å

See also: Appendix:Variations of "a"

å U+00E5, å LATIN SMALL LETTER A WITH RING ABOVE Composition: a [U+0061] + ◌̊ [U+030A] ← ä [U+00E4] Latin-1 Supplement æ → [U+00E6]

Translingual

Letter

å (upper case Å)

1. The letter a with a ring above, considered an individual letter by most languages where it is used.

See also

• (Latin script):  Aa  Bb  Cc  Dd  Ee  Ff  Gg  Hh  Ii  Jj  Kk  Ll  Mm  Nn  Oo  Pp  Qq  Rr  Sſs  Tt  Uu  Vv  Ww  Xx  Yy  Zz
• (Variations of letter A):   Áá  Àà  Ââ  Ǎǎ  Ăă  Ãã  Ảả  Ȧȧ  Ạạ  Ää  Åå  Ḁḁ  Āā  Ąą  ᶏ  Ⱥⱥ  Ȁȁ  Ấấ  Ầầ  Ẫẫ  Ẩẩ  Ậậ  Ắắ  Ằằ  Ẵẵ  Ẳẳ  Ặặ  Ǻǻ  Ǡǡ  Ǟǟ  Ȁȁ  Ȃȃ  Ɑɑ  ᴀ  Ɐɐ  ɒ  Ａａ Ææ  Ǽǽ  Ǣǣ  Ꜳꜳ  Ꜵꜵ  Ꜷꜷ  Ꜹꜹ  Ꜻꜻ
• (Letters using ring sign):  Åå  Ǻǻ  Ḁḁ  Ůů  W̊ẘ  Y̊ẙ

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Danish

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ɔː/, [ɔːˀ]

Letter

å (upper case Å)

1. the last (29th) letter of the Danish alphabet

Inflection

Declension of å

neuter gender	Singular		Plural
	indefinite	definite	indefinite	definite
nominative	å	å'et	å'er	å'erne
genitive	å's	å'ets	å'ers	å'ernes

Declension of Å

neuter gender	Singular		Plural
	indefinite	definite	indefinite	definite
nominative	Å	Å'et	Å'er	Å'erne
genitive	Å's	Å'ets	Å'ers	Å'ernes

See also

• (Latin-script letters) bogstav; A a (Á á), B b, C c, D d, E e (É é), F f, G g, H h, I i (Í í), J j, K k, L l, M m, N n, O o (Ó ó), P p, Q q, R r, S s, T t, U u (Ú ú), V v, W w, X x, Y y (Ý ý), Z z, Æ æ (Ǽ ǽ), Ø ø (Ǿ ǿ), Å å (Ǻ ǻ)

Etymology 1

From Old Norse á (“ow!”).

Alternative forms

• åh

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ɔː/, [ɔː]

Interjection

å

1. oh
2. O
3. well

Etymology 2

From Old Norse á (“river”), from Proto-Germanic *ahwō, from Proto-Indo-European *h₂ekʷeh₂ (“water”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ɔː/, [ɔːˀ]

Noun

å c (singular definite åen, plural indefinite åer)

1. A small river; a creek; a big stream

Inflection

Declension of å

common gender	Singular		Plural
	indefinite	definite	indefinite	definite
nominative	å	åen	åer	åerne
genitive	ås	åens	åers	åernes

See also

• bæk (smaller)
• flod (larger)

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Finnish

Letter

å (lower case, upper case Å)

1. The twenty-sixth letter of the Finnish alphabet, called ruotsalainen oo and written in the Latin script.

Usage notes

• Used only in Scandinavian names.

See also

• (Latin-script letters) kirjain; A a, B b, C c, D d, E e, F f, G g, H h, I i, J j, K k, L l, M m, N n, O o, P p, Q q, R r, S s (Š š), T t, U u, V v (W w), X x, Y y, Z z (Ž ž), Å å, Ä ä, Ö ö

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German Low German

Letter

å (upper case Å)

1. A letter of some Low German alphabets.

Usage notes

• Alternative characters used instead of å are ao, oa, â, a, aa.
• There are various ways to denote the umlaut of å. See for example D. G. Babst, Allerhand schnaksche Saken tum Tiedverdriew, Chr. Gilow, De Hochtîd.
  For the variant spelling a, the characters ä, æ or œ do occur for the umlaut.

