あ

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See also: ぁ, 𛀂, and Appendix:Variations of "a"

あ U+3042, あ
HIRAGANA LETTER A
← ぁ
 		Hiragana ぃ →

Japanese

Stroke order
3 strokes

Etymology 1

Derived in the Heian period from writing the man'yōgana kanji 安 in the cursive sōsho style.

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key):
  • Audio:(file)

Syllable

あ • (a) 

  1. The hiragana syllable あ (a). Its equivalent in katakana is ア (a). It is the first syllable in the gojūon order; its position is あ行あ段 (a-gyō a-dan, “row a, section a”).
See also

Etymology 2

Common exclamatory sound made by people of various cultures around the world.

Pronunciation

Interjection

あ or ア • (a) 

  1. expresses surprise: Ah! Oh!
    Synonym: あっ (a')
  2. used to get someone's attention
  3. used as a response to someone's call
    Synonym: はい (hai)

Etymology 3

For pronunciation and definitions of あ – see the following entries.
【亜】S
(chemistry) indicates a lower oxidation number: -ous
ranking next, coming after, sub-
Used as a phonetic element in transliterations, especially:
Short for アジア／亜細亜 (Ajia, “Asia (a continent)”).
(obsolete) Short for アメリカ／亜米利加 (Amerika): America, the United States
Alternative spelling of 堊 (a): white earth
a female given name
【阿】J
The first letter of Sanskrit, अ (a).
to flatter; to pander to
ridge (of roof); eaves
A prefix expressing familiarity.
Used as a phonetic element, especially in words from Sanskrit.
Short for アフリカ (Afurika, “Africa”).
Short for 阿波国 (Awa no kuni, “Awa Province”).
【唖】H
muteness; dumbness
mute, dumb
【蛙】H
frog (amphibious animal)
【痾】H
illness; disease
(This term, あ (a), is the hiragana spelling of the above terms.)
For a list of all kanji read as あ, see Category:Japanese kanji read as あ.)

Etymology 4

Alternative spellings
吾
我

From Old Japanese, from Proto-Japonic *a. The short form of あれ (are).

Fell into disuse in roughly the Heian period,[2][1] when it was replaced by わ (wa).

Pronoun

あ • (a) 

  1. (obsolete) first-person personal pronoun: I, me
    • c. 1001–1014, Murasaki Shikibu, Genji Monogatari (Yūgao)
      あが君(きみ)、生(い)き出(い)で給(たま)へ。いと、いみじき目(め)な見(み)せ給(たま)ひそ
      A ga kimi, iki ide tamahe. Ito, imi jiki me namisetamahiso
      Ye, return to life. Show not such sad eyes

See also

Classical Japanese pronouns and demonstratives
a-/wa-
“I, we”
(first person) 		na-/-ma-
“you, ye, thou”
(second person) 		k-
“this”
(close to speaker) 		s-
“that”
(close to listener) 		a-/ka-
“that over there”
(far from both) 		i-/ta-/nani-
“who, what, where, how, when”
(interrogative) 		ono-
“oneself”
(reflexive)
Person あ (a)
あれ (are)
わ (wa)
われ (ware)
まろ (maro) 		な (na)
なれ (nare)
なんぢ (nanji)
まし (mashi)
いまし (imashi)
みまし (mimashi)
きみ (kimi) 		こ (ko)
これ (kore) 		そ (so)
それ (sore) 		あ (a)
あれ (are)
か (ka)
かれ (kare) 		た (ta)
たれ (tare)
なにがし (nanigashi) 		おの (ono)
おのれ (onore)
Thing こ (ko)
これ (kore) 		そ (so)
それ (sore) 		あ (a)
あれ (are)
か (ka)
かれ (kare) 		いづれ (izure)
なに (nani)
Location ここ (koko) そこ (soko) あしこ (ashiko)
かしこ (kashiko) 		いづく (izuku)
いづこ (izuko)
いどこ (idoko)
どこ (doko)
Direction こち (kochi)
こなた (konata) 		そち (sochi)
そなた (sonata) 		あち (achi)
あなた (anata)
かなた (kanata) 		いづち (izuchi)
いづら (izura)
いづかた (izukata)
Manner か (ka)
かく (kaku)
かくて (kakute)
かう (kō) 		さ (sa)
さて (sate)
しか (shika) 		いか (ika)
Time いつ (itsu)

