an

See also: Appendix:Variations of "an"

English

Wikipedia

Pronunciation

• (stressed)
  • IPA^(key): /æn/

  • Audio (US)

    (file)

  • Rhymes: -æn
• (unstressed)
  • IPA^(key): /ən/

  • Audio (US), unstressed in the phrase "an egg"

    (file)

• Homophone: in (in some accents)

Etymology 1

From Old English ān.

Article

an

1. Form, used before a vowel sound, of a
   • 1898, Winston Churchill, chapter 2, The Celebrity:

     Sunning himself on the board steps, I saw for the first time Mr. Farquhar Fenelon Cooke. He was dressed out in broad gaiters and bright tweeds, like an English tourist, and his face might have belonged to Dagon, idol of the Philistines.

2. (UK, nonstandard) Form of a used in many British regional accents before some words beginning with a pronounced h

Usage notes

Main appendix: English articles#Indefinite articles

• The article an is used before vowel sounds and (optionally) before silent aitches, and a before consonant sounds.
• The various article senses of a, all are senses of an.

Translations

indefinite article

• Afrikaans: 'n (af)
• Arabic: not used in Arabic

  Egyptian Arabic: not used in Egyptian Arabic

• Aragonese: un m, una f
• Armenian: մը (mə) (Western Armenian), մըն (mən) (Western Armenian, before a vowel)
• Asturian: un (ast) m, una (ast) f
• Bakhtiari: یه (ya), یه -ی (ya -i)
• Belarusian: not used in Belarusian
• Breton: un (br) (before the letters n, d, t and h), ul (br) (before the letter l), ur (br) (before other letters)
• Catalan: un (ca) m, una (ca) f
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: not used in Mandarin

• Cornish: not used in Cornish
• Czech: not used in Czech
• Danish: en (da) c, et (da) n
• Dutch: een (nl)
• Esperanto: not used in Esperanto
• Fijian: e dua na
• Finnish: not used in Finnish
• French: un (fr) m, une (fr) f
• Friulian: un m, une f
• Galician: un (gl) m, unha (gl) f
• Georgian: not used in Georgian
• German: ein (de) m, eine (de) f, ein (de) n
• Greek: ένας (el) (énas)
• Haitian Creole: yon
• Hebrew: (usually omitted; sometimes:) אחד (he) (ekhád) (one)
• Hindi: एक (hi)
• Huave: nop
• Hungarian: egy (hu)
• Icelandic: not used in Icelandic
• Ido: not used in Ido
• Indonesian: not used in Indonesian
• Interlingua: un
• Irish: not used in Irish
• Italian: un (it) m, uno (it) m, una (it) f, un' (it) f (before a vowel)
• Japanese: not used in Japanese
• Kannada: ಒಂದು (kn) (ondu)
• Korean: not used in Korean

• Kurdish: yek (ku), -ek (ku), -yek (ku)
• Latin: not used in Latin
• Lithuanian: not used in Lithuanian
• Low German: ein
• Luxembourgish: eng (lb)
• Macedonian: not used in Macedonian
• Malay: not used in Malay
• Manx: not used in Manx
• Mirandese: un m, ũa f
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: en (no) m, ei (no) f, et (no) n

  Nynorsk: ein (nn) m, ei (nn) f, eit n

• Novial: usually not used, otherwise un
• Occitan: un (oc) m, una (oc) f
• Persian: یک (fa) (yek), -ی (fa) (-i), یک -ی (yek -i), یه (ye) (colloquial), یه -ی (ye -i) (colloquial)
• Polish: not used in Polish
• Portuguese: um (pt) m, uma (pt) f
• Romanian: un (ro) m, o (ro) f
• Russian: not used in Russian
• Scottish Gaelic: not used in Scottish Gaelic
• Slovak: not used in Slovak
• Slovene: not used in Slovene
• Spanish: un (es) m, una (es) f
• Swedish: en (sv) c, ett (sv) n
• Tagalog: isang (tl)
• Telugu: ఒక (te) (oka)
• Thai: หนึ่ง (th) (nèùng)
• Tok Pisin: wanpela
• Turkish: bir (tr)
• Tz'utujil: jun
• Ukrainian: not used in Ukrainian
• Vietnamese: cái (vi) (inanimate objects), con (vi) (animals, people, etc.), cuốn (vi) (books, etc.), người (vi) (for people), quả (vi) (fruit)
• Volapük: (♂♀, animate or inanimate, extremely rare, usually not translated) un, (♂, extremely rare, usually not translated) hiun, (♀, extremely rare, usually not translated) jiun
• Võro: not used in Võro
• West Frisian: in (fy)
• Yiddish: אַ (yi) (a), אַן (an)

