لا
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Arabic
Etymology 1
From Proto-Semitic *lā. Compare Hebrew לֹא (lo), which, in older texts, is used in the negative imperative and the negative existential indicative.
Pronunciation
Particle
لَا • (lā)
- no
- not; negates an indicative present-tense verb
- do not; expresses prohibition with a jussive verb
- لَا نَنْسَ… ― lā nansa… ― Let us not forget…
- لَا يَفُتْكُمْ ― lā yafutkum ― You shall not miss it.
- 609–632 CE, Qur'an, 49:11:
- يَا أَيُّهَا ٱلَّذِينَ آمَنُوا لَا يَسْخَرْ قَوْمٌ مِنْ قَوْمٍ عَسَى أَنْ يَكُونُوا خَيْرًا مِنْهُمْ وَلَا نِسَاءٌ مِنْ نِسَاءٍ عَسَى أَن يَكُنَّ خَيْرًا مِنْهُنَّ وَلَا تَلْمِزُوا أَنْفُسَكُمْ وَلَا تَنَابَزُوا بِٱلْأَلْقَابِ
- yā ʔayyuhā llaḏīna ʔāmanū lā yasḵar qawmun min qawmin ʕasā ʔan yakūnū ḵayran minhum wa-lā nisāʔun min nisāʔin ʕasā ʔan yakunna ḵayran minhunna wa-lā talmizū ʔanfusakum wa-lā tanābazū bi-l-ʔalqābi
- O you who have believed, let not a people ridicule people; perhaps they may be better than them; nor let women ridicule women; perhaps they may be better than them. And do not insult one another and do not call each other by names.
- Zuhayr ibn Abi Sulma
- يَا حَارِ لَا أُرْمَيَنْ مِنْكُمْ بِدَاهِيَةٍ / لَمْ يَلْقَهَا سُوقَةٌ قَبْلِي وَلَا مَلِكُ
- yā ḥāri lā ʔurmayan minkum bidāhiyatin / lam yalqahā sūqatun qablī walā maliku
- (please add an English translation of this quotation)
- Al-Farazdaq
- إِذَا مَا خَرَجْنَا مِنْ دِمَشْقَ فَلَا نَعُدْ / لَهَا أَبَدًا مَا دَامَ فِيهَا الْجُرَاضِمُ
- ʔiḏā mā ḵarajnā min dimašqa falā naʕud / lahā ʔabadan mā dāma fīhā l-jurāḍimu
- (please add an English translation of this quotation)
- there is not, there is no, there is nothing, nothing is
- لَا طَالِبَ حَاضِرٌ. ― lā ṭāliba ḥāḍirun. ― No student is present.
- not; negates any non-verbal sentence element
- neither, nor
Usage notes
As shown in the example, sense 4 generally governs a noun in the determinate state and the accusative case — that is, a noun without nunation. However, subsequent adjectives are in the indeterminate state, meaning they are nunated:
- لَا طَالِبَ مُجْتَهِدًا حَاضِرٌ ― lā ṭāliba mujtahidan ḥāḍirun ― No hard-working student is present.
If, instead of an adjective, there is an attributive prepositional phrase, the initial noun can be in either state:
- لَا طَالِبَ لَدَيْنَا مُجْتَهِدًا حَاضِرٌ ― lā ṭāliba ladaynā mujtahidan ḥāḍirun ― No hard-working student of ours is present.
- لَا طَالِبًا لِلْعِلْمِ مُقَصِّرٌ ― lā ṭāliban lilʕilmi muqaṣṣirun ― No seeker of knowledge is delinquent.
Additionally, sense 4 can govern a preposition alone, with an implicit third-person singular masculine subject and no visible case or state. This is the origin of لَا عَلَيْكَ (lā ʕalayka, “no worries”, literally “there is not on you”) and similar collocations.
| Isolated form | Final form |
|---|---|
| لا | ـلا |
Antonyms
- (antonym(s) of "no"): نَعَم (naʕam)
- (antonym(s) of "expresses prohibition with a jussive verb"): لِـ (li-)
Descendants
- Gulf Arabic: لَأْ (laʔ, “no”), لا (la, “don't (used before imperatives)”)
- South Levantine Arabic: لأ (laʔ), لا (la, “don't (with imperative or subjunctive)”)
- Maltese: la, le
- → Swahili: la
Conjunction
لَا • (lā)
- not, and not
- أَحْضِرْ وَثَائِقَكَ لَا كُتُبَكَ
- ʔaḥḍir waṯāʔiqaka lā kutubaka
- Bring your documents, not your books.
Antonyms
- بَلْ (bal)
Derived terms
- مُكْرَهٌ أَخَاكَ لَا بَطَلٌ (mukrahun ʔaḵāka lā baṭalun, proverb)
Prefix
لَا • (lā)
- non-, un-, in-
- لَاسُلْطَوِيّ (lāsulṭawiyy)
- لَاسِلْكِيّ (lāsilkiyy)
- لَامُبَالَاة (lāmubālāh)
- لَافَقَارِيَّات (lāfaqāriyyāt)
- لَامَرْكَزِيَّة (lāmarkaziyya)
Derived terms
- وَلَا سِيَّمَا (walā siyyamā)
- لَا جَرَمَ (lā jarama)
- لَا بَأْسَ (lā baʔsa)
- لَا بُدَّ (lā budda)
- لَا مَحَالَةَ (lā maḥālata)
See also
- إِلَّا (ʔillā)
- بَلْ (bal)
- غَيْر (ḡayr)
- عَدَم (ʕadam)
- كَلَّا (kallā)
- لَيْسَ (laysa)
- لَمْ (lam)
- لَمَّا (lammā)
- لَنْ (lan)
- مَا (mā)
Etymology 2
Particle
لَا • (la)
- (Classical Arabic, before a hamza) Alternative spelling of لَ (la, “truly, indeed”)
References
- Fischer, Wolfdietrich (2006) Grammatik des Klassischen Arabisch (in German), 4th edition, Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz, →ISBN, § 318
Persian
Etymology 1
Noun
لا • (lâ)
- (music) A, La (the sixth note of the fixed-Do solfège scale)
- (music) La (the sixth note of the movable-Do solfège scale, i.e. the submediant)
Etymology 2
Particle
| Dari | لا |
|---|---|
| Iranian Persian | |
| Tajik | ло |
لا • (lâ)
Synonyms
Etymology 3
Alternative forms
- لای (lây)
Noun
| Dari | لا |
|---|---|
| Iranian Persian | |
| Tajik | ло |
لا • (lâ)
Shina
Pronunciation
Noun
لا (lā)
South Levantine Arabic
Etymology
Particle
لا • (la)
Usage notes
- The negative imperative with لا (la) is more formal, while ما (mā) and the suffix ـش (-š) are more common in informal speech.
- لا يكون (la ykūn) is often used a fixed expression not conjugated by person and number and might be written as one word ليكون (laykūn).
See also
- لأ (laʔ, “no”)