la

See also: Appendix:Variations of "la"

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Translingual

Etymology

Clipping of English Latin or Latin Latīnum.

Symbol

la

(international standards) ISO 639-1 language code for Latin.

English

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /lɑː/
Audio (US): (file)
Rhymes: -ɑː

Etymology 1

From Glover's solmization, from Middle English la (“sixth degree or note of Guido of Arezzo's hexachordal scales”), Italian la in the solmization of Guido of Arezzo, from the first syllable of Latin labiī (“lip's”) in the lyrics of the scale-ascending hymn Ut queant laxis by Paulus Deacon.

Alternative forms

lah

Noun

la (plural las)

(music) A syllable used in solfège to represent the sixth note of a major scale.
- 1749, Henry Fielding, The History of Tom Jones, a Foundling, volume (please specify |volume=I to VI), London: A[ndrew] Millar, […], →OCLC:
  And now Mrs Waters (for we must confess she was in the same bed), being, I suppose, awakened from her sleep, and seeing two men fighting in her bedchamber, began to scream in the most violent manner, crying out murder! robbery! and more frequently rape! which last, some, perhaps, may wonder she should mention, who do not consider that these words of exclamation are used by ladies in a fright, as fa, la, la, ra, da, &c., are in music, only as the vehicles of sound, and without any fixed ideas.
1. (shapenote) Sometimes syllable for both the third and the sixth.

Coordinate terms

(music): do, re, mi, fa, sol, ti

Translations

sixth note of a major scale

Arabic: لَا (ar) m (lā)
Basque: la (eu)
Catalan: la (ca) m
Corsican: là
Danish: la (da) c
Dutch: la (nl)
Finnish: la (fi)
French: la (fr) m
Greek: λα (el) n (la)
Hungarian: lá (hu)
Ido: la (io)
Japanese: ラ (ja) (ra)
Korean: 라 (ko) (ra)
Kurdish:
Northern Kurdish: la (ku) f
Macedonian: ла (la)
Polish: la (pl) f
Portuguese: lá (pt) m
Russian: ля (ru) n (lja)
Serbo-Croatian: la (sh)
Vietnamese: la (vi)

Etymology 2

Sound used to form meaningless song refrains. Of imitative origin. Compare Old English lā (a common exclamation), Ancient Greek λαλαγε (lalage, “babble”), German lallen (“to babble”).

Interjection

la

Represents the sound of music or singing.
"La la la la, I can't hear you!" Jimmy said, sticking his fingers in his ears.
- 2019, Keira Brown, Between the Lines: Never in Plain Sight:
  The only part Lucy had to sing was the interlude, which was a bunch of la la la's, and the last verse of the song, which was only four lines, and the chorus, which was just as short.

Interjection

la

(obsolete) Used to introduce a statement with emphatic or intensive effect.
(archaic) Expressing surprise, anger. etc.
- 1749, Henry Fielding, The History of Tom Jones, a Foundling, volume (please specify |volume=I to VI), London: A[ndrew] Millar, […], →OCLC:
  La, ma'am, what doth your la'ship think? the girl that your la'ship saw at church on Sunday, whom you thought so handsome; though you would not have thought her so handsome neither, if you had seen her nearer, but to be sure she hath been carried before the justice for being big with child.
- 1811, [Jane Austen], chapter 2, in Sense and Sensibility […], volume III, London: […] C[harles] Roworth, […], and published by T[homas] Egerton, […], →OCLC:
  “Oh, la! here come the Richardsons. I had a vast deal more to say to you, but I must not stay away from them any longer.”
- 1847 January – 1848 July, William Makepeace Thackeray, Vanity Fair […], London: Bradbury and Evans […], published 1848, →OCLC:
  "La, William, don't be so highty-tighty with us. We're not men. We can't fight you," Miss Jane said.

Etymology 4

From French la, Italian la.

Adjective

la (not comparable)

(often ironic) Prefixed to the name of a woman, with ironic effect (as though an opera prima donna).
- 2007 November 22, Kate Carter, “Graziawatch”, in The Guardian‎^[2]:
  Following lukewarm on the heels of an article a few weeks ago, where (I paraphrase due to having filed the relevant copy in the recycling bin) Victoria Beckham made a "well-meaning" remark that the other Spice Girls might want to lose a few pounds, we now have a new incidence of La Beckham's scintillating and entirely well-meaning humour.
- 2010, Christopher Hitchens, Hitch-22, Atlantic, published 2011, page 232:
  By judicious leaking, he also managed to make la Kirkpatrick and her associates look rather unsavory.
- 2025 June 21, Jo Ellison, “The Bezos merger we all want a piece of”, in FT Weekend (Life & Arts section), London: The Financial Times Ltd., →ISSN, →OCLC, page 22:
  (You have to wonder where la Wintour finds the time for all this styling: maybe it's a displacement activity to fill the void left by her failure to get the Democratic party into power?)

Etymology 5

Possibly a shortened form of lad.

Noun

la (plural las)

(Liverpool) lad, kid

Related terms

lid (rhyming slang for kid)

Etymology 6

Abbreviation.

Noun

la (plural las)

Abbreviation of lane
Alternative forms: la., La, La.

Etymology 7

From Cantonese 啦 (laa¹). Doublet of lah.

Pronunciation

(Hong Kong) IPA^(key): /lɑː˥/

Particle

la (Hong Kong, colloquial)

Placed at the end of a sentence in imperatives making it sound more like a request than an order.
Sleep la! ― [You should] go to bed.

Eat shit la you! ― You're going to hell! (calque of 食屎啦你！)
Used to tone down comments.
ok la ― not bad; good enough

Etymology 8

Particle

la

(Singlish, Manglish) Alternative form of lah.

Anagrams

Al, & al., AL, al, al-, -al, Ål, a.l.

Afrikaans

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): [lɑː]
Audio: (file)

Noun

la (plural [please provide])

(music) la (solfège)

References

2007. The UCLA Phonetics Lab Archive. Los Angeles, CA: UCLA Department of Linguistics.

Alemannic German

Verb

la (past participle gla)

alternative form of lah

Ama

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /ɭa/

Noun

la

fish

Anguthimri

Noun

la

(Mpakwithi) black snake

References

Terry Crowley, The Mpakwithi dialect of Anguthimri (1981), page 186

Aragonese

Etymology

From Latin illa (“that one”).

Pronoun

la

her (direct object)

Aromanian

Etymology

From Latin illac. Compare Romanian la.

Preposition

la

at
by

Asturian

Alternative forms

lla (archaic)
a (A Estierna)

Etymology

From Latin illa(m).

Article

la f sg (masculine el, neuter lo, masculine plural los, feminine plural les)

(definite) the

Usage notes

The article la contracts to l' before a word beginning with a or ha: l'asturiana (the Asturian), l'habitación (the habitation), because it ends with an A already

Pronoun

la

her (third-person singular feminine direct pronoun)

Baltic Romani

Pronoun

la

(Litovska) accusative/independent oblique of joj
- 2005, Anton Tenser, Lithuanian Romani, Lincom Europa, →ISBN, →OCLC, 4.5.1 Complementizers, page 52:
  me podykhtjom so la nane khere
  I saw that she is not home

Declension

Litovska/Lithuanian Romani personal pronouns
		singular				plural			reflexive
		1st person	2nd person	3rd person		1st person	2nd person	3rd person
		1st person	2nd person	m	f	1st person	2nd person	3rd person
Nominative		mē	tu	jou	joj	amē	tumē	jonē	-
Accusative/ Independent Oblique		man	tut	lēs	la	amēn	tumēn	lēn	pes
Dative		mange	tuke	lēske	lake	amēnge	tumēnge	lēnge	pēske
Ablative¹		mandyr	tutyr	lēstyr	latyr	amēndyr	tumēndyr	lēndyr	pēstyr
Genitive	m	miro	tyro	lēskiro	lakiro	amaro	tumaro	lēngiro	pēskiro
	f	miri	tyri	lēskiri	lakiri	amari	tumari	lēngiri	pēskiri
	pl	mirē	tyrē	lēskirē	lakirē	amarē	tumarē	lēngirē	pēskirē
Locative		mandē	tutē	lēstē	latē	amēndē	tumēndē	lēndē	pēstē
Instrumental		mansa	tusa	lēsa	lasa	amēnca	tumēnca	lēnsa	pēsa
Enclitic Reflexive		man	pe			amēn	pe		-

¹ The ablative is in decline in Lithuanian Romani.

