A

See also: a, ᴀ, and Appendix:Variations of "a"

A	U+0041, A LATIN CAPITAL LETTER A

← @
[U+0040]

Basic Latin

B →
[U+0042]

Character variations

Ａ	U+FF21, Ａ FULLWIDTH LATIN CAPITAL LETTER A

← ＠
[U+FF20]

Halfwidth and Fullwidth Forms

Ｂ →
[U+FF22]

𜳖	U+1CCD6, 𜳖 OUTLINED LATIN CAPITAL LETTER A

← 𜳕
[U+1CCD5]

Symbols for Legacy Computing Supplement

𜳗 →
[U+1CCD7]

Languages (241)

Translingual • English

Acehnese • Acheron • Adzera • Afar • Afrikaans • Akawaio • Albanian • Alekano • Alemannic German • Aleut • Amaimon • Amarasi • Ambrak • American Sign Language • Anāl • Angami • Ankave • Anuki • Araki • Aromanian • Assiniboine • Atsahuaca • Auhelawa • Avokaya • Awara • Azerbaijani • Balanta-Kentohe • Barai • Bari • Basque • Bavarian • Beja • Bemba • Blagar • Blin • Brahui • Breton • Busa • Catalan • Central Franconian • Central Mazahua • Chachi • Chamorro • Chechen • Cheyenne • Chinese • Chiwere • Choctaw • Ch'orti' • Cofán • Comanche • Corsican • Crimean Tatar • Cypriot Arabic • Czech • Dagbani • Danish • Dinka • Domari • Dutch • Duun • Egyptian • Elfdalian • Esan • Esperanto • Estonian • Ewe • Faroese • Fe'fe' • Fijian • Finnish • Fon • French • Friulian • Fula • Ga • Gagauz • Galician • Gallo-Italic of Sicily • German • Gilbertese • Gimi (Papuan) • Greenlandic • Haida • Haitian Creole • Halkomelem • Hausa • Hawaiian • Hungarian • Hunsrik • Hupa • Icelandic • Ido • Igbo • Inari Sami • Indonesian • Ingrian • Interlingua • Inupiaq • Irish • Isoko • Italian • Japanese • Jarai • Juǀ'hoan • Kabyle • Kaingang • Kakabai • Kalo Finnish Romani • Kankanaey • Kanuri • Karakalpak • Karelian • Kari'na • Kashaya • Kashubian • Kawésqar • Khakas • Kikuyu • Kobon • Krio • Kwak'wala • Lakota • Latgalian • Latin • Latvian • Lingala • Lithuanian • Livonian • Lou • Lower Sorbian • Luxembourgish • Malagasy • Malay • Maltese • Mampruli • Mankanya • Manx • Māori • Mapudungun • Marba • Marshallese • Maskelynes • Massachusett • Mayoyao Ifugao • Mecayapan Nahuatl • Mohawk • Moore • Muinane • Muong • Nauruan • Navajo • Nisga'a • Noon • Nootka • Northern Kurdish • Northern Sami • Norwegian Bokmål • Norwegian Nynorsk • Nuer • Nupe • Occitan • Okanagan • Old English • O'odham • Pajonal Ashéninka • Paraguayan Guarani • Pennsylvania German • Plautdietsch • Polish • Portuguese • Q'eqchi • Rohingya • Romani • Romanian • Ronga • Rotokas • Rotuman • Saafi-Saafi • Saanich • Samoan • Samogitian • Sango • Scots • Scottish Gaelic • Serbo-Croatian • Serer • Seri • Shilluk • Shona • Silesian • Skolt Sami • Slovak • Slovene • Somali • Southern Sami • Spanish • Squamish • Swedish • Tagalog • Tahitian • Tashelhit • Tatar • Tày • Tetum • Tigon Mbembe • Tlingit • Tongan • Tonkawa • Tuareg • Tundra Nenets • Turkish • Turkmen • Tyap • Ubykh • Udihe • Upper Sorbian • Uzbek • Venda • Veps • Vietnamese • Vilamovian • Volapük • Võro • Votic • Wakhi • Walloon • Welsh • West Frisian • Winnebago • Wolaytta • Xârâcùù • Xhosa • Yámana • Yele • Yoruba • Zarma • Zazaki • Zulu

Page categories

Translingual

Etymology 1

From the Etruscan letter 𐌀 (a), from the Ancient Greek letter Α (A, “alpha”), derived from the Phoenician letter 𐤀 (ʾ, “aleph”), from the Egyptian hieroglyph 𓃾.

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /a/ (most languages)

Letter

A (upper case, lower case a)

The first letter of the basic modern Latin alphabet.

Symbol

A

Marks the first item in a list.
A. Go to the store. B. Get some food. C. Return home. D. Eat.
A hypothetical item or person designated the first, usually when there are more than one.
Person A had 5 apples, and person B...
Ten, especially used in bases above ten, such as duodecimal, hexadecimal, vigesimal and so on.
Decimal 270 can be converted as duodecimal 1A6 or vigesimal DA.

(computing) The variable was a byte with value A0, or 160 in decimal.
A standard size of dry cell battery, slightly larger than AA.^[1]
A system of paper sizes with similar proportions, as A0, A1, A2, etc.^[2]
- 2022 August 17, “International Paper Sizes and Dimensions”, in Neenah‎^[2], archived from the original on 17 August 2022:
  The most widely used for general printing and letterhead stationery is the A series.
- 2007, International Organization for Standardization, “Writing paper and certain classes of printed matter — Trimmed sizes — A and B series, and indication of machine direction”, in International Standard‎^[3], archived from the original on 17 December 2022, page 5:
  The trimmed sizes of the A series are intended for all kinds of stationery and printed matter as specified in Clause 1
- 2024 June 27, MUNBYN Team, “Understanding International Standard Paper Sizes Matters”, in MUNBYN‎^[4], archived from the original on 13 July 2024:
  The A series is the most common and versatile among the ISO 216 standard paper sizes.
(Can we verify⁽⁺⁾ this sense?) An academic grade lower than A+ but greater than A-.
- 2018 October 9, Anna Yuan, “Students earning more A’s with new grading system”, in the black & white‎^[5], archived from the original on 6 August 2020:
  The Board’s data indicated that, in the 2014-2015 school year, 16.1 percent of students districtwide earned an A in core math classes.
- 1983 February 13, Ian Frazier, “The Woman Behind “Hints from Heloise””, in The New Yorker‎^[6], archived from the original on 26 December 2024:
  ...she was the only girl in her high school to take shop class, and she got an A in it.
- 2009, Charles J. Whalen, Human Resource Economics and Public Policy: Essays in Honor of Vernon M. Briggs Jr.‎^[7], archived from the original on 12 September 2024, page 9:
  When I earned an “A” in the course, not the dominant grade on my transcript at that time, Briggs sent a letter congratulating me and inviting me to visit during his office hours.
(linguistics) A wildcard for an open vowel
(finance) Long-term bond credit rating by S&P Global Ratings and Fitch Ratings, indicating that a bond is upper-medium grade with low risk of default.
(clothing) Bra cup size.
(spectroscopy) absorbance
(biochemistry) adenine
(biochemistry) alanine

Related terms

Letters sharing the same origin as "A"

Arabic ا (a, “alif”)
Coptic Ⲁ (a, “alfa”)
Cyrillic А (A)
Devanāgari अ (a, “aksara”)
Greek Α (A, “Alpha”)
Hebrew א (a, “aleph”)
Phoenician 𐤀 (ʾ)
Syriac ܐ (a, “alaph”)

Etymology 2

The abbreviation of a variety of terms.

Symbol

A

(chemistry, obsolete) Obsolete chemical symbol for argon.
Synonym: Ar
(chemistry, physics) Abbreviation of English atomic mass number: mass number, nucleon number
(geometry) Area.
(international standards) A category of vehicle licence under the Vienna Convention on Road Traffic, referring to motorcycles.
(license plate codes) Austria

Noun

A

(physics, International System of Units) Ampere, a unit of electrical current.
(genetics) IUPAC 1-letter abbreviation for adenine in genetic code.
(biochemistry) IUPAC 1-letter symbol for alanine in proteins.
Synonym: Ala
(music) Alto.

Proper noun

A

(vehicle-distinguishing signs) Austria.

Gallery

Letter styles
Uppercase and lowercase versions of A, in normal and italic type
Uppercase and lowercase A in Fraktur
A in uncial script

References

^ Christine A. Lindberg, editor (2002), “A”, in The Oxford College Dictionary, 2nd edition, New York, N.Y.: Spark Publishing, →ISBN, page 1.
^ Lesley Brown, editor-in-chief, William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, editors (2002), “A”, in The Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles, 5th edition, Oxford; New York, N.Y.: Oxford University Press, →ISBN, page 1.

English

Runic letter ᚫ (a, “ansuz”), source for Anglo-Saxon Futhorc letters replaced by A

Etymology 1

From Middle English and Old English upper case letter A and split of Middle English and Old English upper case letter Æ.