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Norwegian Bokmål

Pronunciation

• (letter name): IPA^(key): /ɔː/
• (phoneme): IPA^(key): /ɔː/, /ɔ/

Etymology 1

Borrowed from Swedish å.

Letter

å (upper case Å)

1. The twenty-ninth letter of the Norwegian Bokmål alphabet, written in the Latin script.

Usage notes

Before the letter's introduction in 1917, the sound it represents today (similar to the "a" in "all") was written with two As, Aa (this spelling can still be seen in some proper names, and in digital media, such as urls or e-mails, due using a keyboard where the letter doesn't exist or for fear of mojibake). The two As were originally a new form of the Old Norse á, whose representation was a long open a-sound (similar to the "a" in "father"). Gradually, it turned into the modern å-sound and the Aa was eventually replaced with Å.

Etymology 2

From Old Norse at (“by, to”), whence also at and ad.

Particle

å

1. to (infinitive marker)

   Å løpe

   to run

Etymology 3

From Old Norse ó, was used in the same sense.

Interjection

å

1. To express different emotions, oh

   Å, er det deg?

   Oh, is it you?

   Å gud, for et dårlig vær det er.

   oh dear, look how bad the weather is.

   Å, skitt, du har problemer!

   Oh shit, you're in trouble!

2. Used to make the message more urgent, pleading, or to underline it, oh

   Å, vær så snill, kan vi ikke dra?

   Oh, please, can't we go?

3. To express hesitation or dismissal, oh

   Å ja, sier du det?

   Oh really, is that so?

   Hva skjedde? —Å, ingenting

   What happened here? —Oh, nothing.

   Å, jeg er ikke så sikker på det.

   Oh, I'm not so sure about that.

Etymology 4

From Old Norse á, related to Latin aqua (“water”).

Noun

å f, m (definite singular åa or åen, indefinite plural åer, definite plural åene)

1. A small river; a creek; a big stream (used mostly in dialects, obsolete in writing)

   Mange bekker små gjør en stor å

   every little helps (literally: "Many small creeks make a big stream")

Derived terms

• åfløy

References

• “å” in The Ordnett Dictionary
• “å” in The Bokmål Dictionary.
• J.Fritnzer's dictionary.
• examples of locations named Å

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Norwegian Nynorsk

Etymology 1

Borrowed from Swedish å.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /oː/
• Homophone: og

Letter

å (upper case Å)

1. The twenty-ninth letter of the Norwegian Nynorsk alphabet, written in the Latin script.

Usage notes

Before the letter's introduction in 1917, the sound it represents today (similar to the "a" in "all") was written with two A's, Aa (this spelling can still be seen in some cases). The two A's was originally a new form of the Old Norse á, whose representation was a long open a-sound (similar to the "a" in "father"). Gradually it turned into the modern å-sound and the Aa was eventually replaced with Å.

Etymology 2

From Old Norse at (“by, to”), whence also at.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ɔ/

Particle

å

1. to (infinitive marker)

   Dei er vanskelege å sjå.

   They are hard to see.

Etymology 3

From Old Norse á (“on, on top of”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ɔ/

Preposition

å

1. used in certain fixed expressions regarding position

   Han fall å bak.

   He fell backwards. (literally: "he fell on back.")

   Ho låg å gruve.

   She was lying on her stomach.

2. used in expressions regarding time

   Det er midt å natta.

   It's the middle of the night.

Etymology 4

From Old Norse ó, was used in the same sense.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /oː/
• Homophone: og

Interjection

å

1. To express different emotions, oh

   Å, er det deg?

   oh, is it you?

   Å gud, for eit dårleg vêr det er

   Oh dear, what bad weather.

   Å skitt, du er i trøbbel!

   Oh no, you're in trouble!

2. Used to make the message more urgent, pleading, or to underline it, oh

   Å, ver så snill, kan vi ikkje dra?

   oh, please, can't we go?