Bambara

Alternative forms

na

Postposition

la

postposition marking location

Catalan

Etymology 1

Inherited from Old Catalan la, from Latin illa (demonstrative) via apheresis.

Pronunciation

(Balearic, Central) IPA^(key): /lə/, [ɫə]
(Valencia) IPA^(key): /la/

Article

la f (masculine el, masculine plural els, feminine plural les)

the; feminine singular definite article

Usage notes

The article la is contracted to l' before a vowel or h, except before a following unstressed I or U sounds, as in la universitat, la idea, and la oliva. Note: Unstressed O sounds like a U.

Pronoun

la (enclitic and proclitic, contracted proclitic l')

her (direct object)

Usage notes

-la is the full (plena) form of the pronoun. It is normally used after verbs.
Mira-la. ― Look at her.

Declension

Catalan personal pronouns and clitics
			strong/subject	weak (direct object)		weak (indirect object)		possessive
			strong/subject	proclitic	enclitic	proclitic	enclitic	possessive
singular	1st person	standard	jo, mi³	em, m’	-me, ’m	em, m’	-me, ’m	meu
	1st person	majestic¹	nós	ens	-nos, ’ns	ens	-nos, ’ns	nostre
	2nd person	standard	tu	et, t’	-te, ’t	et, t’	-te, ’t	teu
		formal¹	vós	us	-vos, -us	us	-vos, -us	vostre
		very formal²	vostè	el, l’	-lo, ’l	li	-li	seu
	3rd person	m	ell	el, l’	-lo, ’l	li	-li	seu
		f	ella	la, l’⁴	-la	li	-li	seu
		n		ho	-ho	li	-li	seu
plural
	1st person		nosaltres	ens	-nos, ’ns	ens	-nos, ’ns	nostre
	2nd person	standard	vosaltres	us	-vos, -us	us	-vos, -us	vostre
	2nd person	formal²	vostès	els	-los, ’ls	els	-los, ’ls	seu
	3rd person	m	ells	els	-los, ’ls	els	-los, ’ls	seu
	3rd person	f	elles	les	-les	els	-los, ’ls	seu
3rd person reflexive			si	es, s’	-se, ’s	es, s’	-se, ’s	seu
adverbial	ablative/genitive			en, n’	-ne, ’n
adverbial	locative			hi	-hi

¹ Behaves grammatically as plural. ² Behaves grammatically as third person.
³ Only as object of a preposition. ⁴ Not before unstressed (h)i-, (h)u-.

Etymology 2

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): (Northern, Balearic, Central, Valencia, Northwestern) [ˈla]

Noun

la m (plural las)

(music) la (sixth note of a diatonic scale)

Chichewa

Etymology

From li- +‎ a or Proto-Bantu *dɪ́á- but used as a particle.

Particle

la

Class 5 of the particle -a

Chickasaw

Pronoun

la

I (first-person singular pronoun)

Chungli Ao

Etymology 1

Probably identical to the feminine suffix -la, which is from Proto-Central Naga *la, from Proto-Sino-Tibetan *la (“female”).

Pronoun

la

she, her

Etymology 2

Noun

la

bat (flying mammal)

Corsican

Etymology

From Latin illa, feminine form of ille (“that”), from Old Latin olle. Cognates include Italian la and French la.

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /ˈla/
Homophone: là

Article

la

archaic form of a

Pronoun

la

archaic form of a

References

https://infcor.adecec.net/

Dalmatian

Etymology

From Latin illa(m).

Article

la

the; feminine singular definite article

Related terms

el
i
le

Dutch

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /laː/
Audio: (file)
Hyphenation: la
Rhymes: -aː

Etymology 1

From earlier lade through regular syncope of intervocalic -d- (compare weer, blij, broer), from Middle Dutch lāde, from Old Dutch *latha, from Proto-Germanic *hlaþō.

Noun

la f (plural laden or la's, diminutive laatje n)

drawer

Alternative forms

lade

Derived terms

Descendants

Afrikaans: laai
→ Caribbean Hindustani: láh
→ Caribbean Javanese: latye (from the diminutive form)
→ Papiamentu: lachi, laadsje (from lade)

Etymology 2

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

Noun

la f (plural la's, diminutive laatje n)

la (music)

Anagrams

al

Emilian

Etymology

From Latin illa(m), feminine form of ille.

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /la/
Hyphenation: la

Article

la f sg (plural al or el or il or li)

the (feminine singular)

Inflection

Mirandolese Emilian definite articles
	singular	plural
masculine	al 'l	i gl'
feminine	la l'	li gl'

Pronoun

la (personal)

(nominative case) she
(accusative case) her

Alternative forms

Becomes l’ before a vowel.
Becomes -la when acting as an enclitic. If the verb ends in an unstressed -a, said -a is removed.

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

Esperanto

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /la/
Audio 1: (file)
Audio 2: (file)
Rhymes: -a
Syllabification: la

Etymology 1

Etymology tree

Proto-Indo-European *h₂el-der.

Proto-Italic *olnos

Old Latin olle

Latin ille

Latin illa

Old French la

Middle French la

French labor.

▲

Latin ille

Latin illam

Italian labor.

Esperanto la

Borrowed from French la and Italian la.^[1] Compare Spanish la.

Article

la

the
la libro — the book

la libroj — the books

la angla lingvo — the English language

la angla — (the) English (language) (clipped form)

Alternative forms

l' (poetic)

Etymology 2

Noun

la

(music) la (solfège, sixth note of a major scale)
(music) A (symbol for the tone three fifths above C, or the scale with such tone as its keynote)
Synonym: A

References

^ Ebbe Vilborg, “la”, in Etimologia Vortaro de Esperanto [Etymological Dictionary of Esperanto], volume 3, →ISBN, page 78

Finnish

Noun

la

abbreviation of lauantai (“Saturday”)

Franco-Provençal

Etymology

Inherited from Latin illam.

Determiner

la f (prevocalic l')

feminine singular of lo (“the”)

Pronoun

la f (prevocalic l') (ORB, broad)

her (third-person singular feminine accusative)

References

la [2] in DicoFranPro: Dictionnaire Français/Francoprovençal – on dicofranpro.llm.umontreal.ca
la in Lo trèsor Arpitan – on arpitan.eu

French

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /la/
(Canada) IPA^(key): [lɑ], [lɔ]
Audio: (file)
Audio (Switzerland (Valais)): (file)
Audio (France (Vosges)): (file)
Audio (France): (file)
Audio (France (Vosges)): (file)
Audio (France (Lyon)): (file)
Homophones: là, las

Etymology 1

From Middle French la, from Old French la, from Latin illam, which is the accusative singular feminine of ille.^[1]

Article

la f sg

feminine of le: the

Usage notes

la becomes l’ before a vowel or an unaspirated h.
l’amitié ― the friendship

l’île ― the island

l’oasis ― the oasis

Derived terms

à la

Descendants

→ Norwegian Bokmål: la

Pronoun

la f sg

her, it (direct object)
Où est Judith ? Je ne la vois pas.
Where is Judith? I don't see her.

Prends cette boîte et mets-la dans le coin.
Take that box and put it in the corner.

