ལ

ལ

1. Tibetan letter la

• IPA^(key): /lɑ/,

ལ (la)

1. The thirty-third letter of the Balti alphabet, written in the Tibetan script

• IPA^(key): /lɑ˥/,

ལ (la)

1. The twenty-sixth letter of the Dzongkha letter

From Old Tibetan ལ, from Proto-Sino-Tibetan *la (“wilderness”).

• IPA^(key): /lɑ˩/

ལ (la)

1. mountain pass

• IPA^(key): /lə̀/

From Proto-Sino-Tibetan *la. Cognates include Dzongkha ལ (la) and Tibetan ལ (la).

ལ (la) (locative ལ་ན)

1. mountain

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

ལ (la)

1. spider

• G. Hyslop, K. Tshering, K. Lhendrup, P. Chhophyel (2016) Kurtöp-English-Dzongkha dictionary (draft), page 206

• IPA^(key): /lə/,

ལ (la)

1. The twenty-sixth letter of the Ladakhi alphabet

• IPA^(key): /l̪a/,

ལ (la)

1. The twenty-ninth letter of the Sherpa alphabet, written in the Tibetan script

• IPA^(key): /lɐ/,

ལ (la)

1. The twenty-ninth letter of the Sikkimese alphabet

ལ • (la)

1. The twenty-sixth letter of the Tibetan alphabet

Perhaps from Sino-Tibetan *la (“area far from settlements; wilderness”); compare Chinese 野 (OC *laːʔ, *ɦljaʔ, “countryside; field”).

ལ • (la)

1. hillside, mountain pass

• ལ་དུག (la dug, “altitude sickness”)

Schuessler (2007) connects it to Old Chinese particle 也 (OC *laːlʔ), which is possibly of Sino-Tibetan origin.^[1]

ལ • (la)

1. Marks oblique locatives.
2. Marks the dative (a recipient in a trivalent construction).
   1. Marks the possessor in have-constructions which use a copular verb.
3. Marks the subject of verbs such as "like" and "need".
4. Marks the direct object of verbs which involve contact but no change of state.

When the preceding syllable ends in a vowel, la becomes r and goes in the coda of the preceding syllable. For example, "in Lhasa" is ལྷ་སར (lha sar).

• “ལ” in The Tibetan Living Dictionary, Mandala Collections, 2021.
• “ལ” in Tibetan-English Dictionary.