilainen Seura, page 1
Arvo Laanest (1997), Isuri keele Hevaha murde sõnastik, Eesti Keele Instituut, page 15

Interlingua

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /a/

Preposition

a

to, at
to, for (indicating purpose)
sala a attender ― waiting room

Derived terms

a in
al

Inupiaq

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /a/

Interjection

a

listen, hark
oops (used to acknowledge an error)
oh (used to express surprise)

Irish

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /ə/

Etymology 1

From Old Irish a, from Proto-Celtic *esyo (the final vowel triggering lenition), feminine *esyās (the final -s triggering h-prothesis), plural *ēsom (the final nasal triggering eclipsis), all from the genitive forms of Proto-Indo-European *éy. Cognate with Welsh ei.

Determiner

a (triggers lenition)

his, its
a athair agus a mháthair ― his father and mother

Chaill an t-éan a chleití.
The bird lost its feathers.

Determiner

a (triggers h-prothesis)

her, its
a hathair agus a máthair ― her father and mother

Bhris an mheaig a heiteog.
The magpie broke its wing.

Determiner

a (triggers eclipsis)

their
a n-athair agus a máthair ― their father and mother

a dtithe ― their houses

a n-ainmneacha ― their names
(Connacht) our
(Connacht) your (plural)

Determiner

a (triggers lenition)

how (used with an abstract noun)
A ghéire a labhair sí!
How sharply she spoke!

A fheabhas atá sé!
How good it is!

Etymology 2

A reduced form of older do (itself a reanalysis of do used in past tenses, and also present in early modern verbs like do-bheir (“to give”), do-chí (“to see”)), or from the preverb a- in early modern verbs like a-tá (“to be”), a-deir (“to say”) in relative clauses.

Particle

a (triggers lenition except of d’ and of past autonomous forms)

introduces a direct relative clause, takes the independent form of an irregular verb
an fear a chuireann síol ― the man who sows seed

an síol a chuireann an fear ― the seed that the man sows

an síol a cuireadh ― the seed that was sown

nuair a bhí mé óg ― when I was young

an cat a d'ól an bainne ― the cat that drank the milk

References

Gerald O’Nolan (1920), Studies in Modern Irish‎^[15], volume 1, pages 89, 93–94

Etymology 3

From Old Irish a (“that, which the relative particle used after prepositions”), reanalyzed as an independent indirect relative particle from forms like ar a (“on which, on whom”), dá (“to which, to whom”), or early modern le a (“with which, with whom”), agá (“at which, at whom”) when prepositional pronouns started to be repeated in such clauses (eg. don té agá mbíon cloidheamh (…) aige, daoine agá mbíonn grádh aco do Dhia). Compare the forms used in Munster instead: go (from agá (“at which”)) and na (from i n-a (“in which”), go n-a (“with which”), ria n-a (“before which”) and later lena (“with which”), tréna (“through which”)).

Particle

a (triggers eclipsis, takes the dependent form of an irregular verb; not used in the past tense except with some irregular verbs)

introduces an indirect relative clause
an bord a raibh leabhar air ― the table on which there was a book

an fear a bhfuil a mhac ag imeacht ― the man whose son is going away

Related terms

ar (used with the past tense of regular and some irregular verbs)

Pronoun

a (triggers eclipsis, takes the dependent form of an irregular verb; not used in the past tense except with some irregular verbs)

all that, whatever
Sin a bhfuil ann.
That's all that is there.

An bhfuair tú a raibh uait?
Did you get all that you wanted?

Íocfaidh mé as a gceannóidh tú.
I will pay for whatever you buy.