Related terms

**French personal pronouns**
number	person	gender	nominative (subject)	accusative (direct complement)	dative (indirect complement)	locative (at)	genitive (of)	disjunctive (tonic)¹	emphatic reflexive
singular	first	—	je, j’	me, m’		—	—	moi	moi-même
	second	—	tu	te, t’		—	—	toi	toi-même
	third	masculine	il²	le, l’	lui	y	en	lui	lui-même
		feminine	elle	la, l’	lui	y	en	elle	elle-même
		indeterminate	on³, l’on (formal), ce⁴, c’, ça	—	—	—	—	—	—
		reflexive	—	se, s’⁵		—	—	soi	soi-même
plural	first	—	nous	nous		—	—	nous	nous-mêmes
	second⁶	—	vous	vous		—	—	vous	vous-mêmes, vous-même⁶
	third	masculine	ils⁷	les	leur	y	en	eux⁷	eux-mêmes⁷
	third	feminine	elles	les	leur	y	en	elles	elles-mêmes

¹ The disjunctive (tonic) forms are also used after an explicit preposition (de/d’, à, pour, chez, dans, vers, sur, sous, ...), instead the accusative, dative, genitive, locative, or reflexive forms, where a preposition is implied.
² Il is also used as an impersonal nominative-only pronoun.
³ On can also function as a first person plural (although agreeing with third person singular verb forms).
⁴ The nominal indeterminate form ce (demonstrative) can also be used with the auxiliary verb être as a plural, instead of the proximal or distal gendered forms.
⁵ The reflexive third person singular forms (se or s’) for accusative or dative are also used as third person plural reflexive.
⁶ Vous is also used as the polite singular form, in which case the plural disjunctive tonic vous-mêmes becomes singular vous-même.
⁷ Ils, eux and eux-mêmes are also used when a group has a mixture of masculine and feminine members.

Etymology 2

Noun

la m (invariable)

(music) la, the note 'A'

Derived terms

donner le la

Descendants

→ Persian: لا (lâ)

References

^ Dauzat, Albert with Jean Dubois, Henri Mitterand (1964), “le, la, les”, in Nouveau dictionnaire étymologique (in French), Paris: Librairie Larousse

Friulian

Etymology

From Latin illa(m).

Article

la f sg (plural lis)

the

Inflection

Friulian definite articles
	singular	plural
masculine	il l'	i
feminine	la l'	lis

Galician

Etymology 1

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): [la]

Pronoun

la f (accusative)

alternative form of a (“her”)

Usage notes

The l- forms of accusative third-person pronouns are used when the preceding word ends in -r or -s, and is suffixed to the preceding word

Related terms

a
lo
na

Etymology 2

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): [la]

Noun

la m (plural las)

(music) la (sixth note of the scale)
(music) A (the musical note or key)

Etymology 3

From Old Galician-Portuguese lãa, from Latin lāna.

Alternative forms

laa
lla (“Galician-Asturian”)

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): [laː]

Noun

la f (uncountable)

wool

Guianese Creole

Etymology

From French là.

Adverb

la

there (in that place)
Antonym: isi

Related terms

laba

References

Barthelemi, Georges (1995), Dictionnaire pratique créole guyanais - français [Practical Guianese Creole-French Dictionary] (in French), Cayenne: Ibis Rouge Éditions, →ISBN, page 123

Guinea-Bissau Creole

Etymology

From Portuguese lá. Cognate with Kabuverdianu la.

Adverb

la

there

Haitian Creole

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /la/

Etymology 1

From French l'art.

Noun

la

art

Etymology 2

Article

la

the (definite article)

Usage notes

This article is used only after a word that ends with an oral (non-nasal) vowel and an oral consonant, in that order, and when it modifies a singular noun.

Etymology 3

From French là (“there”).

Adverb

la

there

References

Targète, Jean; Urciolo, Raphael (1993), Haitian Creole-English Dictionary‎^[3], Dunwoody Press, →ISBN, page 108

Hungarian

Pronunciation

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

Interjection

la

(archaic) used in dialects at the end of an exclamatory sentence as an emphasis
ott van la! ― there it is!
a syllable used when singing a tune without lyrics

Ido

Alternative forms

(apocopic form) l'

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /la/

Etymology 1

Borrowed from Esperanto la, from French la, Italian la, Spanish la.

Article

la (plural le)

the

Derived terms

Prep. + article	Combined form
ad + la	al
de + la	del
di + la	dil
da + la	dal

Etymology 2

Borrowed from English la, French la, Italian la, Spanish la, Portuguese lá, German A, Russian ля (lja).

Noun

la (plural le la or lai)

(music) la

Interlingua

Pronoun

la

(accusative) her
(dative) to her

Isoko

Verb

la

to jump

Istriot

Etymology

From Latin illa(m), feminine of ille.

Article

la f sg (masculine el)

feminine singular definite article the
- 1877, Antonio Ive, Canti popolari istriani: raccolti a Rovigno, volume 5, Ermanno Loescher, page 29:
  Ti son la manduleîna inzucherada.
  You are the sugared almond.

Italian

Etymology 1

From Latin illa(m), feminine form of ille.^[1]

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): ^°/la/^°, /la/^°
- Hyphenation: la
IPA^(key): (many dialects) /a/^°

Article

la f sg (plural le)

the

Usage notes

The article la elides with words that begin with a vowel, becoming l'.

Inflection

Italian definite articles
	singular	plural
masculine	il lo (l')	i gli
feminine	la (l')	le

Pronoun

la f sg (plural le, masculine lo)

(accusative) her, it
La vedo. ― I see her.
- a. 1975, Pier Paolo Pasolini:
  […] una improvvisa timidezza però la immobilizza […]
  […] a sudden timidity immobilized her though […]
(accusative, formal) you (term of respect)
La vedo. ― I see you.

Scusi se la disturbo. ― Sorry to bother you.

Alternative forms

-la (enclitic)

Etymology 2

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /ˈla/^°, /ˈla/^*
Rhymes: -a
Hyphenation: là

Noun

la m (invariable)

(music) la (musical note)
(music) A (musical note and scale)

Derived terms

References

^ Patota, Giuseppe (2002), Lineamenti di grammatica storica dell'italiano (in Italian), Bologna: il Mulino, →ISBN, page 127

Anagrams

al

Japanese

Romanization

la

Rōmaji transcription of ら゚
Rōmaji transcription of ラ゚

Jingpho

Etymology

Borrowed from Burmese လ (la.).

Noun

la

month

References

Kurabe, Keita (31 December 2016), “Phonology of Burmese loanwords in Jinghpaw”, in Kyoto University Linguistic Research‎^[4], volume 35, →DOI, →ISSN, pages 91–128

Kabuverdianu

Etymology

Derived from Portuguese lá.

Adverb

la

there

Kambera

Preposition

la

in
Ni -nja la wawa -mu.
They are below you.
(literally, “They are in below you”)

References

Marian Klamer (1998), A Grammar of Kambera, Berlin, New York: Mouton de Gruyter, →ISBN, page 127

Kapampangan

Etymology

Clipping of ila.

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /ˈla/ [ˈla]
Hyphenation: la

Pronoun

la

enclitic form of ila

Derived terms

Kilivila

Verb

-la- ^[1]

to leave, to go
kula - thou goest

kulosi - ye go

bala - I will go

References

^ Gunter Senft (1986), Kilivila: the Language of the Trobriand Islanders. Berlin • New York • Amsterdam: Mouton de Gruyter, p. 303. →ISBN

Ladin

Etymology

From Latin illa(m).

Article

la f (singular)

the

Usage notes

The article la elides with words that begin with a vowel, becoming l'.

Ladino

Article

la (Hebrew spelling לה, plural las, masculine el)

the (feminine singular)

Leonese

Etymology

From Latin illa(m), feminine singular of ille.

