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U+3042, あ
HIRAGANA LETTER A

[U+3041]
Hiragana
[U+3043]

Japanese

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Stroke order
3 strokes

Etymology 1

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

Pronunciation

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  • IPA(key): [a̠]
  • Audio:(file)

Syllable

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(a

  1. The hiragana syllable (a). Its equivalent in katakana is (a). It is the first syllable in the gojūon order; its position is (a-gyō a-dan, row a, section a).
See also
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Etymology 2

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

Pronunciation

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Interjection

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or (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

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

Etymology 4

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Alternative spellings

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 (wa).

Pronoun

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(a

  1. (obsolete) first-person personal pronoun: I, me
    • c. 10011014, Murasaki Shikibu, Genji Monogatari (Yūgao)
      (きみ)()()(たま)へ。いと、いみじき()()(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

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Etymology 5

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Alternative spelling

/ka//a/

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

Pronoun

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(a

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

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Etymology 6

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Alternative spelling

Noun

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(a

  1. (obsolete) foot

Etymology 7

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Alternative spellings

Noun

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(a

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

Etymology 8

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Alternative spellings

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

Verb

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(a

  1. (Classical Japanese) to be, to exist

References

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  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

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Etymology

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

Noun

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(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

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  • 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