Related terms

ar (used with the past tense of regular and some irregular verbs)

References

Nicholas Williams (1994), “Na Canúintí a Theacht chun Solais”, in K. McCone, D. McManus, C. Ó Háinle, N. Williams, L. Breatnach, editors, Stair na Gaeilge: in ómós do P[h]ádraig Ó Fiannachta (in Irish), Maynooth: Roinn na Sean-Ghaeilge, Coláiste Phádraig, →ISBN, page 464: “Tháinig nós chun cinn sa 17ú haois freisin an réamhfhocal a dhúbláil: don té agá mbíonn cloidheamh..aige; daoine agá mbíonn grádh aco do Dhia (Ó Cuív, 1952b, 177), an tí ag a bhfuil a bheag do chuntabhairt aige (Williams, 1986, 155).”
Gerald O’Nolan (1934), The New Era Grammar of Modern Irish, The Educational Company of Ireland Ltd., page 56

Etymology 4

Particle

a (triggers lenition)

introduces a vocative
A Dhia!
O God!

A dhuine uasail!
Sir!

Tar isteach, a Sheáin.
Come in, Seán.

A amadáin!
You fool!

Etymology 5

Particle

a (triggers h-prothesis)

introduces a numeral
a haon, a dó, a trí... ― one, two, three...

Séamas a Dó ― James the Second

bus a seacht ― bus seven

Etymology 6

Originally a reduced form of do.

Preposition

a (plus dative, triggers lenition)

to (used with verbal nouns)
síol a chur ― to sow seed

uisce a ól ― to drink water

an rud atá sé a scríobh ― what he is writing

D’éirigh sé a chaint.
He rose to speak.

Téigh a chodladh.
Go to sleep.

Mutation

Mutated forms of a
radical	eclipsis	with h-prothesis	with t-prothesis
a	n-a	ha	not applicable

Note: Certain mutated forms of some words can never occur in standard Modern Irish.
All possible mutated forms are displayed for convenience.

Isoko

Letter

a (lower case, upper case A)

The first letter of the Isoko alphabet, written in the Latin script.

References

E. O. Agbada et al, Vbuhrẹ Ụmụ́bọrá Isoko (Teach Yourself Isoko), first published 2008, revised edition 2017, pages 8, 10-11
Onyerioma Isaac Itegolor, Isoko Wha Dooo...! Book 2 (Operation Speak Your Language), Revised Standard Edition (2015), page 1
Joe Okedi, Abidi Isoko Na Kpobi, 2020

Istriot

Etymology

From Latin ad.

Preposition

a

at
- 1877, Antonio Ive, Canti popolari istriani: raccolti a Rovigno, volume 5, Ermanno Loescher, page 99:
  A poûpa, a prùa a xì doûto bandere,
  At the stern, at the bow everything is flags,

Particle

a

emphasises a verb; mandatory with impersonal verbs
- 1877, Antonio Ive, Canti popolari istriani: raccolti a Rovigno, volume 5, Ermanno Loescher, page 99:
  A poûpa, a prùa a xì doûto bandere,
  At the stern, at the bow everything is flags,

Italian

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /a/^*^[1]
Audio: (file)
Rhymes: -a
Hyphenation: a

Etymology 1

From Latin ā (the name of the letter A).

Letter

a f or m (lower case, upper case A, invariable)

The first letter of the Italian alphabet, called a and written in the Latin script.

Noun

a f (invariable)

The name of the Latin script letter A/a.; a

Etymology 2

From Latin ad. In a few phrases, a stems from Latin ā, ab.

Preposition

a

Indicates the indirect object. to
Porta questo cesto alla nonna.
Bring this basket to grandma.

Ai gatti piacciono i pesci.
Cats like fish.
(literally, “Fish are pleasable to cats.”)

E lo chiedi a me?
You're asking that to me?
Indicates the place, used in some contexts, in others in is used. in, to
Andiamo a casa?
Can we go home?
(literally, “Can we go to home?”)

Ora sto a Palermo, a Roma ci torno domani.
I'm in Palermo now, I'll go back to Rome tomorrow.
Denotes the manner. by
appena, a nuoto, a piedi, a caso ― almost, swimming, by foot, randomly
Forms adverbs meaning “in a manner related or resembling ~”.
a cappella, a bestia, a braccio, a pennello, etc. ― (please add an English translation of this usage example)
Forms goodbye formulas from the time the persons will meet again. see you...
A domani! ― Until tomorrow!

A dopo! ― Until later!