The Old English letters A and Æ replaced the Anglo-Saxon Futhorc letters ᚪ (a, “āc”) and ᚫ (æ, “æsc”), derived from the Runic letter ᚫ (a, “Ansuz”), in the 7th century.

Alternative forms

(Gregg shorthand versions Centennial, Series 90, DJS, Simplified, Anniversary, and Pre-Anniversary) · (dot)

Pronunciation

(letter name)
- (Received Pronunciation, General American) IPA^(key): /eɪ̯/
- Audio (US): (file)
- (General Australian) IPA^(key): /æɪ/
- (Indic) IPA^(key): /eː/
Rhymes: -eɪ
The current pronunciation is a comparatively modern sound, and has taken the place of what, till about the early part of the 15th century, was similar to that in other languages.

Letter

A (upper case, lower case a, plural As or A's)

The first letter of the English alphabet, called a and written in the Latin script.
Apple starts with A.
- 1943 November – 1944 February (date written; published 1945 August 17), George Orwell [pseudonym; Eric Arthur Blair], Animal Farm […], London: Secker & Warburg, published May 1962, →OCLC:
  Boxer could not get beyond the letter D. He would trace out A, B, C, D, in the dust with his great hoof […]

Derived terms

Related terms

Number

A (upper case, lower case a, plural As or A's)

The first numeral symbol of the English alphabet, called a and written in the Latin script.
Item A is "foods", item B is "drinks".

Etymology 2

(highest rank, grade, music): From the initial position of the letter A in the English alphabet.
(blood type): From A antigen

Symbol

A

A rank, normally the highest rank, on any of various scales that assign letters.
We assign each item inspected a rating from A through G, depending on various factors.

In the UK, the highest social grade is A – upper middle class.

The only standard brassiere cup size smaller than the A cup is the AA cup.
(education) The highest letter grade assigned (disregarding plusses and minuses).
I was so happy to get an A on that test.
- 1999, W. Peter Iliff, Varsity Blues, spoken by Mox (James Van Der Beek):
  Darcy's pretty sharp. She pulls A's.
(music) A tone three fifths above C in the cycle of fifths; the sixth tone of the C major scale; the first note of the minor scale of A minor; the reference tone that occurs at exactly 440 Hz; the printed or written note A; the scale with A as its keynote.^[1]^[2]
Orchestras traditionally tune to a concert A.
(medicine) A blood type that has a specific antigen that aggravates the immune response in people with type B antigen in their blood. People with this blood type may receive blood from type A or type O but cannot receive blood from AB or B.
My blood type is A negative.
(chemistry) Mass number.
(logic) A universal affirmative suggestion.^[1]
(historical) Abbreviation of adulterer or adulteress, used as a human brand.
- 1966 July 30, Ralph McGill, “Today's students aim for humanistic values”, in Latrobe Bulletin, Latrobe, Pennsylvania, page 6:
  Hester Prynne, the historical character in The Scarlet Letter, was exposed and convicted by neighborhood gossip. [...] Gossip continues to brand some young ladies in small towns with this symbolic letter, but in our larger cities one rarely sees young ladies branded with an "A".
Allele dominant.
(chiefly US) Alternative spelling of A.M. and AM (“ante meridiem”).

Derived terms

Rank or size

Letter grade

(music) tone three fifths above C

Blood type

Noun

A

Ace. (including in card games)
Acre.
Adult; as used in film rating.
Ammeter.
(physics, nonstandard) Angstrom.
Answer.
(sports) An assist.
(sexuality) Asexual.
(UK, chiefly London) Arsehole.
(weaponry) Atom.
A-bomb

Synonyms

(physics, angstrom): Å

Translations

playing card

Danish: E (da) (es)
Dutch: A (nl) (aas)
Estonian: Ä (et) (äss)
French: A (fr) (as)
German: A (de) (Ass)
Icelandic: A (is) (as)
Italian: A (it)
Polish: A (pl) (as)
Portuguese: A (pt) (ás)
Russian: Т (ru) (T) (туз)
Swedish: E (sv) (ess)

Adjective

A

(weaponry) Atom; atomic.

Derived terms

(weaponry, atom): A-bomb

References

↑ ^1.0 ^1.1 Lesley Brown, editor-in-chief, William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, editors (2002), “A”, in The Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles, 5th edition, Oxford; New York, N.Y.: Oxford University Press, →ISBN, page 1.
^ Christine A. Lindberg, editor (2002), “A”, in The Oxford College Dictionary, 2nd edition, New York, N.Y.: Spark Publishing, →ISBN, page 1.

Acehnese

Letter

A (upper case, lower case a)

The first letter of the Acehnese alphabet, called a and written in the Latin script.

Acheron

Letter

A (upper case, lower case a)

The first letter of the Acheron alphabet, written in the Latin script.

Adzera

Letter

A (upper case, lower case a)

The first letter of the Adzera alphabet, written in the Latin script.

Afar

Letter

A (upper case, lower case a)

The first letter of the Afar alphabet, called a and written in the Latin script.

Afrikaans

Pronunciation

(letter name): IPA^(key): /ɑː/
Audio: (file)

Letter

A (upper case, lower case a)

The first letter of the Afrikaans alphabet, written in the Latin script.

Noun

A (plural A's, diminutive A'tjie)

A

Akawaio

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /a/

Letter

A (upper case, lower case a)

The first letter of the Akawaio alphabet, written in the Latin script.

References

Stegeman, Ray; Hunter, Rita (2014), Akawaio-English Dictionary and English-Akawaio Index, SIL International, page 2

Albanian

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /a/, /ɑ/

Letter

A (upper case, lower case a)

The first letter of the Albanian alphabet, written in the Latin script.

Alekano

Letter

A (upper case, lower case a)

The first letter of the Alekano alphabet, written in the Latin script.

Alemannic German

Letter

A (upper case, lower case a)

The first letter of the Alemannic German alphabet, written in the Latin script.

Aleut

Letter

A (upper case, lower case a)

The first letter of the Aleut alphabet, written in the Latin script.

Amaimon

Letter

A (upper case, lower case a)

The first letter of the Amaimon alphabet, written in the Latin script.

Amarasi

Letter

A (upper case, lower case a)

The first letter of the Amarasi alphabet, written in the Latin script.

Ambrak

Letter

A (upper case, lower case a)

The first letter of the Ambrak alphabet, written in the Latin script.

American Sign Language

Letter

Stokoe notation of 𝣷𝪜 (“the letter A”)

Anāl

Letter

A (upper case, lower case a)

The first letter of the Anāl alphabet, written in the Latin script.

Angami

Letter

A (upper case, lower case a)

The third letter of the Angami alphabet, written in the Latin script.

Ankave

Letter

A (upper case, lower case a)

The first letter of the Ankave alphabet, written in the Latin script.

Anuki

Letter

A (upper case, lower case a)

The first letter of the Anuki alphabet, written in the Latin script.

Araki

Letter

A (upper case, lower case a)

The first letter of the Araki alphabet, written in the Latin script.

Aromanian

Letter

A (upper case, lower case a)

The first letter of the Aromanian alphabet, called a and written in the Latin script.

Assiniboine

Letter

A (upper case, lower case a)

The first letter of the Assiniboine alphabet, written in the Latin script.

Atsahuaca

Letter

A (upper case, lower case a)

The first letter of the Atsahuaca alphabet, written in the Latin script.

Auhelawa

Letter

A (upper case, lower case a)

The first letter of the Auhelawa alphabet, written in the Latin script.

Avokaya

Letter

A (upper case, lower case a)

The first letter of the Avokaya alphabet, written in the Latin script.

Awara

Letter

A (upper case, lower case a)

The first letter of the Awara alphabet, written in the Latin script.

Azerbaijani

Pronunciation

(phoneme; letter name) IPA^(key): /ɑ/

Letter

A (upper case, lower case a)

The first letter of the Azerbaijani alphabet, written in the Latin script.

Balanta-Kentohe

Letter

A (upper case, lower case a)

The first letter of the Balanta-Kentohe alphabet, written in the Latin script.

Barai

Letter

A (upper case, lower case a)

The first letter of the Barai alphabet, written in the Latin script.

Bari

Letter

A (upper case, lower case a)

The first letter of the Bari alphabet, written in the Latin script.

Basque

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /a/, [a]

Letter

A (upper case, lower case a)

The first letter of the Basque alphabet, called a and written in the Latin script.

Bavarian

Letter

A (upper case, lower case a)

The first letter of the Bavarian alphabet, written in the Latin script.

Beja

Letter

A (upper case, lower case a)

The first letter of the Beja alphabet, written in the Latin script.

Bemba

Letter

A (upper case, lower case a)

The first letter of the Bemba alphabet, written in the Latin script.

Blagar

Letter

A (upper case, lower case a)

The first letter of the Blagar alphabet, written in the Latin script.

