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 (romaji 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, こ𛄲ご, 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, らら゚, りり゚, るる゚, れれ゚, ろろ゚, わゎわ゙, ゐ𛅐ゐ゙, 𛄟, ゑ𛅑ゑ゙, を𛅒を゙, ん, ー, ゝ, ゞ, ゟ

Etymology 2

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, 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. 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

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