Al prossimo Natale! ― Until next Christmas!
Introduces the ingredients of a dish, perfume, etc. with
pasta all'uovo ― pasta with eggs

cornetto al cioccolato ― chocolate croissant

shampoo al limone ― lemon shampoo

patatine alla pizza ― pizza-flavoured crisps
(central-southern Italy) Denotes the direct object, but only if it is not preceded by articles
Chiama a Paolo.
Call Paolo.

E non ci avevi visto a noi?
And you didn't see us?
the "us" here is repeated twice for emphasis

Ascolti a me, signó!
Listen to me, ma'am!
(followed by the definite article) Forms an interjection that gives an instruction or calls attention to something.
Al ladro! ― Thief!

Al fuoco! ― Fire!

Al lupo! ― Wolf!

All'attacco! ― Attack!

All'arrembaggio! ― Assault! (yelled by pirates)
(regional) Forms continuous tense when preceded by stare and followed by verb infinitives. -ing. The standard language for this scope uses gerunds.
che stai a di'? ― what are you saying?

stavo a dormi' ― I was sleeping
Repeated indicates the amount by which something grows. by
a due a due ― two by two; in pairs

a poco a poco ― little by little
Indicates the agent of a verb in some contexts. by. Sometimes interchangeable with da.
L'ho sentito dire a Livia.
I heard Livia say it.
(literally, “I heard it said by Livia.”)
- c. 1909, Luigi Pirandello, chapter 2.3, in I vecchi e i giovani:
  Mi duole, creda, sinceramente, veder fare a un uomo come lei, per cui ho tanta stima, una figura... non bella, via! non bella.
  (please add an English translation of this quotation)

Usage notes

When followed by a word that begins with a vowel sound, the form ad can be used instead.
When followed by the definite article, a combines with the article to produce the following combined forms:

a + article	Combined form
a + il	al
a + lo	allo
a + l'	all'
a + i	ai
a + gli	agli
a + la	alla
a + le	alle

Descendants

→ Norwegian Bokmål: a (learned)

Etymology 3

Verb

a

misspelling of ha

Etymology 4

From Latin ac, alternative form of atque (“and, and also; as, then”).

Conjunction

a

Only used in the words for the numbers 17 (diciassette) and 19 (diciannove)

References

^ “a” in Luciano Canepari, Dizionario di Pronuncia Italiana (DiPI)

Jamaican Creole

Etymology

Compare French c'est. (This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.).

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /a/

Preposition

a

Indicates location: at, in, on.
a mi yaad
at my home
of
Yunaitid Stiet a Amoerka
United States of America
to
Dem go a maakit. Mi a-go a skuul.
They go to the market. I'm going to school.

Verb

a

to be
Jumieka a wahn ailan konchri.
Jamaica is an island country.

Wi a api.
We are happy.

Mi a di tiicha.
I am the teacher.
As a copulative verb:
1. (with there, or it) to exist.
  A tuu apruoch tu Ort sayans.
  There are two approaches to Earth science.
As an auxiliary verb:
1. Used with present participles of verbs to form the continuous aspect.

Particle

a

Habitual present tense marker.
wan plies we dem a plie haki mach
a place where they play hockey matches
Precedes a verb to mark the -ing form.
- 1968, Beryl Loftman Bailey, Jamaican Creole Language Course: (for English Speaking Students):
  Jan sidong de a laaf.
  Sta Kiet op de-a baal
  John sat there laughing
  Sister Kate is up there crying

Japanese

Romanization

a

The hiragana syllable あ (a) or the katakana syllable ア (a) in Hepburn romanization.

Jersey Dutch

Pronunciation

(phoneme): IPA^(key): /ʊ/, /ɑ/

Letter

a (lower case, upper case A)

A letter of the Jersey Dutch alphabet, written in the Latin script.

Kabuverdianu

Letter

a (lower case, upper case A)

The first letter of the Kabuverdianu alphabet, written in the Latin script.

Kalasha

Etymology

From Sanskrit अहम् (ahám).

Pronoun

a (Arabic آ)

I (1st-person personal pronoun)

Kankanaey

Etymology 1

Borrowed from Tagalog a. Letter pronunciation is influenced by English a.