Etymology 2

From Middle English an

Conjunction

an

1. (archaic) If, so long as.

   An it please you, my lord.

2. (archaic) as if; as though.

   Samuel Taylor Coleridge, The Rime of the Ancyent Marinere (Original Version of 1797) 61-64:

   At length did cross an Albatross, Thorough the Fog it came; And an it were a Christian Soul, We hail'd it in God's Name.

Translations

if; so long as

• Esperanto: se
• Fijian: e dua na
• German: so (de)

• Italian: se (it)
• Novial: si

Etymology 3

Borrowing from Georgian.

Noun

an (plural ans)

1. The first letter of the Georgian alphabet, ა (mkhedruli), Ⴀ (asomtavruli) or ⴀ (nuskhuri).

Etymology 4

From the Old English preposition an/on.

Preposition

an

1. In each; to or for each; per.

   I was only going twenty miles an hour.

Usage notes

• This is the same as the word a in such contexts, modified because of preceding an unpronounced h. The train was speeding along at a mile a minute.

Synonyms

• per

Translations

in each; to or for each; per

• Danish: pr., om (da)
• German: pro (de), den (de) m, das (de) n, die (de) f
• Italian: al (it), allo (it), alla (it), all'

• Macedonian: по (po)
• Novial: po
• Portuguese: o (pt) m, a (pt) f, por (pt)

• Most common English words before 1923: one · so · me · #41: an · we · who · said

References

• an in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913

Statistics

• Most common English words before 1923: one · so · me · #41: an · we · who · said

Anagrams

• N.A., NA, n.a., n/a, na

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Albanian

Etymology

Possibly a metaphorical use of anë 'vessel'.

Noun

an m

1. uterus

Synonyms

• mitër

Related terms

• anë

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Arin

Noun

an

1. haunch

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Aromanian

Etymology

From Latin annus. Compare Daco-Romanian an.

Noun

an n (plural anji)

1. year

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Breton

Article

an

1. the

See also

• ar
• al

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Cimbrian

Article

an

1. a (indefinite article)

Conjunction

an

1. that (introduces a subordinate clause)

References

• “an” in Umberto Martello Martalar, Alfonso Bellotto, Dizionario della lingua Cimbra dei Setti Communi vicentini, 1st edition, 1974.

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Crimean Tatar

Noun

an

1. moment

Declension

Declension of an

nominative	an
genitive	anniñ
dative	ange
accusative	anni
locative	ande
ablative	anden

References

• V. A. Mirjejev, S. M. Usejinov (2002), Ukrajinsʹko-krymsʹkotatarsʹkyj slovnyk [Ukrainian–Crimean Tatar Dictionary], Simferopol: Dolya, ISBN 966-7980-89-8

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Danish

Verb

an

1. Imperative of ane.

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Elfdalian

Etymology

From Old Norse hann. Cognate with Swedish han.

Pronoun

an m

1. he

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French

Etymology

From Latin annus.

Pronunciation

• audio

  (file)

• IPA^(key): [ɑ̃]

Noun

an m (plural ans)

1. A year.

Synonyms

• année

Anagrams

• n'a

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Friulian

Etymology

From Latin annus.

Noun

an m (plural agns)

1. year

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German

Etymology

From Old High German ana.