Blin

Letter

A (upper case, lower case a)

The first letter of the Blin alphabet, written in the Latin script.

Brahui

Letter

A (upper case, lower case a)

The thirty-second letter of the Brahui alphabet, written in the Latin script.

Breton

Letter

A (upper case, lower case a)

The first letter of the Breton alphabet, called a and written in the Latin script.

Busa

Letter

A (upper case, lower case a)

The first letter of the Busa alphabet, written in the Latin script.

Catalan

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /a/

Letter

A (upper case, lower case a)

The first letter of the Catalan alphabet, written in the Latin script.

Central Franconian

Etymology

/a/ is from Middle High German a in most closed syllables.
/aː/ is from a before certain clusters, in most dialects also in open syllables; in southern Moselle Franconian from ou.

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): (short) /a/, (long) /aː/

Letter

A (upper case, lower case a)

A letter of the Central Franconian alphabet (German-based), written in the Latin script.
A letter of the Central Franconian alphabet (Dutch-based), written in the Latin script.

Usage notes

Doubling of long A

In the German-based spelling, long a is doubled to aa when the German cognate word has aa as well. Long a may or may not be doubled in the following cases:
- when it is followed by two or more consonants: Saach, (rarely) Sach;
- when the German cognate has two vowel letters: glaawe, glawe (German glauben);
- when the German cognate has a consonant lost or not present in Central Franconian: waade, wade (German warten);
- when the German cognate has a short vowel: baal, bal (German bald).
In the Dutch-based spelling, long a is always doubled in closed syllables, always written simple in open syllables.

Central Mazahua

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /a/

Letter

A (upper case, lower case a)

A letter of the Central Mazahua alphabet, written in the Latin script.

Chachi

Letter

A (upper case, lower case a)

The first letter of the Chachi alphabet, written in the Latin script.

Chamorro

Letter

A (upper case, lower case a)

The second letter of the Chamorro alphabet, written in the Latin script.

Chechen

Letter

A (upper case, lower case a, Cyrillic equivalent А)

The first letter of the Chechen alphabet, written in the Latin script.

Cheyenne

Letter

A (upper case, lower case a)

The first letter of the Cheyenne alphabet, written in the Latin script.

Chinese

Etymology 1

From the hotkey in many video games associated with the command "attack".

Pronunciation

Mandarin
(Pinyin): ēi (ei¹)

(Zhuyin): ㄟ

Mandarin
- (Standard Chinese)⁺
  - Hanyu Pinyin: ēi
  - Zhuyin: ㄟ
  - Tongyong Pinyin: ei
  - Wade–Giles: ei¹
  - Yale: ēi
  - Gwoyeu Romatzyh: ei
  - Palladius: эй (ej)
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /ˀeɪ̯⁵⁵/

Verb

A

(slang, neologism) to attack; to assault
(slang, neologism) to pursue romantically

Etymology 2

Initialism of English available.

Pronunciation

Cantonese (Jyutping): ei¹

Cantonese
- (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou–Hong Kong)⁺
  - Jyutping: ei¹
  - Yale: ēi
  - Cantonese Pinyin: ei¹
  - Guangdong Romanization: éi¹
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /ei̯⁵⁵/

Adjective

A

(Hong Kong Cantonese, slang) single, open to a relationship

Derived terms

A0
A380

Etymology 3

From the letter A of the English pattern playing cards. Various names exist for this symbol in the spoken language.

Mandarin jiān: From 尖 (jiān, “tip”), because the letter A has an upward tip.
Cantonese jin1: Clipping of 煙士 / 烟士 (jin¹ si^6-2), from English ace.

Pronunciation

Mandarin
(Pinyin): jiān (jian¹)

(Zhuyin): ㄐㄧㄢ
Cantonese (Jyutping): jin¹

Mandarin
- (Standard Chinese)⁺
  - Hanyu Pinyin: jiān
  - Zhuyin: ㄐㄧㄢ
  - Tongyong Pinyin: jian
  - Wade–Giles: chien¹
  - Yale: jyān
  - Gwoyeu Romatzyh: jian
  - Palladius: цзянь (czjanʹ)
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /t͡ɕi̯ɛn⁵⁵/
Cantonese
- (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou–Hong Kong)⁺
  - Jyutping: jin¹
  - Yale: yīn
  - Cantonese Pinyin: jin¹
  - Guangdong Romanization: yin¹
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /jiːn⁵⁵/

Noun

A

(card games) ace (Classifier: 隻／只; 張／张)

Synonyms

Dialectal synonyms of 尖兒 (“ace (playing cards)”) [map]

Variety	Location	Words edit
Northeastern Mandarin	Beijing	尖兒, 叉, 老叉
Central Plains Mandarin	Xi'an	尖子
Central Plains Mandarin	Xuzhou	老幺, 老帽兒, 尖子
Southwestern Mandarin	Wuhan	尖子, 尖, 耶司
	Guiyang	尖, 尖尖, 帽
	Liuzhou	煙洗, 煙
Jianghuai Mandarin	Nanjing	愛斯
Cantonese	Guangzhou	煙士, 煙
	Hong Kong	煙士, 煙
	Taishan	一士
	Wuzhou	煙
	Yulin	煙
Gan	Nanchang	尖
	Pengze	尖
	Lichuan	尖子
	Pingxiang	尖子, 尖
Hakka	Meixian	煙仔
Hakka	Yudu	尖子
Huizhou	Jixi	尖子, 尖心
Jin	Taiyuan	幺尖兒
Southern Min	Xiamen	A
Southern Min	Shantou	幺, 一
Wu	Shanghai	愛斯
	Shanghai (Chongming)	愛斯
	Suzhou	A, 愛斯

Etymology 4

Pronunciation 1

Mandarin
(Pinyin): ēi (ei¹)

(Zhuyin): ㄟ
Cantonese (Jyutping): ei¹
Southern Min
(Hokkien, POJ): e

(Teochew, Peng'im): ê⁵
Wu (Shanghai, Wugniu): ¹e

Mandarin
- (Standard Chinese)⁺
  - Hanyu Pinyin: ēi
  - Zhuyin: ㄟ
  - Tongyong Pinyin: ei
  - Wade–Giles: ei¹
  - Yale: ēi
  - Gwoyeu Romatzyh: ei
  - Palladius: эй (ej)
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /ˀeɪ̯⁵⁵/
Cantonese
- (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou–Hong Kong)⁺
  - Jyutping: ei¹
  - Yale: ēi
  - Cantonese Pinyin: ei¹
  - Guangdong Romanization: éi¹
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /ei̯⁵⁵/
Southern Min
- (Hokkien: Xiamen)
  - Pe̍h-ōe-jī: e
  - Tâi-lô: e
  - Phofsit Daibuun: ef
  - Sinological IPA (Xiamen): /e⁴⁴/
- (Teochew)
  - Peng'im: ê⁵
  - Pe̍h-ōe-jī-like: ê
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /e⁵⁵/
Wu
- (Northern: Shanghai)
  - Wugniu: ¹e
  - MiniDict: e^平
  - Wiktionary Romanisation (Shanghai): ¹e
  - Sinological IPA (Shanghai): /e⁵³/

Letter

A (upper case, lower case a)

The first letter of the Latin alphabet as used in Chinese, written in the Latin script.

Pronunciation 2

Mandarin
(Pinyin): ā (a¹)

(Zhuyin): ㄚ

Mandarin
- (Standard Chinese)⁺
  - Hanyu Pinyin: ā
  - Zhuyin: ㄚ
  - Tongyong Pinyin: a
  - Wade–Giles: a¹
  - Yale: ā
  - Gwoyeu Romatzyh: a
  - Palladius: а (a)
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /ˀä⁵⁵/

Letter

A (upper case, lower case a)

The first letter of Pinyin, written in the Latin script.

Usage notes

《汉语拼音方案》 defines a standard pronunciation for each letter. However, these pronunciations are rarely used in education; another pronunciation is commonly used instead.
The pronunciations above are only used while referring to letters in Pinyin. They are not used in other contexts (such as English).

Etymology 5

Initialism of English alpha.

Pronunciation

Mandarin
(Pinyin): ēi (ei¹)

(Zhuyin): ㄟ

Mandarin
- (Standard Chinese)⁺
  - Hanyu Pinyin: ēi
  - Zhuyin: ㄟ
  - Tongyong Pinyin: ei
  - Wade–Giles: ei¹
  - Yale: ēi
  - Gwoyeu Romatzyh: ei
  - Palladius: эй (ej)
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /ˀeɪ̯⁵⁵/

Noun

A

(fandom slang) alternative form of 阿爾法 / 阿尔法 (ā'ěrfǎ)
see: ABO, B, and O
- 2020 December, 晚秋初十, 晋江文学城‎^[8]:
  
  《在情敌面前A变 O 后我怀孕了》 [MSC, simp.]
  《在情敵面前A變 O 後我懷孕了》 [MSC, trad.]
  “Zài Qíngdí Miànqián A Biàn O Hòu Wǒ Huáiyùn Le” [Pinyin]
  After Having Become Omega From Alpha In Front Of My Rival In Love, I Got Pregnant

Chiwere

Letter

A (upper case, lower case a)

The first letter of the Chiwere alphabet, written in the Latin script.