Article

la f sg (masculine el, neuter lu, masculine plural los, feminine plural les)

the (definite article)

Usage notes

The prepositions cun, en and pur contract with la, unless la is part of a proper noun.
‎cun + ‎la → ‎cula

‎en + ‎la → ‎na

‎pur + ‎la → ‎pula
The article la becomes l' before a word beginning with a a or ha:
l'aviespa ― the wasp

Lotha Naga

Verb

la

to vomit

Inflection

Inflection of la
Formation	Tense			Imperative
Formation	Present	Past	Future	Imperative
Simple	lala	lacho	lav	la
Causative	latokala	latokcho	latokvü	latoka
Perfect	lathaka	lathakcho	lathakvü	—
Abilitative	lakhoka	lakhokcho	lakhokvü	—

Lower Tanana

Etymology

From Proto-Athabaskan *leˑ, *leˑ-nʸ and therefore cognate with Navajo -LĮ́Į́ʼ.

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /læ/

Root

la

to be, exist

Stem set

Aspect	Imperfective	Perfective	Future	Optative
Neuter	lanh	la'	la'	la'
Neuter (Chena)	lą	la'	la'	la'
Transitional	lax	lat	lax	lax
Reversative	lax	lanh	lax	lax
Customary	layh	layh	layh	layh

Derived terms

-ch'exulanh drana (“birthday”)
ch'wxk'a bexulanenh (“last-born child”)
et'egheɬdi' bexulanenh (“newborn baby”)
ghwlą́'/ghwlį́'/ghwla' (“maybe”)
kwlą́ (“nothing”)
nelanh (“he/she/it is, exists”)
nelanenh (“step-relative”)
nlani (“meat, flesh”)
tthato xwlaya (“harlequin duck”)
tthaxw bexulanenh (“firstborn child”)
xulanh (“it exists (xu-gender)”)

References

Kari, James et al. (2024), Kari, James, editor, Lower Tanana Dene Dictionary, Fairbanks, Alaska: Alaska Native Language Center, →ISBN, pages 267-270

Lutuv

Etymology

From Proto-Kuki-Chin *laa-I, from Proto-Tibeto-Burman *ləʔ.

Verb

la

to take, grab

Malay

Pronunciation

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

Etymology 1

pronunciation spelling of lah

Particle

la

(nonstandard) alternative form of lah

Etymology 2

Clipping of la ni, itself a clipping of kala ini, making la a clipping of kala.

Adverb

la (Jawi spelling لا)

(dialectal, Kedah, Kelantan-Pattani, Terengganu) At the present time or moment; now.
Synonyms: sekarang, la ni, ini

Maltese

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /laː/
Rhymes: -aː
Usually unstressed and then automatically shortened to /la/.

Etymology 1

Etymology tree

Proto-Semitic *lā

Arabic لَا (lā)

Maltese la

Inherited from Arabic لَا (lā). Doublet of le (“no”).

Adverb

la

Used—optionally—with a negated second-person imperfect verb to express the negated imperative.
La tisraqx!
Don't steal!.
Used to express negative intention.

Conjunction

la

neither, nor
La jiekol u la jixrob. ― He doesn't eat nor drink.
(obsolete) except
Synonym: ħlief

Derived terms

Etymology 2

Possibly from Arabic لَمَّا (lammā).

Conjunction

la

when
Synonym: meta
since
Synonym: peress li

Derived terms

Mandarin

Pronunciation

Audio: (file)

Romanization

la (la⁵ / la⁰, Zhuyin ˙ㄌㄚ)

Hanyu Pinyin reading of 啦
Hanyu Pinyin reading of 嚹
Hanyu Pinyin reading of 鞡
Hanyu Pinyin reading of 𤷟
Hanyu Pinyin reading of 𩋷

la

nonstandard spelling of lā
nonstandard spelling of lá
nonstandard spelling of lǎ
nonstandard spelling of là

Usage notes

Transcriptions of Mandarin into the Latin script often do not distinguish between the critical tonal differences employed in the Mandarin language, using words such as this one without indication of tone.

Matal

Preposition

la

in
Kak la marabay, Səmon kona aŋa Yuhana, kà uwana dza asik à uwana apə̀hakala dziriga uwaga aw, ama Baba gulo uwana la zagəla la afik la uwana apə̀hakala uwaga.(Mata 16:17)^[1]
Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, because flesh and blood did not reveal this to you, but my Father who is in heaven.(Matthew 16:17)
from
Ama ləv aŋatà kà kərkər la gi (Mata 15:8)^[2]
But their heart is far away from me. (Matthew 15:8)

References

Mauritian Creole

Etymology 1

From French là (“there”).

Adverb

la

there
In an unspecified amount of time.
now; right now; just now

Related terms

laba

Etymology 2

From French la (article).

Article

la

the (definite article)
garson-la ― the boy

sa bann garson-la ― these boys

Usage notes

la always follows the referent. It is attached to the noun with a hyphen unless other modifiers come between them. E.g. sa garson malin la.

References

Baker, Philip; Hookoomsing, Vinesh Y. (1987), Diksiyoner kreol morisyeṅ [Mauritian Creole Dictionary] (in French and English), Paris: L'Harmattan, →ISBN, pages 170-171
Carpooran, Arnaud (2011), Diksioner Morisien [Mauritian Dictionary] (in Mauritian Creole), second edition, Éditions Le Printemps, →ISBN, page 560

Michif

Etymology

From French la.

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): [la]

Article

la f (masculine li, masculine and feminine plural lii)

the

Middle French

Etymology 1

From Old French la, from Latin illam.

Article

la f (masculine le, masculine and feminine plural les)

the

Descendants

French: la
- → Norwegian Bokmål: la

Etymology 2

From Old French la.

Alternative forms

là (circa 1550)

Adverb

la

there

Descendants

French: là

Mirandese

Etymology

From Latin illa(m).

Article

la f (plural las, masculine l, masculine plural ls)

the
la lhéngua mirandesa
the Mirandese language

Mizo

Etymology 1

From Proto-Kuki-Chin *laa (“to take”), from Proto-Sino-Tibetan *ləʔ.

Verb

la (stem II lâk)

to take
to get

Derived terms

la bir

Etymology 2

From Proto-Kuki-Chin *laa (“cotton”).

Noun

la

cotton

Etymology 3

From Proto-Kuki-Chin *laa (“adolescent female”).

Adjective

la

(of female animals) newly mature

Derived terms

Etymology 4

From Proto-Kuki-Chin *laa (“spleen”).

Noun

la

spleen

Mwan

Noun

la

rain

Neapolitan

Pronoun

la

alternative form of 'a

Norman

Etymology

From Old French la, from Latin illa(m).

Pronunciation

Audio (Jersey): (file)

Article

la f (plural les)

(Jersey) the (feminine singular definite article)
la beque ― the spade

la crôte ― the crust

la léçon ― the lesson

la tâsse ― the cup

Inflection

Norman definite articles
	singular	plural
masculine	le / l'	les
feminine	la / l'	les

Coordinate terms

(gender) lé

Norwegian Bokmål

Etymology 1

From the verb late.

Verb

la (imperative la, present tense lar, simple past lot, past participle latt)

to let
La sovende hunder ligge. ― Let sleeping dogs lie.
to leave (in a given state)
la dem (være) i fred ― leave them alone

Etymology 2

From Old Norse hlaða.

Verb

la (imperative la, present tense lar, simple past ladde, past participle ladd)

alternative form of lade

Etymology 3

Verb

la

simple past of legge

Etymology 4

From French la (“the”), from Middle French la (“the”), from Old French la (“the”), from Latin illam (“that, those”), which is the accusative singular feminine of ille (“that, those”), from Old Latin olle (“he, that”), from Proto-Indo-European *h₂ol-no- or *h₂l̥-no-, from *h₂el- (“beyond, other”).