Pronunciation

(letter) IPA^(key): /ˈʔej/ [ˈʔei̯]
- Rhymes: -ej
(phoneme) IPA^(key): /ʔa/ [ʔʌ]
- Rhymes: -a
- Syllabification: a

Letter

a (lower case, upper case A)

The first letter of the Kankanaey alphabet, called ey and written in the Latin script.

Etymology 2

Possibly borrowed from Ilocano a.

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /ʔa/ [ʔʌ]
Rhymes: -a
Syllabification: a

Interjection

a

hey!; eh!
Synonym: ay

Etymology 3

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /ʔa/ [ʔʌ]
Rhymes: -a
Syllabification: a

Noun

a

act of getting
Synonym: ala

Derived terms

Etymology 4

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /ʔa/ [ʔʌ]
Rhymes: -a
Syllabification: a

Particle

a

indicates polite and/or persuasive emphasis (used at the end of sentences)
Kamán kan adí pinikpík mo? Pinikpík ko a.
How come it seems like you didn't pat him? I patted him, all right.

References

Komisyon ng Wikang Filipino (2016), Ortograpiya di Kankanaëy [Kankanaey Orthography]‎^[18] (in Kankanaey and Tagalog), →ISBN, pages 10-11
Morice Vanoverbergh (1933), “a”, in A Dictionary of Lepanto Igorot or Kankanay. As it is spoken at Bauco (Linguistische Anthropos-Bibliothek; XII)‎^[19], Mödling bei Wien, St. Gabriel, Österreich: Verlag der Internationalen Zeitschrift „Anthropos“, →OCLC, page 1
Allen, Larry (2021), “a”, in Kankanaey – English Dictionary, Summer Institute of Linguistics
Wallace, Judy (2018), “a”, in Northern Kankanay – English Dictionary, Summer Institute of Linguistics
Janet L. Allen (2014), Kankanaey: A Role and Reference Grammar Analysis‎^[20] (overall work in English), →ISBN, page 164

Kapampangan

Etymology

From Proto-Austronesian *a₅ ^[1]. Compare Pangasinan a, Palauan a, Thao a.

Ligature

a

connects adjectives to nouns
Romantiku a bengi.
A romantic night.

Pinakapalsintan a tau.
The person I love the most.

Mayap a abak.
Good morning.

Mayap a bengi.
Good night.

Dakal a salamat.
Thank you very much.

References

^ Blust, Robert; Trussel, Stephen; et al. (2023) “*a”, in the CLDF dataset from The Austronesian Comparative Dictionary (2010–), →DOI

Kari'na

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): [a]

Interjection

a

ah, aah

References

Courtz, Hendrik (2008), A Carib grammar and dictionary‎^[21], Toronto: Magoria Books, →ISBN, page 213
Yamada, Racquel-María (2010), “a”, in Speech community-based documentation, description, and revitalization: Kari’nja in Konomerume‎^[22], University of Oregon, page 707

Kashubian

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /ˈa/
Rhymes: -a
Syllabification: a

Etymology 1

The Kashubian orthography is based on the Latin alphabet. No earlier script is known. See the Kashubian alphabet article on Wikipedia for more, and a for development of the glyph itself.

Letter

a (lower case, upper case A)

The first letter of the Kashubian alphabet, called a and written in the Latin script.

Etymology 2

Inherited from Proto-Slavic *a.

Conjunction

a

and (used to continue a previous statement or to add to it)

Noun

a n (indeclinable)

(music) a (note)

Etymology 3

Inherited from Proto-Slavic *a.

Interjection

a

interjection that expresses various emotions; ah!

Kawahiva

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): [a]

Letter

a (lower case, upper case A)

The first letter of the Kawahiva alphabet, written in the Latin script.

Kayan

Letter

a (lower case, upper case A)

a the first letter of Kayan alphabet.