Choctaw

Letter

A (upper case, lower case a)

The first letter of the Choctaw alphabet, written in the Latin script.

Ch'orti'

Letter

A (upper case, lower case a)

The first letter of the Ch'orti' alphabet, written in the Latin script.

Cofán

Letter

A (upper case, lower case a)

The first letter of the Cofán alphabet, written in the Latin script.

Comanche

Letter

A (upper case, lower case a)

The first letter of the Comanche alphabet, written in the Latin script.

Corsican

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /a/

Letter

A (upper case, lower case a)

The first letter of the Corsican alphabet, called a and written in the Latin script.

Crimean Tatar

Letter

A (upper case, lower case a)

The first letter of the Crimean Tatar alphabet, written in the Latin script.

Cypriot Arabic

Letter

A (upper case, lower case a)

The first letter of the Cypriot Arabic alphabet, written in the Latin script.

Czech

Letter

A (upper case, lower case a)

The first letter of the Czech alphabet, written in the Latin script.

Dagbani

Letter

A (upper case, lower case a)

The first letter of the Dagbani alphabet, written in the Latin script.

Danish

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /æː/, [ˈæːˀ]
Rhymes: -æː
Audio (Copenhagen): (file)

Etymology 1

Letter

A (upper case, lower case a)

The first letter of the Danish alphabet, written in the Latin script.

Etymology 2

Alternative forms

a

Noun

A n (singular definite A'et, plural indefinite A'er)

The first letter of the Danish alphabet, written in the Latin script.

Inflection

Declension of A
gender	singular		plural
gender	indefinite	definite	indefinite	definite
nominative	A	A'et	A'er	A'erne
genitive	A's	A'ets	A'ers	A'ernes

Dinka

Letter

A (upper case, lower case a)

The first letter of the Dinka alphabet, written in the Latin script.

Domari

Letter

A (upper case, lower case a)

The second letter of the Domari alphabet, written in the Latin script.

Dutch

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /aː/
Audio: (file)

Letter

A (upper case, lower case a)

The first letter of the Dutch alphabet, written in the Latin script.

Duun

Letter

A (upper case, lower case a)

The first letter of the Duun alphabet, written in the Latin script.

Egyptian

Romanization

A

Manuel de Codage transliteration of ꜣ.

Elfdalian

Alternative forms

ᛅ, ᚷ (Dalecarlian runes)

Letter

A (upper case, lower case a)

The first letter of the Elfdalian alphabet, written in the Latin script.

Esan

Letter

A (upper case, lower case a)

The first letter of the Esan alphabet, written in the Latin script.

Esperanto

Pronunciation

See a.

Letter

A (upper case, lower case a)

The first letter of the Esperanto alphabet, called a and written in the Latin script.

Estonian

Pronunciation

(letter name, aa): IPA^(key): /ˈɑː/
(phoneme): IPA^(key): /ɑ/

Letter

A (upper case, lower case a)

The first letter of the Estonian alphabet, called aa and written in the Latin script.

Ewe

Letter

A (upper case, lower case a)

The first letter of the Ewe alphabet, called a and written in the Latin script.

Faroese

Letter

A (upper case, lower case a)

The first letter of the Faroese alphabet, written in the Latin script.

Fe'fe'

Letter

A (upper case, lower case a)

The first letter of the Fe'fe' alphabet, written in the Latin script.

Fijian

Letter

A (upper case, lower case a)

The first letter of the Fijian alphabet, called a and written in the Latin script.

Finnish

Etymology

The Finnish orthography using the Latin script was based on those of Swedish, German, and Latin, and was first used in the mid-16th century. No earlier script is known. See the Wikipedia article on Finnish for more information, and A for information on the development of the glyph itself.

Pronunciation

Audio; “aa, auto, aamu, ananas, aa”: (file)

Letter

A (upper case, lower case a)

The first letter of the Finnish alphabet, called aa and written in the Latin script.

Derived terms

compounds

Noun

A

abbreviation of approbatur
alternative letter-case form of a (“A (musical note)”)

Symbol

A

(linguistics) Either the vowel a /ɑ/ or ä /æ/, depending on vowel harmony.

Usage notes

Used in linguistic descriptions in Finnish. For example, a Finnish grammar could use -mA to refer to the suffix -ma (in e.g. osuma) or -mä (in e.g. elämä).

Fon

Letter

A (upper case, lower case a)

The first letter of the Fon alphabet, written in the Latin script.

French

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /a/
Audio (Paris): (file)
Audio (Switzerland (Valais)): (file)
Audio (France (Toulouse)): (file)
Audio (France (Vosges)): (file)
Audio (France): (file)
Audio (France (Vosges)): (file)

Letter

A (upper case, lower case a)

The first letter of the French alphabet, written in the Latin script.

Derived terms

bombe A
prouver par A plus B, prouver par A + B

Friulian

Letter

A (upper case, lower case a)

The first letter of the Friulian alphabet, written in the Latin script.

Fula

Letter

A (upper case, lower case a)

The first letter of the Fula alphabet, called a and written in the Latin script.

Usage notes

Common to all varieties of Fula (Fulfulde / Pulaar / Pular).

Ga

Letter

A (upper case, lower case a)

The first letter of the Ga alphabet, written in the Latin script.

Gagauz

Letter

A (upper case, lower case a)

The first letter of the Gagauz alphabet, written in the Latin script.

Galician

Letter

A (upper case, lower case a)

The first letter of the Galician alphabet, written in the Latin script.

Gallo-Italic of Sicily

Letter

A (upper case, lower case a)

The first letter of the Gallo-Italic of Sicily alphabet, written in the Latin script.

German

Etymology 1

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /ʔaː/
Audio: (file)
Rhymes: -aː

Letter

A n (upper case, lower case a)

The first letter of the German alphabet, written in the Latin script.

Noun

A n (strong, genitive A or As, plural A or As)

A
Von A bis Z. ― From A to Z.

Wer A sagt, muss auch B sagen. ― One who says A must also say B.

Declension

Declension of A [neuter, strong]

	singular			plural
	indef.	def.	noun	def.	noun
nominative	ein	das	A	die	A, As
genitive	eines	des	A, As	der	A, As
dative	einem	dem	A	den	A, As
accusative	ein	das	A	die	A, As

Related terms

Etymology 2

Noun

A

abbreviation of A-Dur
abbreviation of Ampere
(historical, Nazism) abbreviation of Arbeitsjuden^[1]
abbreviation of Autobahn
alternative form of Å (symbol for Ångström)

References

^ Michael, R., & Doerr, K. (2002). Nazi-Deutsch/Nazi German: An English Lexicon of the Language of the Third Reich. Greenwood, page 49.

“a, Buchstabe, Ton” in Duden online
“a, a Moll, Ar” in Duden online
“A”, in Digitales Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache‎^[9] (in German)

Gilbertese

Letter

A (upper case, lower case a)

The first letter of the Gilbertese alphabet, written in the Latin script.

Gimi (Papuan)

Letter

A (upper case, lower case a)

The first letter of the Gimi (Papuan) alphabet, written in the Latin script.

Greenlandic

Letter

A (upper case, lower case a)

The first letter of the Greenlandic alphabet, written in the Latin script.

Haida

Letter

A (upper case, lower case a)

The first letter of the Haida alphabet, written in the Latin script.

Haitian Creole

Letter

A (upper case, lower case a)

The first letter of the Haitian Creole alphabet, written in the Latin script.

Halkomelem

Letter

A (upper case, lower case a)

The thirty-seventh letter of the Halkomelem alphabet, written in the Latin script.

Hausa

Letter

A (upper case, lower case a)

The first letter of the Hausa alphabet, written in the Latin script.

Hawaiian

Etymology 1

Alternative forms

(letter name) ʻā

Pronunciation

(letter name) IPA^(key): /ˈʔaː/
(phoneme) IPA^(key): /a/, [ə]

Letter

A (upper case, lower case a)

The first letter of the Hawaiian alphabet, written in the Latin script.

Etymology 2

Noun

A

abbreviation of ʻākau (“north”)

References

A₂ in Combined Hawaiian Dictionary, at trussel2.com.

Hungarian

Pronunciation

(letter or phoneme itself): IPA^(key): [ɒː]^[1]
(identifier or musical note): IPA^(key): [ˈaː] (in the names of major scales; see also a)

Letter

A (upper case, lower case a)

The first letter of the Hungarian alphabet, called a and written in the Latin script.

Derived terms

References

^ Siptár, Péter and Miklós Törkenczy. The Phonology of Hungarian. The Phonology of the World’s Languages. Oxford University Press, 2007. →ISBN, p. 280

Hunsrik

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /aː/
Rhymes: -aː

Letter

A (upper case, lower case a)

The first letter of the Hunsrik alphabet, written in the Latin script.

