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Corsican
Etymology
From Latin labii, the first word of the sixth line of Ut queant laxis, on which the names for the notes of the solfège were based. Compare Italian la and French la.
Pronunciation
Noun
là
- (music) la, the note 'A'.
References
French
Etymology
Inherited from Middle French la, from Old French la, from Latin illāc. The grave accent on the a was added to disambiguate with la (“the”).
Pronunciation
Adverb
là
- referring to physical place
- there
- Antonym: ici
- Je t'attendrai là. ― I'll wait for you there.
- here; present (used with être)
- Synonym: ici (with verbs other than être)
Je suis (toujours) là.- I'm (still) here.
- referring to an abstract destination or goal; there
- Je suis presque là. ― I've almost got it. (literally, “I'm almost there.”)
Usage notes
- Some compounds formed with là are traditionally written with hyphens while others are not. Larousse gives a non-exhaustive list which nevertheless illustrates examples of each group, where certain patterns can be detected:
Derived terms
See also
- y (near-synonym in certain contexts)
References
Italian
Etymology
From Latin illāc. Compare Spanish allá, Portuguese lá, French là.
The original geminated -ll-, though lost in the standard language, is still found in most regional Italian varieties.
Pronunciation
Adverb
là
- there
- Synonym: lì
Usage notes
Derived terms
Further reading
- là in Treccani.it – Vocabolario Treccani on line, Istituto dell'Enciclopedia Italiana
- là in Luciano Canepari, Dizionario di Pronuncia Italiana (DiPI)
Anagrams
Lahu
Verb
là
- to come
Mandarin
Romanization
là (la4, Zhuyin ㄌㄚˋ)
- Hanyu Pinyin reading of 剌
- Hanyu Pinyin reading of 嘑 / 呼
- Hanyu Pinyin reading of 拉
- Hanyu Pinyin reading of 揧
- Hanyu Pinyin reading of 擶
- Hanyu Pinyin reading of 攋 / 𪮶
- Hanyu Pinyin reading of 楋
- Hanyu Pinyin reading of 爉
- Hanyu Pinyin reading of 瓎
- Hanyu Pinyin reading of 瘌
- Hanyu Pinyin reading of 癞
- Hanyu Pinyin reading of 癤 / 疖
- Hanyu Pinyin reading of 翂
- Hanyu Pinyin reading of 腊
- Hanyu Pinyin reading of 臈 / 腊
- Hanyu Pinyin reading of 臘 / 腊
- Hanyu Pinyin reading of 萺
- Hanyu Pinyin reading of 蜛
- Hanyu Pinyin reading of 蝋
- Hanyu Pinyin reading of 蝲
- Hanyu Pinyin reading of 蠟 / 蜡
- Hanyu Pinyin reading of 辢
- Hanyu Pinyin reading of 辣
- Hanyu Pinyin reading of 鑞 / 镴
- Hanyu Pinyin reading of 鬎
- Hanyu Pinyin reading of 鯻 / 𬶟
- Hanyu Pinyin reading of 蜡
Middle French
Adverb
là
- (late Middle French) alternative form of la (there; at a given location)
Mochica
Pronunciation
Noun
là
- water
Synonyms
References
- José Antonio Salas, Diccionario mochica-castellano, castellano-mochica (2002)
Muong
Etymology
From Proto-Vietic *laː (“to work”). Cognate with Vietnamese là.
Pronunciation
Verb
là
- (Mường Bi) to do
Là chi đĩ?- What are you doing?
- là wiêc ― to work
Derived terms
Verb
là
- (Mường Bi) to be
References
- Nguyễn Văn Khang, Bùi Chỉ, Hoàng Văn Hành (2002) Từ điển Mường - Việt (Muong - Vietnamese dictionary), Hanoi: Nhà xuất bản Văn hoá Dân tộc Hà Nội.
Mwan
Postposition
là
- under, in
Portuguese
Adverb
là (not comparable)
- obsolete spelling of lá
Romansch
Etymology
From Latin illāc.
Adverb
là
- there
Scottish Gaelic
Etymology
From Old Irish lá, which is probably unrelated to laithe (the source of latha).
Pronunciation
Noun
là m (genitive singular là, plural làithean)
- synonym of latha (“day”)
Usage notes
- Usually used for special days of the calendar.
Derived terms
Vietnamese
Pronunciation
Etymology 1
Non-Sino-Vietnamese reading of Chinese 羅 (SV: la).
Noun
là • (𬗢, 纙, 羅)
- fine silk
15th century, Nguyễn Trãi, “Ngôn chí 言志 3”, in Quốc âm thi tập (國音詩集):𩛷咹油固𦼞㙁
襖默奈之錦羅- Even if my meals only have pickles ,
I have no reason to demand good silk for clothing.
Derived terms
Etymology 2
From Proto-Vietic *laː (“to work”). Doublet of làm.
