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-)

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-)

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-)

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

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

Pronunciation

(Classical) IPA^(key): /ɐ/

Etymology 1

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

Prefix

अ- • (a-)

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-)
→ 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-)

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 458052227, page 0001.