Hupa

Letter

A (upper case, lower case a)

The first letter of the Hupa alphabet, written in the Latin script.

Icelandic

Letter

A (upper case, lower case a)

The first letter of the Icelandic alphabet, written in the Latin script.

Noun

A n

abbreviation of austur (“east”)

Declension

This noun needs an inflection-table template.

Ido

Letter

A (upper case, lower case a)

The first letter of the Ido alphabet, written in the Latin script.

Igbo

Letter

A (upper case, lower case a)

The first letter of the Igbo alphabet, written in the Latin script.

Inari Sami

Letter

A (upper case, lower case a)

The first letter of the Inari Sami alphabet, written in the Latin script.

Indonesian

Pronunciation

(letter name): IPA^(key): /a/
(phoneme): IPA^(key): /a/
Homophones: a, à

Etymology 1

From the Latin letter A, from the Etruscan letter 𐌀 (a), from the Ancient Greek letter Α (A, “alpha”), derived from the Phoenician letter 𐤀 (ʾ, “aleph”), from the Egyptian hieroglyph 𓃾.

Letter

A (upper case, lower case a)

The first letter of the Indonesian alphabet, written in the Latin script.

Etymology 2

From the initial position of the letter A in the Indonesian alphabet.

Symbol

A

A:
2. a rank, normally the highest rank, on any of various scales that assign letters
4. (education) the highest letter grade assigned (disregarding plusses and minuses)
5. (music) a tone three fifths above C in the cycle of fifths; the sixth tone of the C major scale; the first note of the minor scale of A minor; the reference tone that occurs at exactly 440 Hz; the printed or written note A; the scale with A as its keynote
(vehicle-distinguishing signs) vehicle number plate code for the Banten, Cilegon, Serang, Pandeglang, Lebak and Tangerang areas

Etymology 3

(blood type): From A antigen

Symbol

A

(medicine) A (blood type)

Ingrian

Letter

A (upper case, lower case a)

The first letter of the Ingrian alphabet, called a and written in the Latin script.

Interlingua

Letter

A (upper case, lower case a)

The first letter of the Interlingua alphabet, written in the Latin script.

Inupiaq

Letter

A (upper case, lower case a)

The first letter of the Inupiaq alphabet, written in the Latin script.

Irish

Letter

A (upper case, lower case a)

The first letter of the Irish alphabet, written in the Latin script.

Isoko

Letter

A (upper case, lower case a)

The first letter of the Isoko alphabet, written in the Latin script.

References

E. O. Agbada et al, Vbuhrẹ Ụmụ́bọrá Isoko (Teach Yourself Isoko), first published 2008, revised edition 2017, pages 8, 10-11
Onyerioma Isaac Itegolor, Isoko Wha Dooo...! Book 2 (Operation Speak Your Language), Revised Standard Edition (2015), page 1
Joe Okedi, Abidi Isoko Na Kpobi, 2020

Italian

Italian Wikipedia has an article on:

A

Wikipedia ^it

Pronunciation

(letter name) IPA^(key): /ˈa/^*
- Rhymes: -a
- Hyphenation: À
- Homophone: a
(phonemic realization) IPA^(key): /a/

Letter

A f or m (upper case, lower case a, invariable)

The first letter of the Italian alphabet, called a and written in the Latin script.

Noun

A

(chess) abbreviation of alfiere (“bishop”)
(transport) abbreviation of autostrada (“motorway”), when followed by a number
Sulla A21 si è verificato un incidente.
On the A21 there's been an accident.

References

FIDE Laws of Chess 2023 - German translation

Japanese

Romanization

A

Rōmaji transcription of あ

Jarai

Letter

A (upper case, lower case a)

The first letter of the Jarai alphabet, written in the Latin script.

Juǀ'hoan

Letter

A (upper case, lower case a)

The ninety-sixth letter of the Juǀ'hoan alphabet, written in the Latin script.

Kabyle

Letter

A (upper case, lower case a)

The first letter of the Kabyle alphabet, written in the Latin script.

Kaingang

Letter

A (upper case, lower case a)

The first letter of the Kaingang alphabet, written in the Latin script.

Kakabai

Letter

A (upper case, lower case a)

The first letter of the Kakabai alphabet, written in the Latin script.

Kalo Finnish Romani

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /ɑ/

Letter

A (upper case, lower case a)

The first letter of the Kalo Finnish Romani alphabet, written in the Latin script.^[1]

References

^ Kimmo Granqvist (2011), “Aakkoset [Alphabet]”, in Lyhyt Suomen romanikielen kielioppi [Consice grammar of Finnish Romani]‎^[1] (in Finnish), Helsinki: Kotimaisten kielten keskus, →ISBN, →ISSN, retrieved 6 February 2022, pages 1-2

Kankanaey

Etymology

Borrowed from Tagalog A. Pronunciation is influenced by English A.

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /ˈʔej/ [ˈʔei̯]
Rhymes: -ej

Letter

A (upper case, lower case a)

The first letter of the Kankanaey alphabet, called ey and written in the Latin script.

References

Komisyon ng Wikang Filipino (2016), Ortograpiya di Kankanaëy [Kankanaey Orthography]‎^[10] (in Kankanaey and Tagalog), →ISBN, pages 10-11

Kanuri

Letter

A (upper case, lower case a)

The first letter of the Kanuri alphabet, written in the Latin script.

Karakalpak

Letter

A (upper case, lower case a)

The first letter of the Karakalpak alphabet, called a and written in the Latin script.

Karelian

Letter

A (upper case, lower case a)

The first letter of the Karelian alphabet, written in the Latin script.

Kari'na

Letter

A (upper case, lower case a)

A letter of the Kari'na alphabet, written in the Latin script.

Kashaya

Letter

A (upper case, lower case a)

The first letter of the Kashaya alphabet, written in the Latin script.

Kashubian

Etymology

The Kashubian orthography is based on the Latin alphabet. No earlier script is known. See the Kashubian alphabet article on Wikipedia for more, and A for development of the glyph itself.

Letter

A (upper case, lower case a)

The first letter of the Kashubian alphabet, called A and written in the Latin script.

Kawésqar

Letter

A (upper case, lower case a)

The first letter of the Kawésqar alphabet, written in the Latin script.

Khakas

Letter

A (upper case, lower case a)

The first letter of the Khakas alphabet, written in the Latin script.

Kikuyu

Letter

A (upper case, lower case a)

The first letter of the Kikuyu alphabet, written in the Latin script.

Kobon

Letter

A (upper case, lower case a)

The first letter of the Kobon alphabet, written in the Latin script.

Krio

Letter

A (upper case, lower case a)

The first letter of the Krio alphabet, written in the Latin script.

Kwak'wala

Letter

A (upper case, lower case a)

The first letter of the Kwak'wala alphabet, written in the Latin script.

Lakota

Letter

A (upper case, lower case a)

The first letter of the Lakota alphabet, written in the Latin script.

Latgalian

Letter

A (upper case, lower case a)

The first letter of the Latgalian alphabet, written in the Latin script.

Latin

Etymology

Etymology tree

Egyptian 𓃾 (kꜣ)der.

Phoenician 𐤀 (ʾ)bor.

Ancient Greek Α (A)bor.

Etruscan 𐌀 (a)influ.

Latin A

Borrowed from Ancient Greek Α (A, “alpha”), likely through Etruscan.

Pronunciation

(Classical Latin) IPA^(key): [ˈaː]
(modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): [ˈaː]

Letter

A (upper case, lower case a)

(sometimes with littera) The first letter of the Latin alphabet, written in the Latin script.

Usage notes

In compound words, long ā remains unchanged: lābor, dēlābor; āctus, perāctus. In an internal syllable, short ă is changed by vowel reduction into short ĭ in open syllables and before /ng/, or short ĕ in closed ones and before /r/ and /l/: faciō, perficiō, perfectus; tangō, contingō; parō, imperō. It remains unchanged in cases in which the word was coined later on or levelled through analogy: amō, adamō; patiēns, impatiēns; tractō, dētrectō, later dētractō.

Descendants

Norwegian Bokmål: A

References

A in Charlton T. Lewis (1891), An Elementary Latin Dictionary, New York: Harper & Brothers

and in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press

Latvian

Latvian Wikipedia has an article on:

A

Wikipedia ^lv

Etymology

Proposed in 1908 as part of the new Latvian spelling by the scientific commission headed by K. Mīlenbahs, which was accepted and began to be taught in schools in 1909. Prior to that, Latvian had been written in German Fraktur, and sporadically in Cyrillic.

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): [a]
Audio: (file)

Letter

A

A (upper case, lower case a)

The first letter of the Latvian alphabet, called a and written in the Latin script.

Lingala

Letter

A (upper case, lower case a)

The first letter of the Lingala alphabet, written in the Latin script.

