A
| A | |
|---|---|
| A a | |
| Usage | |
| Writing system | Latin script |
| Type | Alphabetic |
| Language of origin | Latin language |
| Sound values | |
| In Unicode | U+0041, U+0061 |
| Alphabetical position | 1 |
| History | |
| Development | |
| Time period | c. 700 BCE – present |
| Descendants | |
| Sisters | |
| Other | |
| Associated graphs | a(x), ae, eau, au |
| Writing direction | Left-to-right |
| ISO basic Latin alphabet |
|---|
| AaBbCcDdEeFfGgHhIiJjKkLlMmNnOoPpQqRrSsTtUuVvWwXxYyZz |
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 /ˈeɪ/ ⓘ AY), plural aes.
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 is often written in one of 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.