Pronunciation

• audio

  (file)

• Rhymes: -an

Preposition

an (with an accusative or dative case object)

1. (with a location in the dative case) on; upon; at; in; against

   Das Bild hängt an der Wand. — “The picture hangs on the wall.”

2. (with a time in the dative case) on; in
3. (with a dative case object) by; near; close to; next to
4. (with a dative case object) by means of; by
5. (with an accusative case object) on; onto

   Ich hänge das Bild an die Wand. — “I hang the picture on the wall.”

6. (with an accusative case object) at; against

   Sehen an die Tafel. — “Look at the blackboard.”

7. (with an accusative case object) to; for

Usage notes

• The preposition an is used with an object in the accusative case if it indicates movement from one place to another, whereas it is used with the dative case if it indicates a location.
• When followed by the masculine article in the dative case (i.e. dem (“the”)), the two words contract to am (“on the”) and for the neuter article in the accusative case (i.e. das (“the”)), the two words contract to ans (“on the”).

Adverb

an

1. onward; on

   von heute an — “from today on”

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Gothic

Romanization

an

1. Romanization of 𐌰𐌽

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Guernésiais

Etymology

From Latin annus.

Noun

an m (plural ans)

1. year

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Haitian Creole

Etymology 1

French un.

Article

an

1. the (definite article)

Usage notes

Use this word when:

• It modifies a singular noun, and
• It is preceded by a word that ends with either:
  • A nasal vowel, or
  • A nasal consonant and an oral (non-nasal) vowel, in that order.

See also

• a
• la
• lan
• nan
• yo
• yon

Etymology 2

From French an (“year”)

Noun

an

1. year

Synonyms

• lane

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Ido

Preposition

an

1. at, on (indicates contiguity, juxtaposition)

Derived terms

• an-

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Irish

Etymology

From Old Irish in.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [ənˠ]; between consonants [ə]

Article

an

1. the

   an t-uisce — the water

   an bhean — the woman

   an pháiste — of the child

   ag an gcailín/ag an chailín — at the girl

Declension

Case	Masculine singular	Feminine singular	Plural
Nominative/accusative	anT	anL	naH
Genitive	anL	naH	naN
Dative	(ag) anDM	(ag) anDF	naH
DF: triggers eclipsis or lenition depending on dialect; no lenition of d, t; changes s to ts (pronounced like t) DM: triggers eclipsis or lenition depending on dialect; no lenition of d, t, s H: triggers h-prothesis L: triggers lenition except of d, t; changes s to ts (pronounced like t) N: triggers eclipsis T: triggers t-prothesis of a vowel

Particle

an (triggers eclipsis; takes the dependent form of irregular verbs if available; not used in the past tense except of some irregular verbs)

1. Used to form direct and indirect questions

   An bhfuil tú ag éisteacht? — Are you listening?

   Níl a fhios agam an bhfuil sé anseo. — I don't know if/whether he is here.

Related terms

• ar (used in the past tense of regular and some irregular verbs)

Particle

an

1. used to introduce copular questions, both direct and indirect, in the present/future tense

   An maith leat bainne?

   Do you like milk?

   Níl a fhios agam an é Conchúr a chonaic mé.

   I don't know if it's Connor whom I saw.

Related terms

Irish copular forms

Simple copular forms Present/future Affirmative Negative Interrogative Neg. inter. Main clauses is ní an nach Direct relative clauses nach Indirect relative clauses ar, arbv Other subordinate clauses gur, gurbv an nach Past/conditional Affirmative Negative Interrogative Neg. inter. Main clauses ba, b’v níor, níorbhv ar, arbhv nár, nárbhv Direct relative clauses ba, abv nár, nárbhv Indirect relative clauses ar, arbhv Other subordinate clauses gur, gurbhv ar, arbhv nár, nárbhv Present subjunctive Affirmative Negative gura, gurabv nára, nárabv		Compound copular forms Base word Present/future Past/conditional má más má ba, má b’v ó (“since”) ós ó ba, ó b’v dá dá mba, dá mb’v mura mura, murabv murar, murarbhv cé cér, cérbv cér, cérbhv cá cár, cárbv cár, cárbhv de/do dar, darbv dar, darbhv faoi faoinar, faoinarbv faoinar, faoinarbhv i inar, inarbv inar, inarbhv le lenar, lenarbv lenar, lenarbhv ó (“from”) ónar, ónarbv ónar, ónarbhv trí trínar, trínarbv trínar, trínarbhv
Note: Forms marked v are used before a vowel sound.