Lithuanian

Letter

A (upper case, lower case a)

The first letter of the Lithuanian alphabet, called a and written in the Latin script.

Livonian

Letter

A (upper case, lower case a)

The first letter of the Livonian alphabet, written in the Latin script.

Lou

Letter

A (upper case, lower case a)

The first letter of the Lou alphabet, written in the Latin script.

Lower Sorbian

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /a/

Letter

A (upper case, lower case a)

The first letter of the Lower Sorbian alphabet, called a and written in the Latin script.

Luxembourgish

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /aː/
- Rhymes: -aː

Etymology 1

Letter

A (upper case, lower case a)

The first letter of the Luxembourgish alphabet, called a and written in the Latin script.

Etymology 2

From Old High German ouga, from Proto-Germanic *augô, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *h₃ekʷ- (“eye; to see”). The phonetic development in Luxembourgish is regular: Old High German -ou- becomes -ā-; intervocalic -g- is lost; word-final short vowels are apocopated.

Noun

A n (plural Aen)

eye
Ech hunn eppes am A.
I have something in my eye.
(meat industry) fat globule
bud
pip, spot (on a dice)

blot A

black eye

gliesent A

glass eye, ocular prosthetic

Etymology 3

From Middle High German ouwe, from Old High German ouwa, from Proto-Germanic *awjō. Cognate with German Aue, English eyot, Icelandic ey, Danish ø, Swedish ö.

Noun

A f (plural Aen)

(only used in place names) floodplain, meadow

Malagasy

Letter

A (upper case, lower case a)

The first letter of the Malagasy alphabet, written in the Latin script.

Malay

Malay Wikipedia has an article on:

A

Wikipedia ^ms

Pronunciation

(letter name): IPA^(key): [e]
- Audio (Malaysia): (file)
(interjection): IPA^(key): [a]
- Audio (Malaysia): (file)

Letter

A (upper case, lower case a)

The first letter of the Malay alphabet, written in the Latin script.

Maltese

Letter

A (upper case, lower case a)

The first letter of the Maltese alphabet, written in the Latin script.

Mampruli

Letter

A (upper case, lower case a)

The first letter of the Mampruli alphabet, written in the Latin script.

Mankanya

Letter

A (upper case, lower case a)

The first letter of the Mankanya alphabet, written in the Latin script.

Manx

Letter

A (upper case, lower case a)

The first letter of the Manx alphabet, written in the Latin script.

Māori

Letter

A (upper case, lower case a)

The first letter of the Māori alphabet, written in the Latin script.

Mapudungun

Letter

A (upper case, lower case a)

The first letter of the Mapudungun alphabet, written in the Latin script.

Marba

Letter

A (upper case, lower case a)

The first letter of the Marba alphabet, written in the Latin script.

Marshallese

Letter

A (lower case a)

The first letter of the Marshallese alphabet, called a and written in the Latin script.

Maskelynes

Letter

A (upper case, lower case a)

The first letter of the Maskelynes alphabet, written in the Latin script.

Massachusett

Letter

A (upper case, lower case a)

The first letter of the Massachusett alphabet, written in the Latin script.

Mayoyao Ifugao

Letter

A (upper case, lower case a)

The first letter of the Mayoyao Ifugao alphabet, written in the Latin script.

Mecayapan Nahuatl

Letter

A (upper case, lower case a)

The first letter of the Mecayapan Nahuatl alphabet, written in the Latin script.

Mohawk

Letter

A (upper case, lower case a)

The first letter of the Mohawk alphabet, written in the Latin script.

Moore

Letter

A (upper case, lower case a)

The first letter of the Moore alphabet, written in the Latin script.

Muinane

Letter

A (upper case, lower case a)

The first letter of the Muinane alphabet, written in the Latin script.

Muong

Letter

A (upper case, lower case a)

The first letter of the Muong alphabet, written in the Latin script.

Nauruan

Letter

A (upper case, lower case a)

The first letter of the Nauruan alphabet, called a and written in the Latin script.

Navajo

Letter

A (upper case, lower case a)

The first letter of the Navajo alphabet, called a and written in the Latin script.

Nisga'a

Letter

A (upper case, lower case a)

The first letter of the Nisga'a alphabet, written in the Latin script.

Noon

Letter

A (upper case, lower case a)

The first letter of the Noon alphabet, written in the Latin script.

Nootka

Letter

A (upper case, lower case a)

The first letter of the Nootka alphabet, written in the Latin script.

Northern Kurdish

Letter

A (upper case, lower case a)

The first letter of the Northern Kurdish alphabet, called a and written in the Latin script.

Northern Sami

Pronunciation

This entry needs pronunciation information. If you are familiar with the IPA then please add some!

Letter

A (upper case, lower case a)

The first letter of the Northern Sami alphabet, written in the Latin script.

Norwegian Bokmål

Norwegian Bokmål Wikipedia has an article on:

A

Wikipedia ^nb

The letter A from the Norwegian alphabet.

Etymology

From Latin A, from Ancient Greek Α (A, “alpha”), likely through the Etruscan language, from Phoenician 𐤀 (ʾ), from Proto-Canaanite , from Proto-Sinaitic , from Egyptian 𓃾 representing the head of an ox.

Pronunciation

(letter name): IPA^(key): /ɑː/
(phoneme): IPA^(key): /a/, /ɑː/
Audio: (file)
Rhymes: -ɑː
Hyphenation: A
Homophones: a, à, A-, a-, ah

Letter

A (upper case, lower case a)

The first letter of the Norwegian Bokmål alphabet, written in the Latin script.

Noun

A m (definite singular A-en, indefinite plural A-er, definite plural A-ene)

the letter A
(horology) symbol for avance
(physics) symbol for ampere
(physics) symbol for massetall (“nucleon number”)

Anagrams

a, A-, a-

Norwegian Nynorsk

Norwegian Nynorsk Wikipedia has an article on:

A

Wikipedia ⁿⁿ

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /a/

Letter

A (upper case, lower case a)

The first letter of the Norwegian Nynorsk alphabet, written in the Latin script.

Noun

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

letter A

Nuer

Letter

A (upper case, lower case a)

The first letter of the Nuer alphabet, written in the Latin script.

Nupe

Pronunciation

(phoneme): IPA^(key): /a/, (after /n/ or /m/) /ã/

Letter

A (upper case, lower case a)

The first letter of the Nupe alphabet, written in the Latin script.

Occitan

Letter

A (upper case, lower case a)

The first letter of the Occitan alphabet, written in the Latin script.

Okanagan

Letter

A (upper case, lower case a)

The first letter of the Okanagan alphabet, written in the Latin script.

Old English

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /ɑ/, /ɑː/
Rhymes: -ɑ, -ɑː

Letter

A (upper case, lower case a)

A letter of the Old English alphabet, written in the Latin script.

O'odham

Letter

A (upper case, lower case a)

The first letter of the O'odham alphabet, written in the Latin script.

Pajonal Ashéninka

Letter

A (upper case, lower case a)

The first letter of the Pajonal Ashéninka alphabet, written in the Latin script.

Paraguayan Guarani

Letter

A (upper case, lower case a)

The first letter of the Paraguayan Guarani alphabet, written in the Latin script.

Pennsylvania German

Etymology

From German A.

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /ɔː/
Rhymes: -ɔː

Noun

A

A, the first letter of the alphabet.
Vun A bis Z.
From the beginning to the end.

References

Beam, C. R., Brown, J. R., & Trout, J. L. (2004). The Comprehensive Pennsylvania German Dictionary.
Pennsylvania Dutch Dictionary. (n.d.). https://padutchdictionary.com/

Plautdietsch

Letter

A (upper case, lower case a)

The first letter of the Plautdietsch alphabet, called a and written in the Latin script.

Usage notes

Plautdietsch has no standard orthography but this is by far the most widely used alphabet.

Polish

Etymology

The Polish orthography is based on the Latin alphabet. No earlier script is known. See the history of Polish orthography article on Wikipedia for more, and A for development of the glyph itself.

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /a/

Letter

A (upper case, lower case a)

The first letter of the Polish alphabet, called a and written in the Latin script.

Portuguese

Letter

A m (upper case, lower case a)

The first letter of the Portuguese alphabet, written in the Latin script.

Noun

A m (plural As)

alternative form of á

Q'eqchi

Letter

A (upper case, lower case a)

The first letter of the Q'eqchi alphabet, written in the Latin script.

Rohingya

Letter

A (upper case, lower case a)

The first letter of the Rohingya alphabet, written in the Latin script.

Romani

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /a/

Letter

A (upper case, lower case a)

The first letter of the Romani alphabet, written in the Latin script.

Romanian

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /a/

Letter

A (upper case, lower case a)

The first letter of the Romanian alphabet, called a and written in the Latin script.

Ronga

Letter

A (upper case, lower case a)

The first letter of the Ronga alphabet, written in the Latin script.

