ا
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Arabic
Letter
ا / ا • (ʔalif)

- Although usually considered to be the first letter of the Arabic alphabet, the small hamza (ء (ʔ)) that sits on top of أ (ʔ) is really the first letter of the Arabic alphabet, and the tall column is its bearer. This entry only deals with the lower part, the bearer, which is called أَلِف (ʔalif) and, without the hamza, is used to lengthen a preceding a.
Descendants
- N'Ko: ߊ
Symbol
ا • (ʔalif)
- The first letter in traditional abjad order, which is used in place of numerals for list numbering (abjad numerals). It is followed by ب (b).
Isolated form | Final form |
---|---|
ا | ـا |
Pronunciation
After fatha: ـَا — IPA(key): /aː/
Combined with fatha: اَ — IPA(key): /ʔa/
- اَلْيَوْمَ (al-yawma, “today”)
See also
- (Arabic script letters) ا (ʔalif), ب (bāʔ), ت (tāʔ), ث (ṯāʔ), ج (jīm), ح (ḥāʔ), خ (ḵāʔ), د (dāl), ذ (ḏāl), ر (rāʔ), ز (zāy), س (sīn), ش (šīn), ص (ṣād), ض (ḍād), ط (ṭāʔ), ظ (ẓāʔ), ع (ʕayn), غ (ḡayn), ف (fāʔ), ق (qāf), ك (kāf), ل (lām), م (mīm), ن (nūn), ه (hāʔ), و (wāw), ي (yāʔ)
- أ (ʔ)
- إ (ʔ)
- آ (ʔā)
- ى
- ٱ
- ـٰ
- Wikipedia article on the Arabic alphabet
- Search for entries beginning with ا
Balti
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /ɑ/, /ə/, /e/, /o/
Letter
ا (transliteration needed)
- The first letter of the Balti alphabet, written in the Perso-Arabic script
Burushaski
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /aː/, [aː]
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /u/, [u]
References
- Bechtholdt, Astrid (2024) “u”, in Burushaski Hunza Dictionary (Webonary) (in Burushaski), Dallas, Texas, USA: SIL International, published 2017: “(in Latin script)”.
Chinese
Pronunciation
- (phoneme): IPA(key): /a/, [ɑ]
Kazakh
Alternative scripts | |
---|---|
Arabic | ا |
Cyrillic | А, а/Ә, ә |
Latin | A, a/Ä, ä |
Yañalif | A, a/Ə, ə |
Pronunciation
Letter
ا • (a, ä)
Forms
Isolated form | Final form |
---|---|
ا | ـا |
Usage notes
Represents the back-vowel sound /ɑ/, unless a small ء is placed at the beginning of the word. In Kazakh, the Hamza marks that all vowels in the following word are fronted. If ا is the initial letter of a word and is representing a front vowel, it is combined with the hamza and the variant ٵ is used.
Kyrgyz
Letter
ا • (alif)
Forms
Isolated form | Final form |
---|---|
ا | ـا |
Malay
Pronunciation
- (Name of letter) IPA(key): [alef]
- (Phoneme) IPA(key): [ä], [ɐ], [ə]
North Levantine Arabic
Pashto
Pronunciation
- (letter name): IPA(key): /aˈlif/
- (phoneme): IPA(key): /ɑ/, /ʔ/
Letter
ا • (alíf)
- The first letter of the Pashto alphabet.
Forms
Isolated form | Final form |
---|---|
ا | ـا |
Usage notes
- At the start of the word, the letter ا (alif) represents the consonant /ʔ/.
- In the middle or end of a word, ا represents the vowel /ɑ/.
See also
- Next letter: ب
Persian
Pronunciation
- Phoneme:
- (Classical, Dari) IPA(key): [ɑː], [ʔ]
- (Iranian Persian) IPA(key): [ɒː], [ʔ]
audio (file)
- Letter name:
- (Classical) IPA(key): /alif/, [ʔalif]
- (Dari Persian) IPA(key): /alɪf/, [ʔalɪf]
- (Iranian Persian) IPA(key): /ælef/, [ʔælef]
Usage notes
All word-initial vowels are proceeded by a glottal stop which is represented by an ا. However in medial and final positions it is not a glottal stop and instead represents the phoneme /ɑː/~/ɒː/. If a word-initial ا is representing the sound [ʔɑː]~[ʔɒː] it's usually written as آ.
See also
- Next letter: ب
Usage notes
- This suffix mostly occurs with Arabic loanwords, but it is used somewhat peculiarly in Persian. Firstly, it also written out after words which, in Arabic, end in the feminine suffix ـَة (-a), e.g. نسبتاً (nesbatan, “relatively”). More importantly, it may at times occur with native Persian words and with Arabic words in which the ending would be ungrammatical, e.g. ناچاراً (nâčâran, “inevitably”), زوراً (zuran, “forcefully”), زباناً (zabânan, “orally, verbally”), اقلاً (aqallan, “at least”), اکثراً (aksaran, “mostly”).
Derived terms
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /æ/
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /ɒː/
Suffix
ـا • (-â)
- an adjective forming suffix
- a noun forming suffix
See also
Alternative forms
- یا (-yâ) (following a vowel)
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /ɒː/
Suffix
ـا • (-â)
- (chiefly literary) a vocative suffix
- خداوندا ― xodâvandâ ― O Lord!
Punjabi
Letter
ا • (transliteration needed)
Forms
Isolated form | Final form |
---|---|
ا | ـا |
See also
- Next letter: ب (b)
- (Shahmukhi script letters) ا, ب (b), پ (p), ت (t), ٹ (ṭ), ث (s̱), ج (j), چ (c), ح (ḥ), خ (x), د (d), ڈ (ḍ), ذ (ẕ), ر (r), ڑ (ṛ), ز (z), ژ (ž), س (s), ش (ś), ص (ṣ), ض (ẓ), ط (t̤), ظ (z̤), ع (ʻ), غ (ġ), ف (f), ق (q), ک (k), گ (g), ل (l), ࣇ (ḷ), م (m), ن (n), ݨ (ṇ), ں (ṉ), ہ (h), و (v), ی (y), ے (e) (Category: Punjabi letters)
Urdu
Pronunciation
- (letter name): (Standard Urdu) IPA(key): /ə.lɪf/
- (phoneme): (Standard Urdu) IPA(key): /ə/, /ɑː/, /ʔ/
Forms
Isolated form | Final form |
---|---|
ا | ـا |
See also
- Next letter: ب (b)
Alternative forms
- انـ (an-) (before vowels)
Prefix
اـ • (a-) (Hindi spelling अ-)
Usage notes
This form is used before words that begin with consonants.