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a

German, noun

a is spelled A (one letter) and appears 603 times per million words in written German, the 155th most frequent German word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). A is a German noun meaning “alternative form of A” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). With a capital, A is a different word: “A”. With an accent, à is a different word: “at (a specified price or rate of exchange per item)”. With an umlaut, ä is a different word: “A letter of the German alphabet, written in the Latin script, the…”.

What does a mean in English?

letter

  1. 1

    The first letter of the German alphabet, written in the Latin script.

noun

  1. 1

    alternative form of A

noun

  1. 1

    abbreviation of a-Moll

  2. 2

    abbreviation of Ar

letter

as A
  1. 1

    neuterThe first letter of the German alphabet, written in the Latin script.

noun

as A
  1. 1

    neuterA

noun

as A
  1. 1

    abbreviation of A-Dur

  2. 2

    abbreviation of Ampere

  3. 3

    abbreviation of Arbeitsjuden

  4. 4

    abbreviation of Autobahn

  5. 5

    alternative form of Å (symbol for Ångström)

prefix

as a-
  1. 1

    a- (not, without, opposite of)

preposition

as à
  1. 1

    colloquialat (a specified price or rate of exchange per item)

noun

as ä
  1. 1

    neuterA letter of the German alphabet, written in the Latin script, the letter a with an umlaut.

noun

as ä
  1. 1

    neuteralternative letter-case form of Ä

adjective

as a.
  1. 1

    Switzerlandabbreviation of alt

adverb

as a.
  1. 1

    abbreviation of anno

  2. 2

    abbreviation of auch

contraction

as a.
  1. 1

    abbreviation of am

preposition

as a.
  1. 1

    abbreviation of an

letter

as Ä
  1. 1

    neuterA letter of the German alphabet, written in the Latin script, an umlauted version of A.

noun

as Ä
  1. 1

    neuterThe letter Ä.

verb

as aß
  1. 1

    first/third-person singular preterite of essen

Source: English Wiktionary, German section, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0).

How German dictionaries define it

letter: 1. erster Buchstabe des deutschen Alphabets; einer der Selbstlaute (Vokale) 2. Bezeichnung für Ton "A", und Abkürzung für A-Dur (Tonart und Akkord) 3. römisches Zahlzeichen für 500

abbreviation: 1. Acre (Flächeneinheit in den USA und Großbritannien) 2. Kennzeichen für glutenhaltiges Getreide 3. Abfall 4. Aggregat

abbreviation: 1. erster Buchstabe des lateinischen Alphabets; als Kleinbuchstabe das Gegenstück, Pendant zum Großbuchstaben A 2. variable Zahl, Variable, Größe 3. Jahr 4. „akzeptiert“ auf Wechseln

abbreviation: 1. Abteilung 2. Akkusativ 3. Akt 4. Alt(stimme)

abbreviation: 1. Ångström, Ångströmeinheit

preposition: 1. zu (je) 2. à la – in der Art von, nach der Art von

prefix: 1. nicht, un- 2. weg-, fort-, miss-

prefix: 1. von … weg, fort, fehlend, verkehrt

letter: 1. siebenundzwanzigster Buchstabe (Majuskel) des deutschen Alphabets

abbreviation: 1. Ämter

letter: 1. siebenundzwanzigster Buchstabe (Minuskel) des deutschen Alphabets

abbreviation: 1. besonders bei Orts- und Städtenamen 2. am 3. an 4. auch

The definition in the German Wiktionary, in German.

Source: German Wiktionary, dump of September 1, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org.

Forms of a

  • a lowercase
  • As plural
  • Ä uppercase
  • äs plural
  • ä lowercase
  • Äs plural
  • A uppercase
  • as genitive
  • ass alternative
  • Abt. alternative
  • Abtg. alternative
  • Abtl. alternative
  • Abtlg. alternative
  • Akk. alternative
  • Acc. alternative archaic
  • a. alternative
  • an. alternative
  • Anschr. alternative

Source: English Wiktionary and German Wiktionary (dumps of September 2, 2026 and September 1, 2026).

English words that translate to a

Source: the translation tables of the English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026.

How common is a in German?

a appears 603 times per million words in written German.

Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).

What to look up after a