Rotokas

Letter

A (upper case, lower case a)

The first letter of the Rotokas alphabet, written in the Latin script.

Rotuman

Letter

A (upper case, lower case a)

The first letter of the Rotuman alphabet, called a and written in the Latin script.

Saafi-Saafi

Letter

A (upper case, lower case a)

The first letter of the Saafi-Saafi alphabet, written in the Latin script.

Saanich

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /e/

Letter

A (upper case, lower case a)

The first letter of the Saanich alphabet, written in the Latin script.

Samoan

Letter

A (upper case, lower case a)

The first letter of the Samoan alphabet, written in the Latin script.

Samogitian

Letter

A (upper case, lower case a)

The first letter of the Samogitian alphabet, written in the Latin script.

Sango

Letter

A (upper case, lower case a)

The first letter of the Sango alphabet, called a and written in the Latin script.

Scots

Etymology 1

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /ɑː/, /ɔː/
(Northern Scots, Insular Scots) IPA^(key): /aː/

Letter

A (upper case, lower case a)

The first letter of the Scots alphabet, called aw and written in the Latin script.

Etymology 2

From Middle English a, an unstressed form of I, itself a reduced form of ik, ic, from Old English ic, from Proto-West Germanic *ik, from Proto-Germanic *ek (“I”, pronoun), from Proto-Indo-European *eǵh₂óm.

Alternative forms

A', Aa, Ah, Aw

Pronunciation

(stressed) IPA^(key): /ɑː/, /ɑɪ/
- (Dundee) IPA^(key): /ɛː/ (sometimes spelled Eh)
(unstressed) IPA^(key): /ə/

Pronoun

A

I (first-person singular pronoun)
- 1901, Robert De Bruce Trotter, Galloway Gossip Eighty Years Ago: Being a Series of Articles Illustrative of the Manners, Customs, and Peculiarities of the Aboriginal Picts of Galloway, page 196:
  "A dinna think we could spare't fae the swine, puir things." "Wull ye tak a half-croon for yer pennyworth o' milk, than?" quo Wullie. "Weel! A dinna ken! A'm no sure if A durst; it wud scrimp the swine, puir things."
  (please add an English translation of this quotation)

References

“A, n.”, in The Dictionary of the Scots Language, Edinburgh: Scottish Language Dictionaries, 2004–present, →OCLC, retrieved 20 May 2024, reproduced from W[illiam] Grant and D[avid] D. Murison, editors, The Scottish National Dictionary, Edinburgh: Scottish National Dictionary Association, 1931–1976, →OCLC.
“A, pers. pron.”, in The Dictionary of the Scots Language, Edinburgh: Scottish Language Dictionaries, 2004–present, →OCLC, retrieved 20 May 2024, reproduced from W[illiam] Grant and D[avid] D. Murison, editors, The Scottish National Dictionary, Edinburgh: Scottish National Dictionary Association, 1931–1976, →OCLC.

Scottish Gaelic

Letter

A (upper case, lower case a)

The first letter of the Scottish Gaelic alphabet, written in the Latin script; followed by B; traditionally named ailm (“elm”).

Serbo-Croatian

Letter

A (upper case, lower case a)

The first letter of the Serbo-Croatian alphabet, called a and written in the Latin script.

Serer

Letter

A (upper case, lower case a)

The first letter of the Serer alphabet, written in the Latin script.

Seri

Letter

A (upper case, lower case a)

The first letter of the Seri alphabet, called ha and written in the Latin script.

References

Moser, Mary B.; Marlett, Stephen A. (2010), Comcaac quih yaza quih hant ihiip hac: cmiique iitom - cocsar iitom - maricaana iitom [Seri-Spanish-English Dictionary], 2nd edition, Hermosillo: Plaza y Valdés Editores, →ISBN, page 37.

Shilluk

Letter

A (upper case, lower case a)

The first letter of the Shilluk alphabet, called a and written in the Latin script.

Shona

Letter

A (upper case, lower case a)

The first letter of the Shona alphabet, called a and written in the Latin script.

Silesian

Etymology

The Silesian orthography is based on the Latin alphabet. No earlier script is known. See the Silesian language article on Wikipedia for more, and A for development of the glyph itself.

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /ˈa/
Audio: (file)
Rhymes: -a
Syllabification: A

Letter

A (upper case, lower case a)

The first letter of the Silesian alphabet, written in the Latin script.

Skolt Sami

Pronunciation

(phoneme) IPA^(key): /ɑ/

Letter

A (upper case, lower case a)

The first letter of the Skolt Sami alphabet, written in the Latin script.

Slovak

Letter

A (upper case, lower case a)

The first letter of the Slovak alphabet, written in the Latin script.

Slovene

Slovene Wikipedia has an article on:

A

Wikipedia ^sl

Etymology

From Gay's Latin alphabet A, from Czech alphabet A, from the Etruscan letter 𐌀 (a), from the Ancient Greek letter Α (A, “alpha”), derived from the Phoenician letter 𐤀 (ʾ, “aleph”), from the Egyptian hieroglyph 𓃾.

Pronunciation

(phoneme, tonal variety): IPA^(key): /áː/, /àː/, /ʌ́/, /a/, [â], [ǎ]
(phoneme, non-tonal variety): IPA^(key): /aː/, /a/
(letter name): IPA^(key): /àː/, /áː/
Audio (letter name, non-tonal): (file)
Rhymes: -aː
Homophone: a

Letter

A (upper case, lower case a)

The first letter of the Slovene alphabet, written in the Latin script.
The first letter of the Slovene alphabet (Resian), written in the Latin script.
The first letter of the Slovene alphabet (Natisone Valley dialect), written in the Latin script.

Noun

Ā m inan

The name of the Latin script letter A/a.

Declension

Overall more common

The diacritics used in this section of the entry are non-tonal. If you are a native tonal speaker, please help by adding the tonal marks.

Masculine inan., soft o-stem
nom. sing.	Ā
gen. sing.	Ā-ja
	singular	dual	plural
nominative (imenovȃlnik)	Ā	Ā-ja	Ā-ji
genitive (rodȋlnik)	Ā-ja	Ā-jev	Ā-jev
dative (dajȃlnik)	Ā-ju	Ā-jema	Ā-jem
accusative (tožȋlnik)	Ā	Ā-ja	Ā-je
locative (mẹ̑stnik)	Ā-ju	Ā-jih	Ā-jih
instrumental (orọ̑dnik)	Ā-jem	Ā-jema	Ā-ji

More common when with a definite adjective

Masculine inan., no endings
nom. sing.	Ā
gen. sing.	Ā
	singular	dual	plural
nominative	Ā	Ā	Ā
accusative	Ā	Ā	Ā
genitive	Ā	Ā	Ā
dative	Ā	Ā	Ā
locative	Ā	Ā	Ā
instrumental	Ā	Ā	Ā

Derived terms

Somali

Pronunciation

(phoneme): IPA^(key): /æ/, /ɑ/
(letter name): IPA^(key): /ʔæ/

Letter

A (upper case, lower case a)

The twenty-third letter of the Somali alphabet, called a and written in the Latin script; preceded by Y and followed by E.

Usage notes

The Somali alphabet follows the Arabic abjad order.

Southern Sami

Letter

A (upper case, lower case a)

The first letter of the Southern Sami alphabet, written in the Latin script.

Spanish

Etymology 1

Letter

A (upper case, lower case a)

The first letter of the Spanish alphabet, written in the Latin script.

Etymology 2

Abbreviation of alfil.

Noun

A m (uncountable)

(chess) bishop
- 1997, Anatoly Karpov, EL AJEDREZ. Aprender y progresar, page 24:
  19. Ac4xd5, Ab7xd5
  19. Bc4xd5, Bb7xd5
- 1998, Benito López Esnaola, Ajedrez a la ciega, page 87:
  Tae1, Ae6
  Rae1, Be6
- 2006, Antonio Lopez Manzano, Joan Segura Vila, “Los Errores en la Apertura. Las celadas.”, in Iniciación al ajedrez, volume 59, page 79:
  Veamos un ejemplo: 1. e4, e5; 2. Cf3, Cc6; 3. Ac4, Cd4?
  Let's look at an example: 1. e4, e5; 2. Nf3, Nc6; 3. Bc4, Nd4?
- 2023 April, “Leyes Del Ajedrez 2023”, in FIDE‎^[11], page 27:
  1.e4 e5 2.Cf3 Cf6 3.d4 exd4 4.e5 Ce4 5.Dxd4 d5 6.exd6 a.p. Cxd6; 7.Ag5 Cc68.De3+ Ae7 9.Cbd2 0-0 10.0-0-0 Te8 11.Rb1(=).
  (please add an English translation of this quotation)

Squamish

Letter

A (upper case, lower case a)

The first letter of the Squamish alphabet, written in the Latin script.

Swedish

Letter

A (upper case, lower case a)

The first letter of the Swedish alphabet, called a and written in the Latin script.

