Etymology 1Edit
Small form of the katakana character ア (a).
Combining formEdit
ァ
- Small combining form of katakana ア (a) used to explicitly specify the vowel part of the previous katakana character, or to show a speaker's pronunciation or extension of that vowel.
- ファ - the sound [ɸa] rather than [ɸu] (フ) or [ha] (ハ)
- ファン - transliteration of English fan
Usage notesEdit
The katakana syllabary is used primarily for transcription of foreign language words into Japanese and the writing of loan words (collectively gairaigo), as well as to represent onomatopoeias, technical and scientific terms, and the names of plants, animals, and minerals. It is also occasionally used in some words for emphasis, or to ease reading; katakana may be preferred for words becoming buried in the text if they are written under their canonical form in hiragana. Names of Japanese companies, as well as certain Japanese language words such as colloquial terms, are also sometimes written in katakana rather than the other systems. Formerly, female given names were often written in katakana. [edit]
Related termsEdit
- ぁ (hiragana small a)
- ア (full-size a)
- (Katakana) 片仮名; アァ, イィ, ウゥヴ, エェ(𛀀), オォ, カヵガ, キギ, クㇰグ, ケヶゲ, コ𛅕ゴ, サザ, シㇱジ, スㇲズ, セゼ, ソゾ, タダ, チヂ, ツッヅ, テデ, トㇳド, ナ, ニ, ヌㇴ, ネ, ノ, ハㇵバパ, ヒㇶビピ, フㇷブプ, ヘㇸベペ, ホㇹボポ, マ, ミ, ムㇺ, メ, モ, ヤャ, 𛄠, ユュ, エ/𛄡, ヨョ, ラㇻラ゚, リㇼリ゚, ルㇽル゚, レㇾレ゚, ロㇿロ゚, ワヮヷ, ヰ𛅤ヸ, 𛄢, ヱ𛅥ヹ, ヲ𛅦ヺ, ン𛅧, ー, ヽ, ヾヿ
- (Southern Min additional) ウ̅ゥ̅, オ̅, カ̣,キ̣, ク̣, ケ̣, コ̣, サ̅サ̣̅, セ̅セ̣̅, ソ̅ソ̣̅, タ̣, チ̣, チ̅チ̣̅, ツ̣ツ̅ツ̣̅, テ̣, ト̣, パ̣, ピ̣, プ̣, ペ̣, ポ̣, 𚿰𚿷, 𚿱𚿸, 𚿲𚿺, 𚿳𚿻, 𚿵𚿽, 𚿶𚿾,
Etymology 2Edit
| For pronunciation and definitions of ァ – see the following entry.
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| 【ぁ】H
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- [particle] Contraction of は (wa).
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| (This term, ァ, is an alternative spelling of the above term.)
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