-आ
हिन्दी
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-आ¹
- /ɑː/ Hindi, Standard
- [äː] Hindi, Standard
Where it comes from
From a merger of a few sources, but in all cases from Proto-Indo-Iranian *-kas, from Proto-Indo-European *-kos:
* Inherited from Old Hindi -आ (-ā), from older -औ (-au), from Apabhramsa -अउ m (-aü, nominative), from Prakrit -𑀅𑀑 (-ao), -𑀅𑀬𑁄 (-ayo), -𑀅𑀕𑁄 m (-ago, nominative), from Sanskrit -अकः ~ -अको m (-akaḥ ~ -ako, agentive suffix, variant nominative forms based on sandhi). Doublet of -अक (-ak).
* From historic a-stems extended by Middle Indo-Aryan -𑀓- (-ka-), from Sanskrit -क (-ka). Doublet of -क (-ka).
* Borrowed from Classical Persian ـه (-â), from Middle Persian -k' (-ag), from Proto-Iranian *-akah.
suffix -ā · -आ · -ए · -ओं
- suffix found in many masculine nouns of both Indo-Aryan and Perso-Arabic origin
- forms some nouns with agentive meaning from verbs or nouns उचकना (ucaknā, “to jump, leap”) + -आ (-ā) → उचक्का (ucakkā, “thief, pickpocket”)
- forms some adjectives with possessive meaning बहु- (bahu-, “multi-”) + मंज़िल (manzil, “storey”) + -आ (-ā) → बहुमंज़िला (bahumanzilā, “multi-storey”) (lit. "having many storeys")
- forms adjectives from nouns, showing a property झूठ (jhūṭh, “lie”) + -आ (-ā) → झूठा (jhūṭhā, “false, fake, liar”)
-आ²
- /ɑː/ Hindi, Standard
- [äː] Hindi, Standard
Where it comes from
Inherited from Old Hindi -आ m (-ā) ~ -ई f (-ī), leveled (when not after vowels) from older -या m (-yā) / -यौ (-yau) ~ -ई f (-ī), from Apabhramsa -इअउ m (-iaü) ~ -ईअ f (-īa, nominative), from Prakrit -इअ m (-ia) + Middle Indo-Aryan -𑀓- (-ka-). See there for more. Ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *-tós. The -y- which surfaces when this suffix occurs after a vowel is a reflex of -i- in -इअ (-ia).
Doublet of -इत (-it) and -त (-ta). Cognate with Punjabi -ਈਆ (-īā) and distantly English -ed.
suffix -ā · -आ · -ए · -ई
- Marks the perfective participle कह (kah, “say”) + -आ (-ā) → कहा (kahā, “said”)
-आ³
- /ɑː/ Hindi, Standard
- [äː] Hindi, Standard
Where it comes from
Learned borrowing from Sanskrit -आ (-ā), from Proto-Indo-Iranian *-aH, from Proto-Indo-European *-éh₂. Distantly cognate with Latin -a.
suffix -ā · -आ · -आएँ · -आओं
- forms the feminine form of the nouns पुष्प (puṣp, “flower”) + -आ (-ā) → पुष्पा (puṣpā, “flower, female given name”)
- forms feminine form of the adjectives हरित (harit, “green”) + -आ (-ā) → हरिता (haritā, “green”)
-आ⁴
- /ɑː/ Hindi, Standard
- [äː] Hindi, Standard
Where it comes from
Borrowed from Classical Persian ـه (-â), from Arabic ـَة (-a).
suffix -ā · -आ · -आएँ · -आओं
- forms the feminine form of some Perso-Arabic agent nouns साहिर (sāhir, “enchanter”) + -आ (-ā) → साहिरा (sāhirā, “enchantress”)
Talk about this word "-आ." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/hi/-%E0%A4%86. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026. -आ. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/hi/-%E0%A4%86 "-आ." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/hi/-%E0%A4%86.Cite this
@misc{micwyn_2026,
title = {-आ},
howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
year = {2026},
url = {https://micwyn.com/word/hi/-%E0%A4%86},
urldate = {2026-11-06}
}
