لا

Arabic

Etymology

Cognate to Aramaic לָא (lā), Hebrew לֹא (lo).

Pronunciation

• (deprecated use of |lang= parameter) IPA^(key): /laː/
• (deprecated use of |lang= parameter)

  Audio:

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Particle

لَا • (lā)

1. no
2. not; negates an indicative present-tense verb
3. do not; expresses prohibition with a jussive verb
4. there is not, there is no; governs an indefinite accusative noun without nunation

   لَا طَالِبَ حَاضِرٌ. ― lā ṭāliba ḥāḍirun. ― No student is present.

5. not; negates any non-verbal sentence element
6. neither, nor

Usage notes

• The Arabic negative is placed directly before the word it negates.

Antonyms

• (no): نَعَم (naʕam)
• (expresses prohibition with a jussive verb): لِـ (li-)

Derived terms

• (there is no): وَلَا سِيَّمَا (walā siyyamā)

Descendants

• Swahili: la

Conjunction

لَا • (lā)

1. not, and not

Antonyms

• بَلْ (bal)

See also

• إلا
• بل
• غير
• كلا
• ليس
• لم
• لما
• لن
• ما

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Persian

Etymology 1

From (deprecated template usage) [etyl] French la.

Noun

لا • (lâ)

1. (music) A, La (the sixth note of the fixed-Do solfège scale)
2. (music) La (the sixth note of the movable-Do solfège scale, i.e. the submediant)

Etymology 2

From (deprecated template usage) [etyl] Arabic لَا (lā).

Particle

Dari	لا
Iranian Persian
Tajik	ло

لا (lâ)

1. (rare) un-

Synonyms

• (no, not): نه (na), نیست (nist)
• (-un): نا (nâ)

Etymology 3

Alternative forms

• لای (lây)

Noun

Dari	لا
Iranian Persian
Tajik	ло

لا • (lâ)

1. fold
2. layer
3. ply
4. strand