Declension

Declension of A
		nominative	genitive
singular	indefinite	A	A:s
singular	definite	A:n	A:ns
plural	indefinite	A	A:s
plural	definite	A:na	A:nas

Symbol

A

(SAB) books and libraries
Meronyms: Aa, Ab, Ac, Ad, Ae, Af
(zoning, dated) allmänt ändamål (“public purpose”); all operations with a public body as principal
Holonym: detaljplan
(manhole cover) abbreviation of avlopp (“sewage”)
1. (superstition) A manhole cover that cause bad luck if stepped on; abbreviation of AIDS, arbetslöshet (“unemployment”), aga (“corporal punishment”), etc...

Derived terms

A-brunn (“sewer manhole”)

Adjective

A

indication of being of a higher rank, successful
Antonym: B

Derived terms

A-aktie (“class A share”)
A-lag (“A team”)

Noun

A

(2011–) the highest grade in the current grade system
Coordinate terms: A, B, C, D, E
(1897–1962) the highest grade in the older grade system
Synonyms: stora A, berömligt

Coordinate terms: A, a, AB, Ba, B, BC, B?, C
(1820–1897) the highest grade in the oldest grade system
Synonym: berömlig insikt

Coordinate terms: A, B, C, D

Tagalog

Etymology 1

Borrowed from Spanish A. Each pronunciation has a different source:

Filipino alphabet pronunciation is influenced by English A.
Abakada alphabet pronunciation is influenced by Baybayin character ᜀ (a).
Abecedario pronunciation is from Spanish A.

Pronunciation

(Standard Tagalog)
- IPA^(key): /ˈʔej/ [ˈʔeɪ̯] (letter name, Filipino alphabet)
  - Rhymes: -ej
- IPA^(key): /ˈʔa/ [ˈʔa] (letter name, Abakada alphabet, Abecedario)
  - Rhymes: -a
- IPA^(key): /ˈa/ [ˈa] (phoneme, stressed)
  - Rhymes: -a
- IPA^(key): /a/ [ɐ] (phoneme, unstressed)
Syllabification: A

Letter

A (upper case, lower case a)

the first letter of the Filipino alphabet, called ey and written in the Latin script
the first letter of the Abakada alphabet, called a and written in the Latin script
(historical) the first letter of the Abecedario, called a and written in the Latin script

Etymology 2

Possibly short for ama (ni).

Pronunciation

(Standard Tagalog) IPA^(key): /ʔa/ [ʔɐ]
Rhymes: -a
Syllabification: A

Noun

A (Baybayin spelling ᜀ) (obsolete)

father of
Synonyms: Pan, An

A Miguel ― Father of Miguel

Tahitian

Letter

A (upper case, lower case a)

The first letter of the Tahitian alphabet, called a and written in the Latin script.

Tashelhit

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /æ/

Letter

A (upper case, lower case a)

A letter of the Tashelhit alphabet, written in the Latin script.

Tatar

Letter

A (upper case, lower case a)

the 1st letter of Jaꞑalif

Tày

Pronunciation

(Thạch An – Tràng Định) IPA^(key): [ʔaː˧˧]
(Trùng Khánh) IPA^(key): [ʔaː˦˥]

Letter

A (upper case, lower case a)

The first letter of the Tày alphabet, written in the Latin script.

Tetum

Letter

A (upper case, lower case a)

The first letter of the Tetum alphabet, called a and written in the Latin script.

Tigon Mbembe

Letter

A (upper case, lower case a)

The first letter of the Tigon Mbembe alphabet, written in the Latin script.

Tlingit

Letter

A (upper case, lower case a)

The first letter of the Tlingit alphabet, written in the Latin script.

Tongan

Letter

A (upper case, lower case a)

The first letter of the Tongan alphabet, called a and written in the Latin script.

Tonkawa

Letter

A (upper case, lower case a)

The first letter of the Tonkawa alphabet, written in the Latin script.

Tuareg

Letter

A (upper case, lower case a)

The first letter of the Tuareg alphabet, written in the Latin script.

Tundra Nenets

Letter

A (upper case, lower case a)

The first letter of the Tundra Nenets alphabet, written in the Latin script.

Turkish

Letter

A (upper case, lower case a)

The first letter of the Turkish alphabet, called a and written in the Latin script.

Turkmen

Letter

A (upper case, lower case a)

The first letter of the Turkmen alphabet, called a and written in the Latin script.

Tyap

Letter

A (upper case, lower case a)

The first letter of the Tyap alphabet, written in the Latin script.

Ubykh

Letter

A (upper case, lower case a)

The first letter of the Ubykh alphabet, written in the Latin script.

Udihe

Letter

A (upper case, lower case a)

The first letter of the Udihe alphabet, written in the Latin script.

Upper Sorbian

Letter

A (upper case, lower case a)

The first letter of the Upper Sorbian alphabet, called a and written in the Latin script.

Uzbek

Letter

A (upper case, lower case a)

The first letter of the Uzbek alphabet, written in the Latin script.

Venda

Letter

A (upper case, lower case a)

The first letter of the Venda alphabet, written in the Latin script.

Veps

Letter

A (upper case, lower case a)

The first letter of the Veps alphabet, called a and written in the Latin script.

Vietnamese

Pronunciation

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

Letter

A (upper case, lower case a)

The first letter of the Vietnamese alphabet, called a and written in the Latin script.

Interjection

A!

hah!

Vilamovian

Letter

A (upper case, lower case a)

The first letter of the Vilamovian alphabet, called a and written in the Latin script.

Volapük

Letter

A (upper case, lower case a)

The first letter of the Volapük alphabet, called a and written in the Latin script.

Võro

Letter

A (upper case, lower case a)

The first letter of the Võro alphabet, called a and written in the Latin script.

Votic

Letter

A (upper case, lower case a)

The first letter of the Votic alphabet, called a and written in the Latin script.

Wakhi

Letter

A (upper case, lower case a)

The first letter of the Wakhi alphabet, written in the Latin script.

Walloon

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /a/

Letter

A (upper case, lower case a)

The first letter of the Walloon alphabet, called a and written in the Latin script.

Welsh

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /aː/

Letter

A (upper case, lower case a)

The first letter of the Welsh alphabet, called a and written in the Latin script; followed by B.

Mutation

A cannot be mutated but, being a vowel, does take h-prothesis, for example with the word afal (“apple”):

Mutated forms of *afal*
radical	soft	nasal	h-prothesis
afal	unchanged	unchanged	hafal

Note: Certain mutated forms of some words can never occur in standard Welsh.
All possible mutated forms are displayed for convenience.

West Frisian

Letter

A (upper case, lower case a)

The first letter of the West Frisian alphabet, written in the Latin script.

Winnebago

Letter

A (upper case, lower case a)

The first letter of the Winnebago alphabet, written in the Latin script.

Wolaytta

Personal pronoun

A

she
him

Letter

A

upper case A, 1st letter in Latin alphabet, in Wolaytta alphabet read as "aa"

Xârâcùù

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /ɑ/

Letter

A (upper case, lower case a)

The first letter of the Xârâcùù alphabet, written in the Latin script.

Xhosa

Letter

A (upper case, lower case a)

The first letter of the Xhosa alphabet, written in the Latin script.

Yámana

Letter

A (upper case, lower case a)

The first letter of the Yámana alphabet, written in the Latin script.

Yele

Letter

A (upper case, lower case a)

The second letter of the Yele alphabet, written in the Latin script.

Yoruba

Pronunciation

(phoneme): IPA^(key): /a/
(letter name): IPA^(key): /á/

Letter

A (upper case, lower case a)

The first letter of the Yoruba alphabet, called á and written in the Latin script.

Zarma

Letter

A (upper case, lower case a)

The first letter of the Zarma alphabet, written in the Latin script.

Zazaki

Letter

A (upper case, lower case a)

The first letter of the Zazaki alphabet, called a and written in the Latin script.

Zulu

Letter

A (upper case, lower case a)

The first letter of the Zulu alphabet, written in the Latin script.

A

Translingual

Etymology 1

Pronunciation

Letter

See also

Symbol

Related terms

See also

Etymology 2

Symbol

Noun

Proper noun

Gallery

See also

Further reading

References

English

Etymology 1

Alternative forms

Pronunciation

Letter

Derived terms

Related terms

See also

Number

Etymology 2

Symbol

Derived terms

Noun

Synonyms

Translations

Adjective

Derived terms

References

Further reading

Acehnese

Letter

See also

Acheron

Letter

See also

Adzera

Letter

See also

Afar

Letter

See also

Afrikaans

Pronunciation

Letter

See also

Noun

Akawaio

Pronunciation

Letter

See also

References

Albanian

Pronunciation

Letter

See also

Alekano

Letter

See also

Alemannic German

Letter

See also

Aleut

Letter

See also

Amaimon

Letter

See also

Amarasi

Letter

See also

Ambrak

Letter

American Sign Language