Wiktionary

là

See also: Appendix:Variations of "la"

Corsican

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Etymology

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From Latin labii, the first word of the sixth line of Ut queant laxis, on which the names for the notes of the solfège were based. Compare Italian la and French la.

Pronunciation

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Noun

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là

  1. (music) la, the note 'A'.

References

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French

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Etymology

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Inherited from Middle French la, from Old French la, from Latin illāc. The grave accent on the a was added to disambiguate with la (“the”).

Pronunciation

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Adverb

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là

  1. referring to physical place
    1. there
      Antonym: ici
      Je t’attendrai là. ― I'll wait for you there.
    2. here; present (used with être)
      Synonym: ici (with verbs other than être)
      Je suis (toujours) là.
      I'm (still) here.
  2. referring to an abstract destination or goal; there
    Je suis presque là. ― I've almost got it. (literally, “I'm almost there.”)

Usage notes

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  • Some compounds formed with là are traditionally written with hyphens while others are not. Larousse[1] gives a non-exhaustive list which nevertheless illustrates examples of each group, where certain patterns can be detected:
with hyphen
without hyphen

Derived terms

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See also

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  • y (near-synonym in certain contexts)

References

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  1. ^ “là” in Dictionnaire français en ligne Larousse.

Italian

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Etymology

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From Latin illāc. Compare Spanish allá, Portuguese lá, French là.

The original geminated -ll-, though lost in the standard language, is still found in most regional Italian varieties.

Pronunciation

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Adverb

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là

  1. there
    Synonym: lì

Usage notes

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  • See usage notes at lì.

Derived terms

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Further reading

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  • là in Treccani.it – Vocabolario Treccani on line, Istituto dell'Enciclopedia Italiana
  • là in Luciano Canepari, Dizionario di Pronuncia Italiana (DiPI)

Anagrams

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Lahu

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Verb

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là

  1. to come

Mandarin

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Alternative forms

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Romanization

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là (la4, Zhuyin ㄌㄚˋ)

  1. Hanyu Pinyin reading of 剌
  2. Hanyu Pinyin reading of 嘑 / 呼
  3. Hanyu Pinyin reading of 拉
  4. Hanyu Pinyin reading of 揧
  5. Hanyu Pinyin reading of 擶
  6. Hanyu Pinyin reading of 攋 / 𪮶
  7. Hanyu Pinyin reading of 楋
  8. Hanyu Pinyin reading of 爉
  9. Hanyu Pinyin reading of 瓎
  10. Hanyu Pinyin reading of 瘌
  11. Hanyu Pinyin reading of 癞
  12. Hanyu Pinyin reading of 癤 / 疖
  13. Hanyu Pinyin reading of 翂
  14. Hanyu Pinyin reading of 腊
  15. Hanyu Pinyin reading of 臈 / 腊
  16. Hanyu Pinyin reading of 臘 / 腊
  17. Hanyu Pinyin reading of 萺
  18. Hanyu Pinyin reading of 蜛
  19. Hanyu Pinyin reading of 蝋
  20. Hanyu Pinyin reading of 蝲
  21. Hanyu Pinyin reading of 蠟 / 蜡
  22. Hanyu Pinyin reading of 辢
  23. Hanyu Pinyin reading of 辣
  24. Hanyu Pinyin reading of 鑞 / 镴
  25. Hanyu Pinyin reading of 鬎
  26. Hanyu Pinyin reading of 鯻 / 𬶟
  27. Hanyu Pinyin reading of 蜡

Middle French

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Adverb

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là

  1. (late Middle French) Alternative form of la (there; at a given location)

Mochica

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Pronunciation

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Noun

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là

  1. water

Synonyms

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References

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  • José Antonio Salas, Diccionario mochica-castellano, castellano-mochica (2002)

Muong

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Etymology

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From Proto-Vietic *laː (“to work”). Cognate with Vietnamese là.

Pronunciation

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Verb

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là

  1. (Mường Bi) to do
    Là chi đĩ?
    What are you doing?
    là wiêc ― to work

Derived terms

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Verb

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là

  1. (Mường Bi) to be

References

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  • Nguyễn Văn Khang, Bùi Chỉ, Hoàng Văn Hành (2002) Từ điển Mường - Việt (Muong - Vietnamese dictionary)‎[1], Hanoi: Nhà xuất bản Văn hoá Dân tộc Hà Nội.

Mwan

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Postposition

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là

  1. under, in

Portuguese

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Adverb

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là (not comparable)

  1. Obsolete spelling of lá.

Romansch

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Etymology

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From Latin illāc.

Adverb

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là

  1. there

Scottish Gaelic

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Etymology

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From Old Irish lá, which is probably unrelated to laithe (the source of latha).

Pronunciation

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  • IPA(key): /l̪ˠaː/, [l̪ˠɑː]

Noun

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là m (genitive singular là, plural làithean)

  1. Synonym of latha (“day”)

Usage notes

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  • Usually used for special days of the calendar.

Derived terms

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Vietnamese

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Pronunciation

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Etymology 1

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Non-Sino-Vietnamese reading of Chinese 羅 (SV: la).