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /la/
Audio: (file)
Rhymes: -a
Hyphenation: la

Article

la

(Used in certain expressions of French origin) the
à la, à la carte, à la grecque, à la mode, à la maison, à la suite

References

“la” in The Bokmål Dictionary.

Norwegian Nynorsk

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /lɑː/

Etymology 1

From Old Norse láta, from Proto-Germanic *lētaną. Akin to English let.

Alternative forms

lata, late (long forms)

Verb

la (present tense lar or lèt, past tense lét, supine latt or late, past participle latt or laten, present participle latande, imperative la)

let, allow
La meg få gjera det.
Let me do it.

Derived terms

Etymology 2

From Old Norse hlaða, a strong verb from Proto-Germanic *hlaþaną.

Alternative forms

lada, lade (long forms)

Verb

la (present tense lar, past tense ladde, supine ladd or ladt, past participle ladd, present participle ladande, imperative la)

(ambitransitive) to load, charge
Synonym: laste

Derived terms

lading f
ladekabel m

Related terms

løe f
lass n
lade m

Etymology 3

From Latin labii, from the first word of the sixth line of Ut queant laxis, the medieval hymn on which solfège was based because its lines started on each note of the scale successively. Through Italian.

Noun

la m (definite singular la-en, indefinite plural la-ar, definite plural la-ane)

(music) la, a syllable used in solfège to represent the second note of a major scale.

Coordinate terms

(scale of solfège): do, re, mi, fa, sol, la, ti, do

Etymology 4

See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

Verb

la

past of leggja and legga

References

“la” in The Nynorsk Dictionary.

Anagrams

al

Occitan

Alternative forms

era (Gascon)
a, řa (País mentonasc)

Etymology

From Old Occitan la, from Latin illa(m).

Pronunciation

Audio (Béarn): (file)

Article

la (masculine lo, feminine plural las, masculine plural los)

the; feminine singular definite article

Old English

Etymology

Unknown. Probably onomatopoeic. Compare Polish ła. (This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /lɑː/
Rhymes: -ɑː

Interjection

lā

lo!, oh!, ah!
Lā! næddrena cyn.
Oh! generation of vipers.
Enclitic particle used to emphasise interrogation, exclamation, entreaty, affirmation, negation
Ðā cwæþ ic hwæt is ðæt lā?
Then said I, “what is that then?”

Derived terms

ēalā

Descendants

English: lo

Old French

Etymology

From Latin illa(m).

Article

la

the (feminine singular oblique definite article)
the (feminine singular nominative definite article)
- c. 1170, Chrétien de Troyes, Érec et Énide:
  Trop avons fet grant reposee,
  Recomançomes la meslee!
  We have rested too much
  Let's restart the battle! (literally, “the mix”)

Inflection

Old French definite articles
	Case	masculine	feminine
singular	subject	li	la, le ¹
singular	oblique	le ¹	la ¹
plural	subject	li	les
plural	oblique	les	les

¹ These singular forms elide to l' before a vowel or non-aspirate h.

Pronoun

la

it (feminine singular object pronoun)

Descendants

Middle French: la
- French: la
  - → Norwegian Bokmål: la

Old Irish

Alternative forms

le

Etymology

From a form of Proto-Celtic *letos (“side”), from which leth, which could be related to *ɸletos (“side”). However, compare Latin latus. The sense “in the language of” is a semantic loan from Latin apud and is perhaps encountered only in glosses of the Latin construction.

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /l̪a/

Preposition

la [with accusative]

with
belonging to
among
in the language of
in the opinion of
by (indicating the agent of a passive verb)

For quotations using this term, see Citations:la.

Inflection

Inflection of la
	Person:		normal	emphatic
singular	first		lem(m), lim(m), leim, lium(m)	lemsa, li(u)msa
	second		lat(t)	latso, latsu
	third m or n	dative
	third m or n	accusative	leiss, les(s), lais(s), letha	le(i)som, lessom, le(i)ssem, laisem
	third f	dative
	third f	accusative	l(a)ee, lǽ	lési

plural	first		li(u)nn, le(i)nn	linn(a)i
	second		lib	libsi
	third	dative
	third	accusative	leu, léu, leo, lethu	leusom, leosom

Derived terms

Combinations with a definite article:

lassin (masculine and feminine singular)
lassa (neuter singular)
lasna (plural)

Combinations with a possessive determiner:

lam (“with my”)
lat (“with your sg”)
lïa (“with his/her/its/their”)
lïar (“with our”)

Combinations with a relative pronoun:

lassa (“with which”)

Descendants

Irish: le
Manx: lesh
Scottish Gaelic: le

Old Occitan

Etymology

From Latin illa(m).

Article

la (masculine lo)

the; feminine singular definite article

Descendants

Occitan: la

Polish

Pronunciation

(Greater Poland):
- (Western Greater Poland) IPA^(key): [ˈla]
- (Central Greater Poland) IPA^(key): [ˈla]
Audio: (file)

Preposition

la

(Central Greater Poland, Western Greater Poland) alternative form of dla

Portuguese

Pronunciation

(Brazil) IPA^(key): /la/

(Portugal) IPA^(key): /lɐ/

Pronoun

la

alternative form of a (third-person feminine singular objective pronoun) used as an enclitic and mesoclitic following a verb form ending in a consonant (-z, -r and -s, but not -m); the consonant is elided and the preceding vowel takes an accent if necessary

Romagnol

Article

la

feminine of e’ (“the”)

Romanian

Alternative forms

ла (la) — post-1930s Cyrillic spelling

Pronunciation

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

Etymology 1

Inherited from Latin illac.

Preposition

la (+accusative)

at, in
Suntem la Paris.
We're in Paris.
to, towards

Descendants

Romanian Pidgin Arabic: la

Etymology 2

From Latin lavāre, from Proto-Indo-European *lewh₃- (“to wash”). The form la developed from an older lăa, which itself is from an older lăua. The Transylvanian variant lăia is derived from one.

Alternative forms

lăia — Transylvania

Verb

a la (third-person singular present lă, past participle lăut, third-person subjunctive laie) 1st conjugation

(uncommon) to wash (especially the head)
Synonyms: se spăla, scălda, îmbăia

Conjugation

conjugation of la (first conjugation, no infix)

number		singular			plural
infinitive			a la
gerund			lând
past participle			lăut
person		1st person	2nd person	3rd person	1st person	2nd person	3rd person
indicative		eu	tu	el/ea	noi	voi	ei/ele
	present	lau	lai	lă	lăm	lați	lau
	imperfect	lam	lai	la	lam	lați	lau
	simple perfect	lăui	lăuși	lău	lăurăm	lăurăți	lăură
	pluperfect	lăusem	lăuseși	lăuse	lăuserăm	lăuserăți	lăuseră
subjunctive		eu	tu	el/ea	noi	voi	ei/ele
subjunctive	present	să lau	să lai	să lea să laie să leie	să lăm	să lați	să lea să laie să leie
imperative		—	tu	—	—	voi	—
	affirmative		lă			lați
	negative		nu la			nu lați

Derived terms

lăutoare, lăutură

Related terms

Santa Catarina Albarradas Zapotec

Noun

la

name

References

Basic Vocabulary, page 63

Sassarese

Alternative forms

-lla (pronoun, enclitic, used when previous syllable is stressed)
-ra (pronoun, enclitic, used when previous syllable is unstressed)

Etymology

From Latin illa, feminine of ille (“that”).

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /la/, (after a word ending in a vowel) /ra/

Article

la f sg (plural li, masculine lu)

the (feminine singular)

Usage notes

Becomes l' before a vowel.