3. To express hesitation or dismissal, oh

   Å ja, seier du det?

   oh really, is that so?

   Hva skjedde?. Å, ingenting

   what happened here?. Oh, nothing.

   Å, eg er ikkje så sikker på det

   oh, I'm not so sure about that

Etymology 5

From Old Norse á, related to Latin aqua (“water”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /oː/
• Homophone: og

Noun

å f (definite singular åa, indefinite plural åer, definite plural åene)

1. A small river; a creek; a big stream (used mostly in dialects, archaic in writing)

   Mange bekker små gjer ei stor å

   numerous small contributions give big results (literally: "Many small creeks makes a big stream")

Derived terms

• åfløy

References

• “å” in The Ordnett Dictionary
• “å” in The Bokmål Dictionary / The Nynorsk Dictionary.
• J.Fritnzer's dictionary.

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Skolt Sami

Pronunciation

• (phoneme) IPA^(key): /ɔ/

Letter

å (upper case Å)

1. The thirty-fifth letter of the Skolt Sami alphabet, written in the Latin script.

See also

• (Latin-script letters) bukva; A a,  â, B b, C c, Č č, Ʒ ʒ, Ǯ ǯ, D d, Đ đ, E e, F f, G g, Ǧ ǧ, Ǥ ǥ, H h, I i, J j, K k, Ǩ ǩ, L l, M m, N n, Ŋ ŋ, O o, Õ õ, P p, R r, S s, Š š, T t, U u, V v, Z z, Ž ž, Å å, Ä ä, ʹ

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Southern Sami

Pronunciation

• (phoneme) IPA^(key): /o/

Letter

å (upper case Å)

1. The twenty-fifth letter of the Southern Sami alphabet, written in the Latin script.

See also

• (Latin-script letters) A a, B b, D d, E e, F f, G g, H h, I i, Ï ï, J j, K k, L l, M m, N n, O o, P p, R r, S s, T t, U u, V v, Y y, Æ æ, Ä ä, Ø ø, Ö ö, Å å

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Swedish

Pronunciation

• audio

  (file)

Letter name

• IPA^(key): /oː/

Phoneme

• IPA^(key): /oː/, /ɔ/

Etymology

From two a’s written on top of each other; compare ä and ö.

Letter

å (lower case, upper case Å)

1. The third to last letter of the Swedish alphabet, called å and written in the Latin script.

Etymology 1

From Old Swedish ā, from Old Norse á, from Proto-Germanic *ahwō, from Proto-Indo-European *h₂ekʷeh₂.

Noun

å c

1. a river, a creek, a big stream

   Gå inte över ån efter vatten.

   Don’t cross the stream to get water.

Declension

Declension of å
	Singular		Plural
	Indefinite	Definite	Indefinite	Definite
Nominative	å	ån	åar	åarna
Genitive	ås	åns	åars	åarnas

Usage notes

• Watercourses in Sweden and the other Nordic countries are in Swedish usually referred to as bäck, å or älv. An å is usually larger than a bäck (brook, creek) but smaller than an älv (large river). A certain large bäck may however be larger than a certain small å, and a certain large å may be larger than a certain small älv. The word to use about a certain watercourse is often included as part of its name: Göta älv, Stångån. There are regional differences in whether watercourses of a certain size tend to have å or älv in their names. All älvar are found north of Göteborg, but that is also where the largest rivers in Scandinavia are found. For some rivers in southern Sweden the word ström is used, since that is the watercourse word included in their names. Rivers in other parts of the world are usually referred to with the word flod, which is a more neutral word for any watercourse larger than a bäck.

See also

• bäck
• flod
• ström

• vattendrag
• älv

Etymology 2

From Old Norse á, from Proto-Germanic *ana.

Preposition

å

1. (obsolete except in certain expressions) on

Derived terms

• fara å färde
• på
• å andra sidan
• åberopa
• å det grövsta
• å det snaraste
• å ena sidan
• åklagare
• ålägga
• ånyo
• å någons vägnar
• åsamka
• åsido
• åskådare
• åskådliggöra
• åsyn
• åverkan