Noun

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là • (𬗢, 纙, 羅)

  1. fine silk
    • 15th century, Nguyễn Trãi, “Ngôn chí 言志 3”, in Quốc âm thi tập (國音詩集):
      𩛷(Bữa)咹(ăn)油(dù)固(có)𦼞(dưa)㙁(muối)
      襖(Áo)默(mặc)奈(nài)之(chi)錦(gấm)羅(là)
      [I don't mind] Even if my meals only have pickles [on the side],
      [and] I have no reason to demand good silk for clothing.
Derived terms
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Etymology 2

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From Proto-Vietic *laː (“to work”). Doublet of làm.

Verb

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là • (羅, 𱺵, 𪜀, 𦉼)

  1. (copula) to be
    • 1946 [1938], Tố Hữu, “Từ ấy [Since Then]”, in Từ ấy [Since Then]:
      Tôi đã là con của vạn nhà
      Là em của vạn kiếp phôi pha
      Là anh của vạn đầu em nhỏ
      Không áo cơm, cù bất cù bơ…
      I have been the son of all families
      Have been the little brother of all fading lives
      Have been the big brother of all the young ones
      Who were starving, shivering and wandering…
Usage notes
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  • As a copula verb that is somewhat semantically empty. It is not perfectly equivalent to copulae in other languages (such as English be, French être, Japanese です (desu), Hindi है (hai)), as it only links the subject to a noun or noun phrase. Teachers of foreign languages typically translate copulae of those languages to là, but also to thì (for linking to adjectives) to compensate this incompatibility.
Grammar
  • The copula là is used in the sentence to link the subject to a predicate noun. Because nominal predicates strongly prefer the presence of the particle là, it can be characterized as an "identificational/equational marker".
    Hải là kĩ sư. ― Hải is an engineer.
  • It is often omitted when occuring with predicate adjectives.
    Tôi ø đói. ― I am hungry.
  • Là is used with adjectives only to emphasize, confirm, or assert the meaning of the sentence in context.
    Thói quen đó là tốt. ― That habit is good.
  • Là is also used with possessions to indicate that something belongs to someone. The copula can be omitted.
    Quyển sách này (là) của tôi. ― This book is mine.
  • In many cases, when a sentence starts with a time phrase, là simply states the fact of identification of time. The copula can be omitted.
    Bây giờ (là) hai giờ rồi. ― It's two o'clock already.
    Ngày mai (là) thứ năm. ― Tomorrow is Thursday.
  • Là may be used as the predicate to indicate existence, which is equivalent to "there is" or "there are". The word order is: place + là (+ classifier) + noun.
    Giữa hồ là (một) hòn đảo. ― There is an island in the middle of the lake.
See also
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Conjunction

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là

  1. Used to introduce a new part of the sentence: that
    Synonym: rằng
    biết là sai nhưng không sửa ― to know that it's wrong but not to fix it.
  2. Used to indicate something is bound to happen whenever an event occurs: whenever
    Cứ vào mùa hè là có mưa. ― Whenever summer arrives, it rains.

Particle

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là

  1. Used to state one's claim with affirmation.
    Bộ phim ấy là do tôi làm. ― It was me who produced the movie.
  2. (colloquial) Used to demonstrate a personal opinion naturally.
    Gà rán rất là ngon. ― The fried chicken is really yummy.
  3. Used to form a reduplicative phrase for emphasizing effect.
    toàn thấy người là người ― to see nothing but people.

Etymology 3

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(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)

Attested late, e.g. in Phạm Đình Hổ's Nhật Dụng Thường Đàm (日用常談 "Common Words Used Daily") [1827] ([2]).

Compare Hokkien 烙 (lo̍h / lō / lo̍k) or Teochew 烙 (luah4 / log8).

Verb

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là • (󱧭)

  1. (usually Northern Vietnam) to iron
    Synonym: ủi
    bàn là ― flatiron
    giặt là [hơi] ― washing and ironing [with steam]
    máy là tóc ― hair iron
    • 2021 October 31, “8 Cách ủi áo sơ mi không cần bàn ủi, bàn là cực dễ ai cũng làm được [Eight Very Easy Ways Anyone Can Do to Iron Shirts Without Flatirons]”, in meta.vn‎[3]:
      Bàn là có thể là phẳng quần áo nhờ sử dụng nhiệt độ cao.
      Flatirons can iron clothes smooth by using high heat.
    • 2021 September 20, “Quần áo đi du lịch phẳng phiu, chuyện đơn giản! [Smooth Travel Clothes? Simple!]”, in Cleanipedia‎[4]:
      Nhiệt độ từ máy sấy tóc sẽ là phẳng quần áo với hiệu quả không kém bàn ủi.
      Heat from the hair-dryer shall iron clothes smooth not less well than [from] a flatiron.

Notes

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Chữ Nôm character is composed of (⿰火𬙛).

Etymology 4

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Combining form

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là

  1. reduplicant of lạ, only used in là lạ

Etymology 5

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Verb

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là

  1. to move from a high position downwards and glide close to a flat surface like water or the ground
    Near-synonyms: tà tà, là là
    Một chú chim bay là trên mặt nước. ― A bird glides over the water's surface.

Etymology 6

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Non-Sino-Vietnamese reading of Chinese 冷 (“neglected”, SV: lãnh).

Verb

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là

  1. (fossilized) neglect
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