ああ

See also: Appendix:Variations of "aa"

Japanese

Etymology 1

Duplication of distal demonstrative pronoun あ (a, “that, yon”).

Pronunciation

(Tokyo) ああ [àá] (Heiban – [0])^[2]^[1]
IPA^(key): [a̠ː]

(Kyōto) ああ [áá] (Kōki – [0])^[3]^[1]

Adverb

ああ • (ā)

in that other way
Synonym: あの様に (ano yō ni)

Derived terms

ああ言(い)えばこう言(い)う (ā ieba kō iu)

Related terms

こう (kō, “in this way”)
そう (sō, “in that way”)
どう (dō, “in which way”)

Japanese demonstratives
	ko- “this” (close to speaker)	so- “that” (close to listener)	a- “that over there” (far from both)	do- “which” (indeterminate, question)
Object	これ (kore)	それ (sore)	あれ (are)	どれ (dore)
Object	これら (korera)	それら (sorera)	あれら (arera)	—
Determiner	この (kono)	その (sono)	あの (ano)	どの (dono)
Determiner	これらの (korera no)	それらの (sorera no)	あれらの (arera no)	—
Kind	こんな (konna)	そんな (sonna)	あんな (anna)	どんな (donna)
Kind	こういう (kō iu)	そういう (sō iu)	ああいう (ā iu)	どういう (dō iu)
Place	ここ (koko)	そこ (soko)	あそこ (asoko)*	どこ (doko)
Place	こっから (kokkara)	そっから (sokkara)	—	どっから (dokkara)
Direction / Human	こちら (kochira)	そちら (sochira)	あちら (achira)	どちら (dochira)
Direction / Human	こなた (konata)	そなた (sonata)	あなた (anata)	どなた (donata)
Direction	こっち (kotchi)	そっち (sotchi)	あっち (atchi)	どっち (dotchi)
Human	こいつ (koitsu)^†	そいつ (soitsu)^†	あいつ (aitsu)^†	どいつ (doitsu)^†
Manner	こう (kō)	そう (sō)	ああ (ā)**	どう (dō)
Degree	これくらい (kore kurai)	それくらい (sore kurai)	あれくらい (are kurai)	どれくらい (dore kurai)
	これだけ (kore dake)	それだけ (sore dake)	あれだけ (are dake)	どれだけ (dore dake)
	これほど (kore hodo)	それほど (sore hodo)	あれほど (are hodo)	どれほど (dore hodo)

* irregular
** regular (long vowel)
† potentially rude or derogatory

The kanji 此(こ) (ko), 其(そ) (so), 彼(あ) (a), and 何(ど) (do) can be used for determiners, but they are almost always spelled in hiragana.

Etymology 2

Alternative spellings
嗚呼 (literary) 噫 (literary)

Duplication of interjection あ (a).

Compare English ah.

Pronunciation

(Tokyo) ああ [áꜜà] (Atamadaka – [1])^[2]^[5]^[4]
IPA^(key): [a̠ː]

(Kyōto) ああ [áꜜà] (Kōki)^[3]^[4]

(Kyōto) ああ [áá] (Kōki – [0])^[3]

Interjection

ああ • (ā)

oh!, ah!
1. expresses surprise
2. expresses affirmation
3. used to call attention
4. expresses a grunt or pain
(colloquial) expresses a calm positive response: yeah
ああ、そのとおりだ。 ― Ā, sono tōri da. ― Yeah, precisely.

Derived terms

噫(ああ)無(む)情(じょう) (Ā Mujō)

References

↑ ^1.0 ^1.1 “ああ”, in 日本国語大辞典 [Nihon Kokugo Daijiten]‎^[1] (in Japanese), 2nd edition, Tokyo: Shogakukan, 2000-2002, released online 2007, →ISBN, concise edition entry available here
↑ ^2.0 ^2.1 Matsumura, Akira, editor (2006), 大辞林 [Daijirin] (in Japanese), Third edition, Tokyo: Sanseidō, →ISBN
↑ ^3.0 ^3.1 ^3.2 Nakai, Yukihiko, editor (2002), 京阪系アクセント辞典 [A Dictionary of Tone on Words of the Keihan-type Dialects] (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Bensei, →ISBN
↑ ^4.0 ^4.1 “ああ【嗚呼】”, in 日本国語大辞典 [Nihon Kokugo Daijiten]‎^[2] (in Japanese), 2nd edition, Tokyo: Shogakukan, 2000-2002, released online 2007, →ISBN, concise edition entry available here
^ NHK Broadcasting Culture Research Institute, editor (1998), NHK日本語発音アクセント辞典 [NHK Japanese Pronunciation Accent Dictionary] (in Japanese), Tokyo: NHK Publishing, Inc., →ISBN

[NKD2O_adverb-1] 1.0 ^1.1 “ああ”, in 日本国語大辞典 [Nihon Kokugo Daijiten]‎^[1] (in Japanese), 2nd edition, Tokyo: Shogakukan, 2000-2002, released online 2007, →ISBN, concise edition entry available here

[DJR-2] 2.0 ^2.1 Matsumura, Akira, editor (2006), 大辞林 [Daijirin] (in Japanese), Third edition, Tokyo: Sanseidō, →ISBN

[KHK-3] 3.0 ^3.1 ^3.2 Nakai, Yukihiko, editor (2002), 京阪系アクセント辞典 [A Dictionary of Tone on Words of the Keihan-type Dialects] (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Bensei, →ISBN

[NKD2O_interjection-4] 4.0 ^4.1 “ああ【嗚呼】”, in 日本国語大辞典 [Nihon Kokugo Daijiten]‎^[2] (in Japanese), 2nd edition, Tokyo: Shogakukan, 2000-2002, released online 2007, →ISBN, concise edition entry available here

[NHK-5] NHK Broadcasting Culture Research Institute, editor (1998), NHK日本語発音アクセント辞典 [NHK Japanese Pronunciation Accent Dictionary] (in Japanese), Tokyo: NHK Publishing, Inc., →ISBN

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