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Arabic
editEtymology 1
editFrom the Nabataean Aramaic letter 𐢁 (l, “aleph”), derived from the Phoenician letter 𐤀 (l, “ālef”), from the Egyptian hieroglyph 𓃾. See also Classical Syriac ܐ (l, “ālef”), Hebrew א (l, “alef”), Ancient Greek Α (A), Latin A.
Pronunciation
editLetter
editا / ا • (ʔalif)
- Although usually considered to be the first letter of the Arabic alphabet, the small hamza (ء (ʔ)) that sits on top of أ (ʔ) is really the first letter of the Arabic alphabet, and the tall column is its bearer. This entry only deals with the lower part, the bearer, which is called أَلِف (ʔalif) and, without the hamza, is used to lengthen a preceding a.
Descendants
edit- N'Ko: ߊ
Symbol
editا • (ʔalif)
- The first letter in traditional abjad order, which is used in place of numerals for list numbering (abjad numerals). It is followed by ب (b).
Isolated form | Final form |
---|---|
ا | ـا |
Pronunciation
editAfter fatha: ـَا — IPA(key): /aː/
(word initially):
Combined with fatha: اَ — IPA(key): /a/
- اَلْيَوْمَ (al-yawma, “today”)
Combined with kasra: اِ — IPA(key): /i/
Combined with damma: اُ — IPA(key): /u/
See also
edit- (Arabic script letters) ا (ʔalif), ب (bāʔ), ت (tāʔ), ث (ṯāʔ), ج (jīm), ح (ḥāʔ), خ (ḵāʔ), د (dāl), ذ (ḏāl), ر (rāʔ), ز (zāy), س (sīn), ش (šīn), ص (ṣād), ض (ḍād), ط (ṭāʔ), ظ (ẓāʔ), ع (ʕayn), غ (ḡayn), ف (fāʔ), ق (qāf), ك (kāf), ل (lām), م (mīm), ن (nūn), ه (hāʔ), و (wāw), ي (yāʔ)
- أ (ʔ)
- إ (ʔ)
- آ (ʔā)
- ى
- ٱ
- ـٰ
- Wikipedia article on the Arabic alphabet
- Search for entries beginning with ا
Balti
editPronunciation
editLetter
editا (transliteration needed)
- The first letter of the Balti alphabet, written in the Perso-Arabic script
Burushaski
editEtymology 1
editPronunciation
editLetter
editا (aa)
- The first letter of the Burushaski alphabet, written in the Perso-Arabic script
Etymology 2
editPronunciation
editPronoun
editاُ (u)
References
edit- Bechtholdt, Astrid (2024) “u”, in Burushaski Hunza Dictionary (Webonary), Dallas, Texas, USA: SIL International, published 2017.
Chinese
editPronunciation
editLetter
editا
- The first letter of the Xiao'erjing abjad.
Gujarati
editPronunciation
editLetter
editا • (alif)
- The first letter of the Gujarati abjad
Forms
editIsolated form | Final form |
---|---|
ا | ـا |
See also
edit- Next letter: ب
Kashmiri
editPronunciation
editLetter
editا • (a,ā)
- The first letter of the traditional alphabet chart of Kashmiri.
Forms
editIsolated form | Final form |
---|---|
ا | ـا |
See also
edit- Next letter: ب (b)
Kazakh
editAlternative scripts | |
---|---|
Arabic | ا |
Cyrillic | А, а/Ә, ә |
Latin | A, a/Ä, ä |
Yañalif | A, a/Ə, ə |
Pronunciation
editLetter
editا • (a, ä)
Forms
editIsolated form | Final form |
---|---|
ا | ـا |
Usage notes
editRepresents the back-vowel sound /ɑ/, unless a small ء is placed at the beginning of the word. In Kazakh, the Hamza marks that all vowels in the following word are fronted. If ا is the initial letter of a word and is representing a front vowel, it is combined with the hamza and the variant ٵ is used.
See also
editKhowar
editPronunciation
editLetter
editا (ālif)
- The first letter of the Khowar abjad.