Inflection

Sassarese definite articles
	singular	plural
masculine	lu (l')	li (l')
feminine	la (l')	li (l')

Pronoun

la f (plural li, masculine lu)

(followed by chi) that
her (accusative)
it (accusative)

References

Rubattu, Antoninu (2006), Dizionario universale della lingua di Sardegna, 2nd edition, Sassari: Edes

Sicilian

Etymology 1

From the apheresis of Vulgar Latin *illa, from Latin illam, from illa.

Alternative forms

a

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /la/

Article

la f sg (m lu, plural li)

(feminine singular definite article) the
Synonym: a

Usage notes

This article is nowadays an obsolete variant, unlike its illiquid counterpart a. It is currently used only in some restricted areas where it is still withheld in conversational communications.
Today it is mostly used in crystallized contexts, such as singing, poetry or sayings and proverbs. In all these cases this definite article is more euphonetic than the variants, now predominant, which have undergone the lenition of the initial liquid consonant.
Its use is however almost undisputed before nouns (or nominalized forms of other parts of speech, most often adjectives) that begin with vowels. In this case the form is an apocopic l'. Otherwise, illiquid definite articles are phonetically absorbed by the following noun. I.e: l'arancina (liquid) and ârancina (illiquid).

Inflection

Sicilian articles
		singular		plural
		masculine	feminine	plural
indefinite article		nu, un, 'n	na	—
definite article	liquid	lu	la	li
definite article	illiquid	u, û	a, â	i, î

Etymology 2

From the apheresis of Vulgar Latin *illa, from Latin illam, from illa.

Alternative forms

-la (enclitic)
a (illiquid form)

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /la/

Pronoun

la f sg (plural li, masculine lu)

(accusative) her
Synonym: a

La canusci? ― Do you know her?
(accusative) it, this or that thing
Synonym: a

Quannu ti la desi. ― When I gave it to you.

Usage notes

This pronoun is now an obsolete variant. It is currently used only in some restricted areas where it is still withheld in conversational communications.
Today it is mostly used in crystallized contexts, such as singing, poetry or sayings and proverbs. In all these cases this definite article is more euphonetic than the variants, now predominant, which have undergone the lenition of the initial liquid consonant.
Its use is however almost undisputed before words that begin with vowels. In this case the form is an apocopic l'.

Southern Ndebele

Etymology

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

Pronoun

la

these; class 6 proximal demonstrative.

Spanish

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /la/ [la]
Audio (Colombia): (file)
Rhymes: -a
Syllabification: la

Etymology 1

From Old Spanish ela, from Latin illa(m), feminine singular of ille.

Article

la f sg (plural las, masculine el, masculine plural los)

feminine singular definite article; the
La Europa húmeda y la árida
(please add an English translation of this usage example)

El agua fría es la mejor agua que hay.
(please add an English translation of this usage example)

La agüita que bebí era del color de la aguamarina.
(please add an English translation of this usage example)

La árbitra, la árabe esa, había sido el ama de llaves de mi abuela.
(please add an English translation of this usage example)
- 2025 June 20, Randi Kaye and David von Blohn, “El ICE renueva acuerdo con el centro de detención que, según la agencia, no cumplía las normas”, in CNN en Español‎^[7]:
  En un correo electrónico, el ICE dijo a CNN que había determinado que Glades puede ayudar a “despejar la acumulación” de inmigrantes indocumentados en el país.
  (please add an English translation of this quotation)

Pronoun

la

accusative of ella, ello (when the antecedent's implied gender is feminine), and usted (when referring to a woman); her, it, you (formal)
impersonal neuter pronoun (accusative) in certain colloquial phrases: it, this
La sabe toda.
He/she knows everything (it all)

¿¡Dónde la viste!?
Where did you see that!?

No te la creo.
I don't believe you. (from, "I don't believe you [when it comes to] this.")

Usage notes

Sometimes used where English would prefer a possessive: tengo algo en la bolsa (literally “I have something in the bag”) as opposed to tengo algo en mi bolsa (“I have something in my bag”). This is especially true with body parts and with articles of clothing or similar accessories.
Where a feminine noun begins with stressed IPA^(key): /a/, el is used instead: el alma, el águila, el hacha. The article remains la where an adjective intervenes between the article and the noun: la majestuosa águila. The plural remains las.

Derived terms

Related terms

laísmo

Spanish personal pronouns
				Nominative	Disjunctive	Dative	Accusative	Comitative
First-person	Singular			yo	mí	me		conmigo
	Plural	Masculine¹		nosotros		nos		—
	Plural	Feminine		nosotras		nos		—
Second-person	Singular	Tuteo		tú	ti	te		contigo
		Voseo		vos	—	te
		Formal²	Masculine¹	usted		le, se³	lo
		Formal²	Feminine	usted		le, se³	la
	Plural	Familiar⁴	Masculine¹	vosotros		os
		Familiar⁴	Feminine	vosotras		os
		Formal/ general²	Masculine¹	ustedes		les, se³	los
		Formal/ general²	Feminine	ustedes		les, se³	las
Third-person	Singular	Masculine¹		él		le, se³	lo
		Feminine		ella			la
		Neuter		ello⁵			lo
	Plural	Masculine¹		ellos		les, se³	los
	Plural	Feminine		ellas		les, se³	las
	Reflexive			—	sí	se		consigo

Like other masculine words, masculine pronouns can be used when the gender of the subject is unknown or when the subject is plural and of mixed gender.
Treated as if it were third person for purposes of conjugation and reflexivity.
If le or les precedes lo, la, los, or las in a clause, it is replaced with se (e.g. se lo dije instead of *le lo dije).
Used primarily in Spain.
Only used in certain circumstances and rarely as a subject pronoun.

Descendants

→ Translingual: La

Etymology 2

Noun

la m (plural las)

(music) la (sixth note of the scale)
(music) A (the musical note or key)

Anagrams

al

Sumerian

Romanization

la

romanization of 𒆷 (la)

Swahili

Etymology 1

Other scripts
Ajami	ـلَ

Etymology tree

Proto-Atlantic-Congo *di-

Proto-Bantu *-dɪ́a

Swahili la

Inherited from Proto-Bantu *-dɪ́a, from Proto-Atlantic-Congo *di- (“to eat”).

Pronunciation

(Unguja standard) IPA^(key): /lɑ/ (with stress on preceding syllable)
Audio (Kenya): (file)

Verb

-la (infinitive kula)

to eat
(by extension) to consume, to eradicate

Conjugation

Conjugation of -la

Positive present	-nakula
Subjunctive	-le
Negative	-li
Imperative singular	kula

Infinitives

Positive	kula
Negative	kutokula

Imperatives

Singular	kula
Plural	kuleni

Tensed forms

Habitual	hula
Positive past	positive subject concord + -likula
Negative past	negative subject concord + -kula

Positive present (positive subject concord + -nakula)
		Singular	Plural
1st person		ninakula/nakula	tunakula
2nd person		unakula	mnakula
3rd person	m-wa_(I/II)	anakula	wanakula
3rd person	other classes	positive subject concord + -nakula

Negative present (negative subject concord + -li)
		Singular	Plural
1st person		sili	hatuli
2nd person		huli	hamli
3rd person	m-wa_(I/II)	hali	hawali
3rd person	other classes	negative subject concord + -li

Positive future	positive subject concord + -takula
Negative future	negative subject concord + -takula

Positive subjunctive (positive subject concord + -le)
		Singular	Plural
1st person		nile	tule
2nd person		ule	mle
3rd person	m-wa_(I/II)	ale	wale
3rd person	other classes	positive subject concord + -le

Negative subjunctive	positive subject concord + -sile
Positive present conditional	positive subject concord + -ngekula
Negative present conditional	positive subject concord + -singekula
Positive past conditional	positive subject concord + -ngalikula
Negative past conditional	positive subject concord + -singalikula