Verb
là • (羅, 𱺵, 𪜀, 𦉼)
- (copula) to be
1946 , Tố Hữu, “Từ ấy ”, in Từ ấy :Tôi đã là con của vạn nhà
Là em của vạn kiếp phôi pha
Là anh của vạn đầu em nhỏ
Không áo cơm, cù bất cù bơ…- I have been the son of all families
Have been the little brother of all fading lives
Have been the big brother of all the young ones
Who were starving, shivering and wandering…
Usage notes
- As a copula verb that is somewhat semantically empty. It is not perfectly equivalent to copulae in other languages (such as English be, French être, Japanese です (desu), Hindi है (hai)), as it only links the subject to a noun or noun phrase. Teachers of foreign languages typically translate copulae of those languages to là, but also to thì (for linking to adjectives) to compensate this incompatibility.
Grammar
- The copula là is used in the sentence to link the subject to a predicate noun. Because nominal predicates strongly prefer the presence of the particle là, it can be characterized as an "identificational/equational marker".
- Hải là kĩ sư. ― Hải is an engineer.
- It is often omitted when occuring with predicate adjectives.
- Tôi ø đói. ― I am hungry.
- Là is used with adjectives only to emphasize, confirm, or assert the meaning of the sentence in context. In this case, it can be omitted.
- Thói quen đó (là) tốt. ― That habit is good.
- Gà rán rất (là) ngon. ― The fried chicken is really yummy.
- Bộ phim ấy (là) do tôi làm. ― That movie was produced by me.
- Đồng chí biết điều này (là) sai nhưng không sửa. ― Comrade, you're aware this is wrong but do nothing to fix it.
- However, là is mandatory to make clear the speaker's or writer's intention to utter not just a noun phrase but either a complete sentence, or an independent clause, or a dependent clause with dropped subjects.
- Lao động là vinh quang. ― Labour is glorious.
- vs. Lao động vinh quang. ― Glorious labour.
- Chân lý là cụ thể, cách mạng là sáng tạo. ― Truth is concrete, revolution is creative.
- vs. Chân lý cụ thể, cách mạng sáng tạo. ― Concrete truth, creative revolution.
- Đồng chí biết là sai nhưng không sửa. ― Comrade, you're aware is wrong but do nothing to fix it.
- vs. Đồng chí biết sai nhưng không sửa. ― Comrade, you're aware of the wrongness but do nothing to fix it.
- Là is also used with possessions to indicate that something belongs to someone. The copula can be omitted.
- Quyển sách này (là) của tôi. ― This book is mine.
- In many cases, when a sentence starts with a time phrase, là simply states the fact of identification of time. The copula can be omitted.
- Bây giờ (là) hai giờ rồi. ― It's two o'clock already.
- Ngày mai (là) thứ năm. ― Tomorrow is Thursday.
- Là may be used as the predicate to indicate existence, which is equivalent to "there is" or "there are". The word order is: place + là (+ classifier) + noun. In this case, it cannot be omitted.
- Giữa hồ là (một) hòn đảo. ― There is an island in the middle of the lake.
See also
Conjunction
là
- Used to indicate something is bound to happen whenever an event occurs
- Cứ vào mùa hè là có mưa. ― Whenever it's summer, it rains. (literally, “When it's in summer is exists rain.”)
2025 March 10, Thảo Nguyễn, Facebook (post):Năm nào cũng vậy lúc vào mùa thu hoạch là lúc hạt điều ngon nhất thì lại ế chỏng ế chơ.- It's the same every year; harvest time is when cashew nuts are most delicious yet unsellable.
- (literally, “It's the same every year; when it's in harvest time is when cashew nuts are most delicious yet unsellable.”)
Particle
là
- Used to form a reduplicative phrase for emphasizing effect.
- toàn thấy người là người ― to see nothing but people.
Etymology 3
(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)
Attested late, e.g. in Phạm Đình Hổ's Nhật Dụng Thường Đàm (日用常談 "Common Words Used Daily") ().
Compare Hokkien 烙 (lo̍h / lō / lo̍k) or Teochew 烙 (luah4 / log8).
Verb
là • ()
- (usually Northern Vietnam) to iron
- Synonym: ủi
- bàn là ― flatiron
- giặt là ― washing and ironing
- máy là tóc ― hair iron
2021 October 31, “8 Cách ủi áo sơ mi không cần bàn ủi, bàn là cực dễ ai cũng làm được ”, in meta.vn:Bàn là có thể là phẳng quần áo nhờ sử dụng nhiệt độ cao.- Flatirons can iron clothes smooth by using high heat.
2021 September 20, “Quần áo đi du lịch phẳng phiu, chuyện đơn giản! ”, in Cleanipedia:Nhiệt độ từ máy sấy tóc sẽ là phẳng quần áo với hiệu quả không kém bàn ủi.- Heat from the hair-dryer shall iron clothes smooth not less well than a flatiron.
Notes
Chữ Nôm character is composed of (⿰火𬙛).
Etymology 4
là
- reduplicant of lạ, only used in là lạ
Etymology 5
Verb
là
- to move from a high position downwards and glide close to a flat surface like water or the ground
- Near-synonyms: tà tà, là là
- Một chú chim bay là trên mặt nước. ― A bird glides over the water's surface.
Etymology 6
Non-Sino-Vietnamese reading of Chinese 冷 (“neglected”, SV: lãnh).
Verb
là
- (fossilized) neglect
References