Pronoun

a

he or she, (third person)

Khiamniungan Naga

Etymology

The Khiamniungan Naga language is presently written using the Latin alphabet. No indigenous or alternative script has been documented from earlier periods in the language's history. For a detailed description of the writing system's conventions including vowel and Consonant representation, tone marking (such as the use of h for glottal, the letter ü is pronounced ə), and orthographic rules, see the Wikipedia article on the Khiamniungan alphabet.

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /a³³/

Letter

a (lower case, upper case A)

(Patsho) The first letter of the Khiamniungan Naga alphabet, written in the Latin script.

Pronunciation guide

Uppercase	IPA	Canonical Pronunciation	Phonetic examples in English	Phonetic examples in Khiamniungan Naga
A	a	aa	father	āmpāu(pastor)
Ch	tʃʰ	tʃʰə	chair, watch	chām(book)
E	ɛ	a	bed, elephant	ēm(colony of Jhumland)
H	h	hə	husband	hǖhêi(hello)
I	i	ee	beet	îe(winnowing tray)
J	tʃ	tʃə	picture, culture, nature	jām(house)
K	k	kə	sky, skip	kēu(uncle)
Kh	kʰ	kʰə	canoe, Cost, cat	khèu(head)
L	l	lə	alone	lāi(spear)
M	m	mə	money	màu(ant)
N	n	nə	nine, never	nòk
Ng	ŋ	ŋə	sing, throng	ngēm(news)
Ny	ɲ	ɲə	canyon, bunyan	nyù(mother)
O	ɔ	ɔ	orange	ônyù(sky)
P	P	pə	spill, span	pòu(father)
Ph	pʰ	pʰə	pound	phōh(hand)
S	ʃ	ʃə	sound	sā(liver)
Sh	ʃʰ	ʃʰə	shine	shām(mat)
T	t	tə	stop, stand	tòuh(wild pig)
Th	tʰ	tʰə	Thomas	thoi(pumking)
Ts	ts	tsə	cats, hats, pizza	tsēm(salt)
Tsh	Tsʰ	Tsʰə	tshep(kiss)	tshō(traditional basket)
U	ʊ, u	ʊ, u	look, hoop	ûo(goat)
Ü	ə	ə	banana	chǖlám
V	v	və	very	vèu(chicken)
W	w	wə	watt	wā(flour)
Y	j	jə	yellow	yòh(pig)
Glottal(h) is used at the end of the word	ʔ	ʔ stop	Mountain, button, cotton	chāh(through)

K'iche'

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /aː/

Adjective

a

masculine youth indicator

Adverb

a

(interrogatory) indicator of a question

Pronoun

a

your

References

Christenson, Allen J. (2003), Kʼicheʼ-English dictionary and Guide to the pronunciation of the Kʼicheʼ-Maya alphabet‎^[24], Foundation for the Advancement of Mesoamerican Studies, →OCLC, page 7

Koitabu

Pronoun

a

you (singular)

References

Terry Crowley, Claire Bowern, An Introduction to Historical Linguistics

Krisa

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /a/

Noun

a m

pig
Nana a doma.
I shot your pig.

References

Donohue, Mark and San Roque, Lila. I'saka: a sketch grammar of a language of north-central New Guinea. (Pacific Linguistics, 554.) (2004).

Ladin

Etymology

From Latin a.

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /a/

Preposition

a

in
at
to

Derived terms

Ladino

Etymology 1

Inherited from Old Spanish a (“unto”), from Latin ad (“to”).

Preposition

a (Hebrew spelling אה)^[1]

to (unto)
- 2019, Aki Yerushalayim:
  Era imposible de tornar atrás a los tiempos onde se eskrivia ladino kon letras ebreas.
  It was impossible to go back to when we wrote Ladino with Hebrew letters.
at (on)
- 1940, La boz de Türkiye‎^[25], numbers 11–34, page 78:
  La ciudad de Bursa es fraguada en amphitheatre a los pies del Olympe (Oulou Dağ) y abrasa una vaste y magnifica valle con un hermoso panorama.
  The city of Bursa has constructed an amphitheatre at the feet of Olympus and embraces a vast and wonderful valley with a beautiful panorama.