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Japanese

Romanization

an

1. rōmaji reading of あん

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Jèrriais

Etymology

From Latin annus.

Pronunciation

• Audio

  (file)

Noun

an m (plural ans)

1. year

Synonyms

• année

Derived terms

Derived terms

Jour dé l'An (“New Year's Day”) Nouvel An (“New Year”)

tchu d'l'an (“last day of the year”)

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Kurdish

Conjunction

an

1. or

Synonyms

• yan (after a vowel-ending word)

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Ladin

Noun

an m (plural ani)

1. year

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Latin

Etymology

From Proto-Italic *an, from Proto-Indo-European *h₂en. Cognate with Lithuanian angu (“or”), Gothic 𐌰𐌽 (an, “so? now?”). May also be related to Ancient Greek ἄν (an, particle), Sanskrit [script?] (anā́), Avestan [script?] (anā), Lithuanian anàs, Proto-Slavic *onъ.

Pronunciation

• (Classical) IPA^(key): /an/

Conjunction

an

1. or, or whether (A conjunction that introduces the second part of a disjunctive interrogation, or a phrase implying doubt.)
   1. in disjunctive interrogations
      1. direct
         1. (introduced by utrum, “whether”)
         2. (introduced by -ne, interrogative enclitic)
         3. (introduced by nonne, “[is it] not”)
         4. (introduced by num, interrogative particle)
         5. (without an introductory particle)
      2. indirect
         1. (introduced by utrum, “whether”)
         2. (introduced by -ne, interrogative enclitic)
         3. (introduced by an)
         4. (without an introductory particle)
      3. or rather, or on the contrary (where the opinion of the speaker or the probability inclines to the second interrogative clause, and this is made emphatic, as a corrective of the former)
         1. hence, in the comic poets, as an potius
      4. or, or rather, or indeed, or perhaps (where, as is frequent, the first part of the interrogation is not expressed, but is to be supplied from the context, an begins the interrogation, but it does not begin an absolute – i.e., non-disjunctive – interrogation)
      5. (in the phrase an nōn) or [not]
         1. in direct questions
         2. in indirect questions
      6. (in the phrase an ne) pleonastic usage for an
         1. in direct questions
         2. in indirect questions
   2. (in disjunctive clauses that express doubt) or
      1.  ?
      2. denoting uncertainty by itself, without a verb of doubting
      3. (chiefly in and after the Augustean period) standing for sīve
      4. where the first disjunctive clause is to be supplied from the general idea or where an stands for utrum or necne
      5. Since in such distributive sentences expressive of doubt, the opinion of the speaker or the probability usually inclines to the second, i.e. to the clause beginning with an, the expressions haud sciō an, nesciō an, and dubitō an incline to an affirmative signification, “I almost know”, “I am inclined to think”, “I almost think”, “I might say”, “I might assert that”, etc., for “perhaps”, “probably”.
      6. Sometimes the distributive clause beginning with an designates directly the opposite, the more improbable, the negative; in which case nesciō an, haud sciō an, etc., like the English I know not whether, signify “I think that not”, “I believe that not”, etc.

Usage notes

• Used with utrum (“whether”) in the construction utrum...an (“whether...or”):

  Nescio quid intersit, utrum nunc veniam, an ad decem annos.

  I know not what matter it is, whether I come now or after ten years.