Forms
editIsolated form | Final form |
---|---|
ا | ـا |
See also
edit- Next letter: آ
Kyrgyz
editPronunciation
editLetter
editا • (alif)
Forms
editIsolated form | Final form |
---|---|
ا | ـا |
See also
editMalay
editPronunciation
editLetter
editا / ا
- The first letter of the Malay alphabet, written in the Arabic script.
See also
editNorth Levantine Arabic
editSuffix
editـا • (-a, -wa, -ya) f
- Alternative spelling of ـها when it is not pronounced as “-ha”
Pashto
editPronunciation
editLetter
editا • (alíf)
- The first letter of the Pashto alphabet.
Forms
editIsolated form | Final form |
---|---|
ا | ـا |
Usage notes
edit- At the start of the word, the letter ا (alif) represents the consonant /ʔ/.
- In the middle or end of a word, ا represents the vowel /ɑ/.
See also
edit- Next letter: ب
Persian
editEtymology 1
editPronunciation
edit- (phoneme)
- (letter name)
Letter
editـا or ا • (â or ∅)
- The first letter of the Perso-Arabic alphabet. Its name is اَلِف (alef).
Usage notes
editAll word-initial vowels are proceeded by a glottal stop which is represented by an ا. However in medial and final positions it is not a glottal stop and instead represents the phoneme /ɑː/~/ɒː/. If a word-initial ا is representing the sound [ʔɑː]~[ʔɒː] it's usually written as آ.
See also
edit- Next letter: ب
Etymology 2
editPronunciation
editPreposition
editا • (a)
Further reading
edit- ا on the Persian Wikipedia.Wikipedia fa
Punjabi
editAlternative forms
editPronunciation
editLetter
editا • (alif)
Forms
editIsolated form | Final form |
---|---|
ا | ـا |
See also
edit- Next letter: ب (b)
- (Shahmukhi script letters) ا, ب (b), پ (p), ت (t), ٹ (ṭ), ث (s̱), ج (j), چ (c), ح (ḥ), خ (x), د (d), ڈ (ḍ), ذ (ẕ), ر (r), ڑ (ṛ), ز (z), ژ (ž), س (s), ش (ś), ص (ṣ), ض (ẓ), ط (t̤), ظ (z̤), ع (ʻ), غ (ġ), ف (f), ق (q), ک (k), گ (g), ل (l), ࣇ (ḷ), م (m), ن (n), ݨ (ṇ), ں (ṉ), ہ (h), و (v), ی (y), ے (e) (Category: Punjabi letters)
Sindhi
editPronunciation
editLetter
editا • (alif)
- The first letter of the Sindhi abjad.
Forms
editIsolated form | Final form |
---|---|
ا | ـا |
See also
edit- (Letters of the Sindhi alphabet) ا, ب, ٻ, ڀ, ت, ٿ, ٽ, ٺ, ث, پ, ج, ڄ, جھ, ڃ, چ, ڇ, ح, خ, د, ڌ, ڏ, ڊ, ڍ, ذ, ر, ڙ, ڙھ, ز, س, ش, ص, ض, ط, ظ, ع, غ, ف, ڦ, ق, ڪ, ک, گ, ڳ, گھ, ڱ, ل, م, ن, ڻ, و, ھ, ء, ي
- Next letter: ب
Urdu
editEtymology 1
editPronunciation
edit- (letter name): (Standard Urdu) IPA(key): /ə.lɪf/
- (phoneme): (Standard Urdu) IPA(key): /ə/, /ɑː/, /ʔ/
Letter
editا • (ālif)
- The first letter of the Urdu abjad.
Forms
editIsolated form | Final form |
---|---|
ا | ـا |
See also
edit- Next letter: ب (b)
Etymology 2
editBorrowed from Sanskrit अ- (a-).
Alternative forms
edit- انـ (an-) (before vowels)
Prefix
editUsage notes
editThis form is used before words that begin with consonants.
Derived terms
editYoruba
editPronunciation
editLetter
editا (a)
Forms
editIsolated form | Final form |
---|---|
ا | ـا |
See also
edit- Next letter: ب
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