Etymology 2

(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)

Interjection

a (Hebrew spelling אה)^[1]

what? yes? what is it?
ugh!
- 2006, Matilda Koén-Sarano, Por el plazer de kontar‎^[26], page 119:
  Alberto kontinuó a menear la kavesa en sinyo de dezaprovasión, sospirando: "A, komo se puede ser ansí!…"
  Albert kept shaking his head as a sign of disapproval, sighing, ‘Ugh, how can it be like this…!’

References

↑ ^1.0 ^1.1 “a”, in Trezoro de la Lengua Djudeoespanyola [Treasury of the Judeo-Spanish Language] (in Ladino, Hebrew, and English), Instituto Maale Adumim

Latgalian

Etymology

Ultimately from Proto-Balto-Slavic *ō. The source is not clear:

Probably borrowed from a Slavic language (compare Russian а (a) and Belarusian а (a)).
Alternatively, irregularly shortened from *ā, inherited from *ō.

Compare Lithuanian o.

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): [ˈa]
Hyphenation: a

Conjunction

a f

and, but

References

A. Andronov; L. Leikuma (2008), Latgalīšu-Latvīšu-Krīvu sarunu vuordineica, Lvava, →ISBN

Latin

Etymology 1

Pronunciation

(Classical Latin) IPA^(key): [ˈaː]
(modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): [ˈaː]

Preposition

ā (+ ablative)

apocopic form of ab

Usage notes

Not used before a vowel or h.

Derived terms

a lacte cunisque

Descendants

Italian: a
→ Norwegian Bokmål: a (learned)
→ Norwegian Nynorsk: a (learned)

Etymology 2

Etymology tree

Egyptian 𓃾 (kꜣ)der.

Phoenician 𐤀 (ʾ)bor.

Ancient Greek Α (A)bor.

Etruscan 𐌀 (a)influ.

Latin A

Latin a

From Ancient Greek Α (A, “alpha”), likely through Etruscan.

Pronunciation

(Classical Latin) IPA^(key): [ˈaː]
(modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): [ˈaː]

Letter

a (lower case, upper case A)

(sometimes with littera) the first letter of the Latin alphabet.
littera a ― the letter a

Etymology 3

Derived from Etruscan.

Pronunciation

(Classical Latin) IPA^(key): [ˈaː]
(modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): [ˈaː]

Noun

ā n sg or f sg (indeclinable, no genitive)

The name of the Latin script letter A/a.

Coordinate terms

(Latin-script letter names) littera; ā, bē, cē, dē, ē, ef, gē, hā / *acca, ī, kā, el, em, en, ō, pē, kū, er, es, tē, ū, ix / īx / ex, ȳ / ī graeca / ȳpsīlon, zēta

References

Arthur E. Gordon, The Letter Names of the Latin Alphabet (University of California Press, 1973; volume 9 of University of California Publications: Classical Studies), part III: “Summary of the Ancient Evidence”, page 32
Clearly there is no question or doubt about the names of the vowels A, E, I, O, U. They are simply long A, long E, etc. (ā, ē, ī, ō, ū). Nor is there any uncertainty with respect to the six mutes B, C, D, G, P, T. Their names are bē, cē, dē, gē, pē, tē (each with a long E). Or about H, K, and Q: they are hā, kā, kū — each, again, with a long vowel sound.

Etymology 4

Expressive.

Pronunciation

(Classical Latin) IPA^(key): [ˈaː]
(modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): [ˈaː]

Interjection

ā

ah

Latvian

Etymology

Proposed in 1908 as part of the new Latvian spelling by the scientific commission headed by K. Mīlenbahs, which was accepted and began to be taught in schools in 1909. Prior to that, Latvian had been written in German Fraktur, and sporadically in Cyrillic.

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): [a]
Audio: (file)

Letter

a (lower case, upper case A)

The first letter of the Latvian alphabet, written in the Latin script.

Noun

a m (invariable)

The name of the Latin script letter A/a.

Laz

Determiner

a

Latin spelling of ა (a)

Letter

a (lower case, upper case A)

The first letter of the Laz alphabet, written in the Latin script.