Etymology 5

Alternative spelling
彼

/ka/ → /a/

Shift in pronunciation from か (ka). Appears from the Heian period.[2]

Pronoun

あ • (a) 

  1. distal demonstrative, something far off removed from both speaker and listener: that, yon
Derived terms
Derived terms

See also

Classical Japanese pronouns and demonstratives
a-/wa-
“I, we”
(first person) 		na-/-ma-
“you, ye, thou”
(second person) 		k-
“this”
(close to speaker) 		s-
“that”
(close to listener) 		a-/ka-
“that over there”
(far from both) 		i-/ta-/nani-
“who, what, where, how, when”
(interrogative) 		ono-
“oneself”
(reflexive)
Person あ (a)
あれ (are)
わ (wa)
われ (ware)
まろ (maro) 		な (na)
なれ (nare)
なんぢ (nanji)
まし (mashi)
いまし (imashi)
みまし (mimashi)
きみ (kimi) 		こ (ko)
これ (kore) 		そ (so)
それ (sore) 		あ (a)
あれ (are)
か (ka)
かれ (kare) 		た (ta)
たれ (tare)
なにがし (nanigashi) 		おの (ono)
おのれ (onore)
Thing こ (ko)
これ (kore) 		そ (so)
それ (sore) 		あ (a)
あれ (are)
か (ka)
かれ (kare) 		いづれ (izure)
なに (nani)
Location ここ (koko) そこ (soko) あしこ (ashiko)
かしこ (kashiko) 		いづく (izuku)
いづこ (izuko)
いどこ (idoko)
どこ (doko)
Direction こち (kochi)
こなた (konata) 		そち (sochi)
そなた (sonata) 		あち (achi)
あなた (anata)
かなた (kanata) 		いづち (izuchi)
いづら (izura)
いづかた (izukata)
Manner か (ka)
かく (kaku)
かくて (kakute)
かう (kō) 		さ (sa)
さて (sate)
しか (shika) 		いか (ika)
Time いつ (itsu)

Etymology 6

Alternative spelling
足

Noun

あ • (a) 

  1. (obsolete) foot

Etymology 7

Alternative spellings
畔
畦

Noun

あ • (a) 

  1. (obsolete) ridge between rice fields; ridge between groves

Etymology 8

Alternative spellings
有
在

Alternative spelling of あん (an), the onbin form of あり (ari) or ある (aru), with the ん (n) omitted in writing

Verb

あ • (a) 

  1. (Classical Japanese) to be, to exist

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Matsumura, Akira, editor (2006), 大辞林 [Daijirin] (in Japanese), Third edition, Tokyo: Sanseidō, →ISBN
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 Shōgaku Tosho (1988) 国語大辞典（新装版） [Unabridged Dictionary of Japanese (Revised Edition)] (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Shogakukan, →ISBN

Okinawan

Etymology

From Proto-Ryukyuan *a, from Proto-Japonic *a.

Noun

あ (a) 

  1. (Old Okinawan) I; first-person pronoun
    • 1531-1623, Omoro Sōshi
      あらかきの　うきおほちか　もりに　あか　なさ す　ふため　まさりよわれ
      arakaki no, uki ofoji ga, mori ni, a ga, nasa su, futame, masariyoware
      The ancestors of Arakaki, exceed the good fortune of my father.
    • 1711, Konkōkenshū:
      わん　又あか　我れなり
      wan, MATA a ga. WAre nari
      Wan. Also a ga. Me.

References

  • Okinawa Kogo Daijiten Henshū I'inkai (沖縄古語大辞典編集委員会) (1995) 沖縄古語大辞典 [Dictionary of Archaic Okinawan], Tokyo (東京都): Kadokawa Shoten (角川書店), →ISBN, page 1
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