Derived terms

• albus an āter sit
• annōn
• dubitō an
• haud sciō an
• nesciō an

References

• ăn in Charlton T. Lewis & Charles Short, A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1879

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Low German

Pronunciation

• Rhymes: -aːn
• IPA^(key): /an/

• audio

  (file)

Preposition

an

1. on
2. to, at

Inflection

Pronominal adverbs of an

preposition	an
postpositional adv.	an
+ her (hither)	ran
+ düt (this)	hieran
+ dat (that)	doran
+ wat (what)	woran
+ wat (something)	enerwegens an
+ nix (nothing)	nargends an
+ allens (everything)	överall an

Adverb

an

1. on

See also

• an't

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Luxembourgish

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ɑn/
• Rhymes: -ɑn

Etymology 1

From Proto-Germanic *andi.

Conjunction

an

1. and

Etymology 2

From Proto-Germanic *in.

Preposition

an

1. in

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Mandarin

Romanization

an

1. Nonstandard spelling of ān.
2. Nonstandard spelling of án.
3. Nonstandard spelling of ǎn.
4. Nonstandard spelling of àn.

Usage notes

• English transcriptions of Mandarin speech often fail to distinguish between the critical tonal differences employed in the Mandarin language, using words such as this one without the appropriate indication of tone.

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Middle Dutch

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /an/

Preposition

an

1. Alternative form of ane. (sense "on")

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Middle English

Preposition

an

1. in

Conjunction

an

1. and

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Middle French

Etymology

Old French an < Latin annus.

Noun

an m (plural ans)

1. year

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Mirandese

Etymology

From Latin in.

Preposition

an

1. in
2. on

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Novial

Preposition

an

1. at, on, next to or contiguous with something

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Occitan

Etymology

Old Provençal an < Latin annus.

Noun

an m (plural ans)

1. year

Usage notes

• Also used with the verb aver (“to have”) to indicate age

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Old English

Etymology

From Proto-Germanic *ainaz, from Proto-Indo-European *óynos. Germanic cognates include Old Frisian ān, Old Saxon ēn, Dutch een, Old High German ein (German ein), Old Norse einn (Swedish en), Gothic 𐌰𐌹𐌽𐍃 (ains). The Indo-European root is also the source of Latin unus, Ancient Greek οἶος (oios), Old Irish oen.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ɑːn/

Cardinal number

ān

1. (cardinal) one

Usage notes

As in modern English, usage doubles as both a numeral and a pronoun.

Article

ān

1. a, an (indefinite article)

Adjective

ān

1. lone
2. sole

Derived terms

• ānġenga
• ānhaga

Descendants

• English: one, an

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Old Irish

Pronoun

an (triggers eclipsis, takes a leniting relative clause)

1. Alternative form of a.
   • circa 875, Milan Glosses on the Psalms, Ml. 112^b13

     Is demniu liunn a n-ad·chiam hua sulib ol·daas an ro·chluinemmar hua chluasaib.

     What we see with the eyes is more certain for us than what we hear with the ears.

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Old Provençal

Etymology

From Latin annus (“year”).

Noun

an m (oblique plural ans, nominative singular ans, nominative plural an)

1. year

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Old Saxon

Preposition

an

1. on, in

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Romanian

Etymology

From Latin annus (“year”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [an]

Noun

an m (plural ani)

1. year

Declension

declension of an

	singular		plural
gender m	indefinite articulation	definite articulation	indefinite articulation	definite articulation
nominative/accusative	un an	anul	niște ani	anii
genitive/dative	unui an	anului	unor ani	anilor

Derived terms

• anual
• anotimp

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Romansch

Alternative forms

• (Rumantsch Grischun, Sursilvan, Surmiran) onn
• (Sutsilvan, Vallader) on

Etymology

From Latin annus.

Noun

an m (plural ans)

1. (Puter) year

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Scots

Conjunction

an

1. and

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Scottish Gaelic

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /an/, /ən/

Etymology 1

From Old Irish a.

Pronoun

an

1. their

Usage notes

• This form of possessive pronoun is not used before nouns beginning with b, f, m or p, where am is used instead.

Etymology 2

From Old Irish i.

Preposition

an

1. in

Usage notes

• This form is not used before nouns beginning with b, f, m or p, where ann am is used instead.