Numeral

a

Latin spelling of ა (a)

Ligurian

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /a/

Etymology 1

Article

a f sg (plural e)

the

Inflection

Ligurian definite articles
	singular	plural
masculine	o	i
feminine	a	e

Etymology 2

From Latin ad.

Preposition

a

in
at
to
Vàddo a câza. ― I'm going home. (literally, “I go to home.”)
indicates the direct object, mainly to avoid confusion when it, the subject, or both are displaced, or for emphasis
A mæ seu ghe fa mâ 'n bràsso. ― My sister's arm hurts. (literally, “To my sister an arm hurts.”)

a + article	Combined form
a + o	a-o
a + a	a-a
a + i	a-i
a + e	a-e

Livonian

Pronunciation

(phoneme) IPA^(key): /ɑ/

Letter

a (lower case, upper case A)

The first letter of the Livonian alphabet, written in the Latin script.

Lotha Naga

Etymology

From Proto-Central Naga *aj.

Pronoun

a (nominative ayio)

me, my

Louisiana Creole

Etymology

From French avoir (“to have”).

Verb

a

to have

Lower Sorbian

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /a/

Letter

a (lower case, upper case A)

The first letter of the Lower Sorbian alphabet, called a and written in the Latin script.
The name of the Latin script letter a/A.

Conjunction

a

and

Ludian

Etymology 1

Pronunciation

(letter name, aa): IPA^(key): /ˈɑː/
(phoneme): IPA^(key): /ɑ/

Letter

a (lower case, upper case A)

The first letter of the Ludian alphabet, called aa and written in the Latin script.

Noun

a

the letter a (the first letter of the Ludian alphabet)

Etymology 2

Borrowed from Russian а (a).

Conjuction

a

but

Derived terms

a-voi-voi

References

M. Pahomov (2022), “a”, in Lüüdi-venän, venä-lüüdin sanakirdʹ‎^[28], Helsinki: Lüüdilaine Siebr, →ISBN, page 12
Juho Kujola (1944), “a”, in Lyydiläismurteiden sanakirja, Helsinki: Suomalais-Ugrilainen Seura, page 1

Lushootseed

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /ɑ/

Letter

a (lower case, upper case A)

The second letter of the Lushootseed alphabet, written in the Latin script.

Luxembourgish

Etymology 1

Letter

a (lower case, upper case A)

The first letter of the Luxembourgish alphabet, called a and written in the Latin script.

Etymology 2

Interjection

a

oh
well

	masculine	feminine
proximal	á	tá
medial	amá	tamá
distal	wóo	tóo
very distal	wótti

			present and past tense	negative tense	future	negative future	distant future	negative determinate
singular	first person		ua	use	upwe	usap	upwap	ute
	second person		ka ke	kose kese	kopwe kepwe	kosap kesap	kopwap kepwap	kote kete
	third person		a	ese	epwe	esap	epwap	ete
plural	first person	exclusive	aua	ause	aupwe	ausap	aupwap	aute
	first person	inclusive	sia	sise	sipwe	sisap	sipwap	site
	second person		oua	ouse	oupwe	ousap	oupwap	oute
	third person		ra re	rese	repwe	resap	repwap	rete

Number	Person	Emphatic Pronoun	Subject Pronoun	Object Pronoun	Possessive Determiner
Singular	First	nyɛ́, yẹ́n	ùn, n	mi	cé, ṣié
	Second	jɛ̀, jẹ̀, yẹ̀, hiẹ̀	à	wè	tòwè
	Third	éɔ̀, úɔ̀, éwọ̀	é	è	étɔ̀n, étọ̀n
Plural	First	mílɛ́, mílẹ́	mí		mítɔ̀n, mítọ̀n
	Second	mìlɛ́, mìlẹ́	mì		mìtɔ̀n, mìtọ̀n
	Third	yélɛ́, yélẹ́	yé		yétɔ̀n, yétọ̀n

