A

A, or a, is the first letter and the first vowel letter of the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, and others worldwide. Its name in English is a (pronounced /ˈ/ AY), plural aes.

A
A a
Usage
Writing systemLatin script
TypeAlphabetic
Language of originLatin language
Phonetic usage
  • [a]
  • [ɑ]
  • [ɒ]
  • [æ]
  • [ə]
  • [ɛ]
  • []
  • [ɔ]
  • [e]
  • [ʕ]
  • [ʌ] [ɐ]
  • //
Unicode codepointU+0041, U+0061
Alphabetical position1
History
Development
Time periodc.700 BCE  present
Descendants
Sisters
Other
Other letters commonly used witha(x), ae, eau, au
Writing directionLeft-to-right

It is similar in shape to the Ancient Greek letter alpha, from which it derives. The uppercase version consists of the two slanting sides of a triangle, crossed in the middle by a horizontal bar. The lowercase version can be written in two forms: the double-storey a and single-storey ɑ. The latter is commonly used in handwriting and fonts based on it, especially fonts intended to be read by children, and is also found in italic type.

In English, a is the indefinite article, with the alternative form an.

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