Gnomic (positive subject concord + -ala)
		Singular	Plural
1st person		nala	twala
2nd person		wala	mwala
3rd person	m-wa_(I/II)	ala	wala
	m-mi_(III/IV)	wala	yala
	ji-ma_(V/VI)	lala	yala
	ki-vi_(VII/VIII)	chala	vyala
	n_(IX/X)	yala	zala
	u_(XI)	wala	see n_(X)* or ma_(VI) class*
	ku_(XV/XVII)	kwala
	pa_(XVI)	pala
	mu_(XVIII)	mwala

Perfect	positive subject concord + -mekula
"Already"	positive subject concord + -meshakula
"Not yet"	negative subject concord + -jala
"If/When"	positive subject concord + -kila
"If not"	positive subject concord + -sipokula
Consecutive	kala / positive subject concord + -kala
Consecutive subjunctive	positive subject concord + -kale

Object concord (indicative positive)
		Singular	Plural
1st person		-nila	-tula
2nd person		-kula	-wala/-kuleni/-waleni
3rd person	m-wa_(I/II)	-mla	-wala
	m-mi_(III/IV)	-ula	-ila
	ji-ma_(V/VI)	-lila	-yala
	ki-vi_(VII/VIII)	-kila	-vila
	n_(IX/X)	-ila	-zila
	u_(XI)	-ula	see n_(X)* or ma_(VI) class*
	ku_(XV/XVII)	-kula
	pa_(XVI)	-pala
	mu_(XVIII)	-mula
Reflexive		-jila

Relative forms

General positive (positive subject concord + (object concord) + -la- + relative marker)
	Singular	Plural
m-wa_(I/II)	-laye	-lao
m-mi_(III/IV)	-lao	-layo
ji-ma_(V/VI)	-lalo	-layo
ki-vi_(VII/VIII)	-lacho	-lavyo
n_(IX/X)	-layo	-lazo
u_(XI)	-lao	see n_(X)* or ma_(VI) class*
ku_(XV/XVII)	-lako
pa_(XVI)	-lapo
mu_(XVIII)	-lamo

Other forms (subject concord + tense marker + relative marker + (object concord) + -kula)
	Singular	Plural
m-wa_(I/II)	-yekula	-okula
m-mi_(III/IV)	-okula	-yokula
ji-ma_(V/VI)	-lokula	-yokula
ki-vi_(VII/VIII)	-chokula	-vyokula
n_(IX/X)	-yokula	-zokula
u_(XI)	-okula	see n_(X)* or ma_(VI) class*
ku_(XV/XVII)	-kokula
pa_(XVI)	-pokula
mu_(XVIII)	-mokula

Some forms not commonly seen in modern Standard Swahili are absent from the table. See Appendix:Swahili verbs for more information.

Derived terms

Verbal derivations:
- Applicative: -lia
- Causative: -lisha (“to feed”)
- Passive: -liwa
- Stative: -lika (“be edible”)
- Other formations: -la chumvi nyingi (“to live a long life (idiomatic)”), -la fedha, -la hasara, -la njama, -la rushwa, -la yamini

Nominal derivations:
- chakula (“food”)
- mla (“eater”)
- mlo (“meal”)
- ulaji (“eating”)

Etymology 2

Etymology tree

Proto-Semitic *lā

Arabic لَا (lā)bor.

Swahili la

Borrowed from Arabic لَا (lā).^[1]

Pronunciation

(Unguja standard) IPA^(key): /ˈlɑ/
Audio (Kenya): (file)

Interjection

la

no

Etymology 3

Other scripts
Ajami	لَـ

See -a.

Pronunciation

(Unguja standard) IPA^(key): /lɑ/
Audio (Kenya): (file)

Particle

la

ji class_(V) inflected form of -a

References

^ Baldi, Sergio (30 November 2020), Dictionary of Arabic Loanwords in the Languages of Central and East Africa (Handbuch der Orientalistik; Erste Abteilung: Der Nahe und der Mittlere Osten; 145), Leiden • Boston: Brill, →ISBN, page 268 Nr. 2511

Swedish

Etymology 1

See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

Alternative forms

lade

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /lɑː/
Rhymes: -ɑː

Verb

la

past indicative of lägga

Etymology 2

Clipping of earlier fälle and fuller. Listed in a dictionary from the 1800s, and believed to have existed for longer.^[1]

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /la/^[1]

Adverb

la (not comparable)

(dialectal, Gothenburg, Västergötland) synonym of väl

References

↑ ^1.0 ^1.1 “La”, in isof.se‎^[1] (in Swedish), Swedish Institute for Language and Folklore, June 2011, archived from the original on 28 September 2020

Anagrams

-al, al

Tagalog

Pronunciation

(Standard Tagalog) IPA^(key): /la/ [lɐ]
Rhymes: -a
Syllabification: la

Etymology 1

Interjection

la (Baybayin spelling ᜎ)

used in directing an animal to stop, especially carabaos and cattle

Etymology 2

Borrowed from Spanish la, from Latin labii.

Noun

la (Baybayin spelling ᜎ)

la (the note 'A')

Etymology 3

Influenced by Baybayin character ᜎ (la).

Noun

la (Baybayin spelling ᜎ)

the name of the Latin script letter L/l, in the Abakada alphabet
Synonyms: (in the Filipino alphabet) el, (in the Abecedario) ele

Etymology 4

Clipping of hala.

Interjection

la (Baybayin spelling ᜎ) (slang)

alternative form of hala

Alternative forms

luh — text messaging, Internet slang

Tetum

Adverb

la

not

Tsafiki

Pronoun

la

I; the first-person singular masculine pronoun; the first-person singular pronoun used by adult men

Coordinate terms

čiʰké (first-person singular feminine pronoun, first-person singular pronoun used by adult women)
če (first-person singular pronoun used by children)
čiʰke-lá (first-person plural pronoun)

References

The Languages of the Andes (2004, Willem F. H. Adelaar, Pieter C. Muysken)

Turkish

Alternative forms

lan

Interjection

la

(dialectal) ulan

Vietnamese

Pronunciation

(Hà Nội) IPA^(key): [laː˧˧]
(Huế) IPA^(key): [laː˧˧]
(Saigon) IPA^(key): [laː˧˧]
Audio (Hà Nội): (file)

Etymology 1

This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.
Particularly: “Opper (2017)'s Phonological Contrast in Bai cited Jiànchuān Bai la˦/⁴⁴ "to yell, to curse" from Xú & Zhào (1984).”

Verb

la • (羅, 囉)

to cry, to shout
(Central Vietnam, Southern Vietnam) to reprimand, to scold
Synonyms: mắng, quát

bị vợ la ― to be scolded by wife

Derived terms

Etymology 2

Non-Sino-Vietnamese reading of Chinese 騾 (“mule”, SV: loa).

Noun

la • (騾) (classifier con)

horse–donkey hybrid; mule or hinny

Etymology 3

Borrowed from French la.

Noun

la (classifier nốt)

(music) la; A

Votic

Alternative forms

laa

Etymology

From laskõa. Compare Estonian las.

Pronunciation

(Luutsa, Liivčülä) IPA^(key): /ˈlɑ/, [ˈɫɑ]
(Jõgõperä) IPA^(key): /ˈlɑ/, [ˈɫɑ]
(Central Votic) IPA^(key): /ˈlɑ/, [ˈɫɑ]
(Eastern Votic) IPA^(key): /ˈlɑ/, [ˈɫɑ]
Rhymes: -ɑ
Hyphenation: la

Particle

la

let (with a verb); forms a first-person or third-person imperative.

Usage notes

Usually used with the indicative present personal forms of verbs. The verb may also be inflected in the negative to create a negative imperative.
The person who is allowed to do something may be placed between la and the verb in the nominative.
The third-person imperatives using la (e.g. la teeb) are more common than the forms using -ko(d) (tehko).
Forming second-person imperatives with la is theoretically possible, but practically never done; the inflected imperative forms are used instead.