	person		conjunctive (emphatic)	disjunctive (emphatic)	possessive determiner
singular	first		mé (mise)		mo ^L m' before vowel sounds
	second		tú (tusa)¹	thú (thusa)	do ^L d' before vowel sounds
	third	m	sé (seisean)	é (eisean)	a ^L
		f	sí (sise)	í (ise)	a ^H
		n	—	ea	—
plural	first		muid, sinn (muidne, muide), (sinne)		ár ^E
	second		sibh (sibhse)¹		bhur ^E
	third		siad (siadsan)	iad (iadsan)	a ^E

		singular	plural
1st person		a / آ	ábi / آبی
2nd person		tu / تُو	ábi / آبی
3rd person	near	ía / اِیا	émi / ایمی
	far	ása / آسا	éḷi / ایࣇی
	absent	se / سے	te / تے

Bavarian personal pronouns
		nominative		accusative		dative
		stressed	unstressed	stressed	unstressed	stressed	unstressed
1^st person singular		i	—	mi	—	mia (mir)	ma
2^nd person singular	informal	du	—	di	—	dia (dir)	da
2^nd person singular	formal	Sie	—	Eahna	—	Eahna	—
3^rd person singular	m	er	a	eahm	'n	eahm	'n
	n	es, des	's	des	's	eahm	'n
	f	se, de	's	se	's	ihr	—
1^st person plural		mia (mir)	ma	uns	—	uns	—
2^nd person plural		eß, ihr	—	enk, eich	—	enk, eich	—
3^rd person plural		se	's	eahna	—	eahna	—

Fala personal pronouns
			nominative	dative	accusative	disjunctive
singular	first person		ei	me, -mi		mi
	second person		tú	te, -ti		ti
	third person	m	el	le, -li	u^LV, o^M	el
	third person	f	ela	le, -li	a	ela
plural	first person	common	nos	mus^L nus^LV nos, -nus^M		nos
		m	noshotrus^M			noshotrus^M
		f	noshotras^M			noshotras^M
	second person	common	vos	vus^LV vos, -vus^M		vos
		m	voshotrus^M			voshotrus^M
		f	voshotras^M			voshotras^M
	third person	m	elis	le, -li	us^LV, os^M	elis
	third person	f	elas	le, -li	as	elas
third person reflexive			—	se, -si		sí

	Singular		Plural
	Masculine	Feminine	Masculine	Feminine
Definite articles (the)	o	a	os	as
Indefinite articles (a, an, some)	un	unha	uns	unhas

Galician personal pronouns
number	person		nominative (subject)	accusative (direct object)	dative (indirect object)	prepositional	prepositional with con	non-declining
singular	first		eu	me		min	comigo	—
	second		ti	te	che	ti	contigo	vostede
	third	m	el	o (lo, no)	lle	el	con el	—
	third	f	ela	a (la, na)	lle	ela	con ela	—
plural	first		nós nosoutros m nosoutras f	nos		nós	connosco	—
	second		vós vosoutros m vosoutras f	vos		vós	convosco	vostedes
	third	m	eles	os (los, nos)	lles	eles	con eles	—
	third	f	elas	as (las, nas)	lles	elas	con elas	—
reflexive third / indefinite			—	se		si	consigo	—

Abau

Pronunciation

Particle

Noun

References

Afar

Pronunciation

Determiner

Derived terms

See also

References

Ainu

Pronunciation

Pronominal Prefix

Usage notes

Prefix

Particle

Etymology 1

Particle

Etymology 2

Conjunction

Akan

Conjunction

Usage notes

Pronoun

Particle

Akawaio

Pronunciation

Letter

See also

References

Albanian

Etymology 1

Alternative forms

Pronunciation

Conjunction

Etymology 2

Pronunciation

Particle

Letter

See also

References

Further reading

Ama

Pronunciation

Noun

Anguthimri

Verb

References

Aragonese

Etymology

Article

Asturian

Etymology

Pronunciation

Preposition

Derived terms

Article

Noun

Azerbaijani

Etymology 1

Pronunciation

Letter

Noun

See also

Etymology 2

Pronunciation

Interjection

Further reading

Bambara

Article

Interjection

Pronoun

Synonyms

Basque

Pronunciation

Letter

See also

Noun

See also