अ-

See also: अं, अँ, अ, अः, आ-, and आ

Hindi

Alternative forms

• अन- (an-) — before vowels

Etymology

Borrowed from Sanskrit अ- (a-).

Pronunciation

• Audio:

  (file)

Prefix

अ- • (a-)

1. non-, un-, a-, an- (a negating prefix)

   Synonyms: ग़ैर- (ġair-), ना- (nā-)

Usage notes

This form is used before words that begin with consonants.

• असुंदर (asundar, “ugly”)
• अकारण (akāraṇ, “needlessly”)

Derived terms

Hindi terms prefixed with अ-

Marathi

Alternative forms

• अन- (an-) (before vowels)

Etymology

Inherited from Sanskrit अ- (a-).

Pronunciation

• Audio:

  (file)

Prefix

अ- • (a-)

1. A negating prefix. non-, un-, a-, an-, etc.

Usage notes

This form is used before words that begin with consonants.

Derived terms

Marathi terms prefixed with अ-

Nepali

Alternative forms

• अन- (an-) (before vowels)

Etymology

Inherited from Sanskrit अ- (a-).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [ʌ‿]
• Phonetic Devanagari: अ

Prefix

अ- • (a-)

1. A negating prefix. non-, un-, a-, an-, etc.

Usage notes

This form is used before words that begin with consonants.

Derived terms

Category Nepali terms prefixed with अ- not found

Sanskrit

Alternative forms

• अन्- (an-, before vowels)

Alternative scripts

Alternative scripts

• অ- (Assamese script)
• ᬅ- (Balinese script)
• অ- (Bengali script)
• 𑰀- (Bhaiksuki script)
• 𑀅- (Brahmi script)
• အ- (Burmese script)
• અ- (Gujarati script)
• ਅ- (Gurmukhi script)
• 𑌅- (Grantha script)
• ꦄ- (Javanese script)
• 𑂃- (Kaithi script)
• ಅ- (Kannada script)
• អ- (Khmer script)
• ອ- (Lao script)
• അ- (Malayalam script)
• ᠠ᠊ (Manchu script)
• 𑘀- (Modi script)
• ᠠ᠊ (Mongolian script)
• 𑦠- (Nandinagari script)
• 𑐀- (Newa script)
• ଅ- (Odia script)
• ꢂ- (Saurashtra script)
• 𑆃- (Sharada script)
• 𑖀- (Siddham script)
• අ- (Sinhalese script)
• 𑩐- (Soyombo script)
• 𑚀- (Takri script)
• அ- (Tamil script)
• అ- (Telugu script)
• อ- (Thai script)
• ཨ- (Tibetan script)
• 𑒁- (Tirhuta script)
• 𑨀- (Zanabazar Square script)

Pronunciation

• (Classical Sanskrit) IPA^(key): /ɐ/

Etymology 1

From Proto-Indo-Iranian *a-, from Proto-Indo-European *n̥-. Compare Ancient Greek ἀ- (a-).

Prefix

अ- • (a-)

1. un-, not

Derived terms

Sanskrit terms prefixed with अ-

Descendants

• Ashokan Prakrit:
  • Maharastri Prakrit:
    • Old Marathi:
      • Marathi: अन- (an-)
  • Sauraseni Prakrit:
    • Sauraseni Apabhramsa:
      • Old Hindi:
        • Hindi: अन- (an-)
        • Urdu: انـ (an-)
• → Hindustani:

  Hindi: अ- (a-)

  Urdu: اـ (a-)

• → Marathi: अ- (a-)
• → Nepali: अ- (a-), अन- (an-)

Etymology 2

From Proto-Indo-Iranian *Há-, from Proto-Indo-European *h₁é (“and then”). Cognate to Phrygian ε- (e-), Ancient Greek ἐ- (e-).

Prefix

अ- • (a-)

1. Used in the formation of imperfect, aorist and conditional tenses.

References

• Monier Williams (1899) “अ-”, in A Sanskrit–English Dictionary, […], new edition, Oxford: At the Clarendon Press, →OCLC, page 0001.