References

Hallap, V.; Adler, E.; Grünberg, S.; Leppik, M. (2012), “la”, in Vadja keele sõnaraamat [A dictionary of the Votic language]‎^[8], 2nd edition, Tallinn

Walloon

Etymology

From Latin illac.

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /la/

Adverb

la

there

Synonyms

låvå

Antonyms

chal, droci

Wolof

Pronoun

la

you (second-person singular object pronoun)

Xhosa

Etymology

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

Pronoun

la

these; class 6 proximal demonstrative.

Xokleng

Etymology

From Proto-Southern Jê *ra (“sun”).

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): [ˈla]

Noun

la

sun

Yatzachi Zapotec

Noun

la

name

Yoruba

Etymology 1

Proposed to have derived from Proto-Yoruboid *lá. Possibly cognate with Proto-Bantu *-dáada

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /lá/

Verb

lá

to dream

Derived terms

lá àlá (“to dream a dream”)
àlá (“dream”)

Etymology 2

Proposed to have derived from Proto-Yoruboid *lá

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /lá/

Verb

lá

to lick, including with one's finger
Synonym: pọ́n lá
to become worn out

Derived terms

ilá (“okra”)
ìka ìlábẹ̀ (“index finger”)

Etymology 3

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /là/

Verb

là

to be wealthy; to become wealthy, to become rich

Derived terms

kò-là-kò-ṣagbe (“middle class”)
ọlọ́là (“rich person”)
ọlà (“wealth, riches”)

Etymology 4

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /là/

Verb

là

to dilute a liquid
Synonym: fi omi lú

Derived terms

ìlà (“dilution”)

Etymology 5

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /là/

Verb

là

to shine like the moon/sun/light, to glow, to radiate
òòrùn-ún là ― The sun shone

Etymology 6

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /là/

Verb

là

to survive

Derived terms

gbà là (“to save”)
ìgbàlà (“salvation”)

Etymology 7

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /là/

Verb

là

to cut, to divide, to separate, to slice

Derived terms

Ẹ̀là (“A spirit and energy force in the Yoruba religion and divination”)
làwàà (“to open suddenly”)
ìlà (“line, partition, mark”)

Zulu

Etymology

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

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /ˈlá/

Pronoun

la

these; class 6 proximal demonstrative.

Inflection

Stem *-lá* (locative *kula*)
Possessive forms
full form	lá
locative	kula
copulative	yila
	modifier	substantive
class 1	wala	owala
class 2	bala	abala
class 3	wala	owala
class 4	yala	eyala
class 5	lala	elala
class 6	ala	awala
class 7	sala	esala
class 8	zala	ezala
class 9	yala	eyala
class 10	zala	ezala
class 11	lwala	olwala
class 14	bala	obala
class 15	kwala	okwala
class 17	kwala	okwala

References

C. M. Doke; B. W. Vilakazi (1972), “la”, in Zulu-English Dictionary, →ISBN: “la (2)”

[1] Ebbe Vilborg, “la”, in Etimologia Vortaro de Esperanto [Etymological Dictionary of Esperanto], volume 3, →ISBN, page 78

[2] Dauzat, Albert with Jean Dubois, Henri Mitterand (1964), “le, la, les”, in Nouveau dictionnaire étymologique (in French), Paris: Librairie Larousse

[3] Patota, Giuseppe (2002), Lineamenti di grammatica storica dell'italiano (in Italian), Bologna: il Mulino, →ISBN, page 127

[4] Gunter Senft (1986), Kilivila: the Language of the Trobriand Islanders. Berlin • New York • Amsterdam: Mouton de Gruyter, p. 303. →ISBN

[5] ttp://listen.bible.is/MFHWYI/Matt/16#17

[6] ttp://listen.bible.is/MFHWYI/Matt/15#8

[7] Baldi, Sergio (30 November 2020), Dictionary of Arabic Loanwords in the Languages of Central and East Africa (Handbuch der Orientalistik; Erste Abteilung: Der Nahe und der Mittlere Osten; 145), Leiden • Boston: Brill, →ISBN, page 268 Nr. 2511

[isof-8] 1.0 ^1.1 “La”, in isof.se‎^[1] (in Swedish), Swedish Institute for Language and Folklore, June 2011, archived from the original on 28 September 2020

[1]

[1]

[1]

[1]

[1]

[2]

[1]

[1]

			nominative		atonic (clitic)¹¹						tonic¹²
			nominative		accusative / dative-reflexive	accusative	dative		locative	partitive	prepositional-reflexive	oblique
singular
	first		io		mi, m', -mi, me⁹				―		―	me
	second		tu		ti, t', -ti, te⁹							te
	second formal / polite⁵		Lei, Ella⁸		―	La, -La, L'	Le, -Le					Lei
	third	m	lui, egli,⁸ ello,⁸ elli,^{3, 8} esso⁸		si,⁶ s', -si, se,⁹ ci¹³	lo, l', -lo, il⁴	glie⁹	gli, -gli, il⁴	ci, c', vi,¹ v'¹	ne, n'	sé	lui, esso⁸
	third	f	lei, ella,⁸ essa⁸		si,⁶ s', -si, se,⁹ ci¹³	la, l', -la	glie⁹	le, -le, gli,² -gli²	ci, c', vi,¹ v'¹	ne, n'	sé	lei, essa⁸
plural
	first		noi		ci, c', -ci, ce,⁹ ne,⁴ n'⁴				―		―	noi
	second		voi, Voi⁷		vi, Vi,⁷ v', V',⁷ -vi, -Vi,⁷ ve⁹							voi, Voi⁷
	second formal / polite⁵		Loro		―	Le, -Le	Loro¹⁰					Loro
	third	m	loro	elli,^{3, 8} ellino,^{4, 8} eglino,^{4, 8} essi⁸	si, s', -si, se⁹	li, -li	loro,¹⁰ gli,² -gli,² glie⁹		ci, c', vi,¹ v'¹	ne, n'	sé	loro	essi⁸
	third	f	loro	elle,^{3, 8} elleno,^{4, 8} esse⁸	si, s', -si, se⁹	le, -le	loro,¹⁰ gli,² -gli,² glie⁹		ci, c', vi,¹ v'¹	ne, n'	sé	loro	elle,⁸ esse⁸

		absolute		ergative	oblique
		disjunctive	enclitic	ergative	oblique
first person	singular	aku/i aku/yaku	ku		kanaku
	plural inclusive	ikatamu	katamu/tamu	tamu/ta	kekatamu
	plural exclusive	ikami, ike	kami/ke	mi	kekami/keke
second person	singular	ika	ka	mu	keka
second person	plural	ikayu/iko	kayu/ko	yu	kekayu/keko
third person	singular	iya/ya	ya	na	keya/kaya
third person	plural	ila	la	da/ra	karela

Translingual

Etymology

Symbol

See also

English

Pronunciation

Etymology 1

Alternative forms

Noun

Coordinate terms

Translations

Etymology 2

Interjection

Derived terms

Etymology 3

Alternative forms

Interjection

Etymology 4

Adjective

Etymology 5

Noun

Related terms

Etymology 6

Noun

Etymology 7

Pronunciation

Particle

See also

Etymology 8

Particle

Anagrams

Afrikaans

Pronunciation

Noun

References

Alemannic German

Verb

Ama

Pronunciation

Noun

Anguthimri

Noun

References

Aragonese

Etymology

Pronoun

Aromanian

Etymology

Preposition

Asturian

Alternative forms

Etymology

Article

Usage notes

Pronoun

Baltic Romani

Pronoun

Declension

Bambara

Alternative forms

Postposition

Catalan

Etymology 1

Pronunciation

Article

Usage notes

Pronoun

Usage notes

Declension

Etymology 2

Pronunciation

Noun

Further reading

Chichewa

Etymology

Particle

See also

Chickasaw

Pronoun

Chungli Ao