あ

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

あ U+3042, あ HIRAGANA LETTER A ← ぁ [U+3041] Hiragana ぃ → [U+3043]

Japanese

Stroke order

Etymology 1

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

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [a̠]

• 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

• (Hiragana) 平仮名; あぁ, いぃ, うぅゔ, えぇ, おぉ, かゕが, きぎ, くぐ, けゖげ, こご, さざ, しじ, すず, せぜ, そぞ, ただ, ちぢ, つっづ, てで, とど, な, に, ぬ, ね, の, はばぱ, ひびぴ, ふぶぷ, へべぺ, ほぼぽ, ま, み, む, め, も, やゃ, 𛀆, ゆゅ, 𛀁, よょ, ら, り, る, れ, ろ, わゎ, ゐ, 𛄟 (𛄟), ゑ, を, ん, ー, ゝ, ゞ, ゟ

Etymology 2

Alternative spelling
ア

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

Pronunciation

• (Tokyo) あ [áꜜ] (Atamadaka – [1])
• IPA^(key): [a̠]

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 [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 堊 (a): white earth [proper noun] a female given name

【阿】J [noun] The first letter of Sanskrit, अ (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”)

【唖】H [noun] muteness; dumbness [affix] mute, dumb

【蛙】H [affix] frog (amphibious animal)

【痾】H [affix] 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, 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.

Pronoun

あ • (a) 

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

Derived terms

• 彼(あ)の (ano, “that [one] (as a modifier)”)
• 彼(あれ) (are, “that [one] (as a noun)”)

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
   • c. 1001-1014, Murasaki Shikibu, Genji Monogatari:

     わざとあめるを、早(はや)うものせよかし。

     Wazato a meru o, hayō monoseyo kashi.

     It seems to be special [an invitation], so please go early.

References

• Satake, Akihiro with Hideo Yamada, Rikio Kudō, Masao Ōtani, and Yoshiyuki Yamazaki (c. 759), Shin Nihon Koten Bungaku Taikei 3: Man’yōshū 3 (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Iwanami Shoten, published 2002, →ISBN.
• Yamagishi, Tokuhei (1958) [c. 1001-1014], Koten Bungaku Taikei 14: Genji Monogatari 1 (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Iwanami Shoten, →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