Synonyms

• ann an

Derived terms

• The following prepositional pronouns:

Combining pronoun	Prepositional pronoun	Prepositional pronoun (emphatic)
mi	annam	annamsa
tu	annad	annadsa
e	ann	annsan
i	innte	inntese
sinn	annainn	annainne
sibh	annaibh	annaibhse
iad	annta	anntasan

Etymology 3

From Old Irish in.

Article

an

1. the

Usage notes

This is the most common singular form. The most common plural form is na. For other forms and their specific uses, see pages listed in "See also" below.

See also

• a'
• am
• an t-

• nam
• nan
• na h-

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Swedish

Adverb

an

1. used as a verb particle, similar to German preposition an (“at, in, on, to”)

Related terms

• gå an
• komma an
• lägga an
• ta sig an

Preposition

an

1. (accounting) to

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Torres Strait Creole

Etymology

From English hand.

Noun

an

1. hand, lower arm
2. flipper

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Turkish

Etymology

From Arabic آن (ʾān).

Noun

an (definite accusative anı, plural anlar)

1. moment

Declension

declension of an

	singular (tekil)	plural (çoğul)
nominative (yalın)	an	anlar
definite accusative (belirtme)	anı	anları
dative (yönelme)	ana	anlara
locative (bulunma)	anda	anlarda
ablative (çıkma)	andan	anlardan
genitive (tamlayan)	anın	anların

possessive forms of an

benim (my)	singular (tekil)	plural (çoğul)
nominative (yalın)	anım	anlarım
definite accusative (belirtme)	anımı	anlarımı
dative (yönelme)	anıma	anlarıma
locative (bulunma)	anımda	anlarımda
ablative (çıkma)	anımdan	anlarımdan
genitive (tamlayan)	anımın	anlarımın
senin (your)	singular (tekil)	plural (çoğul)
nominative (yalın)	anın	anların
definite accusative (belirtme)	anını	anlarını
dative (yönelme)	anına	anlarına
locative (bulunma)	anında	anlarında
ablative (çıkma)	anından	anlarından
genitive (tamlayan)	anının	anlarının
onun (his/her/its)	singular (tekil)	plural (çoğul)
nominative (yalın)	anı	anları
definite accusative (belirtme)	anını	anlarını
dative (yönelme)	anına	anlarına
locative (bulunma)	anında	anlarında
ablative (çıkma)	anından	anlarından
genitive (tamlayan)	anının	anlarının
bizim (our)	singular (tekil)	plural (çoğul)
nominative (yalın)	anımız	anlarımız
definite accusative (belirtme)	anımızı	anlarımızı
dative (yönelme)	anımıza	anlarımıza
locative (bulunma)	anımızda	anlarımızda
ablative (çıkma)	anımızdan	anlarımızdan
genitive (tamlayan)	anımızın	anlarımızın
sizin (your)	singular (tekil)	plural (çoğul)
nominative (yalın)	anınız	anlarınız
definite accusative (belirtme)	anınızı	anlarınızı
dative (yönelme)	anınıza	anlarınıza
locative (bulunma)	anınızda	anlarınızda
ablative (çıkma)	anınızdan	anlarınızdan
genitive (tamlayan)	anınızın	anlarınızın
onların (their)	singular (tekil)	plural (çoğul)
nominative (yalın)	anları	anları
definite accusative (belirtme)	anlarını	anlarını
dative (yönelme)	anlarına	anlarına
locative (bulunma)	anlarında	anlarında
ablative (çıkma)	anlarından	anlarından
genitive (tamlayan)	anlarının	anlarının

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Vietnamese

Etymology

Sino-Vietnamese, from 安 ("tranquil")

Pronunciation

• (Hà Nội) IPA^(key): /ʔaːn˧˧/
• (Huế) IPA^(key): /ʔaːŋ˧˧/
• (Hồ Chí Minh City) IPA^(key): /ʔaːŋ˧˥/

Adjective

an

1. safe, secure

Synonyms

• an toàn

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Vilamovian

Pronunciation

• Audio

  (file)

Conjunction

an

1. and

Related terms

• ana