Dictionary › 啊
啊
ā
啊 (ā) means "interjection of surprise". It is an HSK 3.0 level 2 word, and was HSK 3 in the old six-level list.
What 啊 means
- interjection of surprise
- Ah!
- Oh!
How 啊 is used in grammar
啊 is a grammar word. Each link goes to its own section: what it does in that pattern, the structure, three example sentences with pinyin, and the mistake to avoid.
- Sentence-final Particles: 啊、吧、的 (HSK 2)
The official HSK 3.0 grammar outline lists it at level 2, particles (语气助词); level 4, interjections.
Other readings
- áinterjection expressing doubt or requiring answer; Eh?; what?
- ǎinterjection of surprise or doubt; Eh?; My!
- àinterjection or grunt of agreement; uhm; Ah, OK
- amodal particle ending sentence, showing affirmation, approval, or consent
Example sentences
-
啊？Huh?
-
开啊！Open up.
-
跑啊！Run!
-
说啊！Speak!
-
火啊！Fire!
-
冲啊！Charge!
Words starting with 啊
Words containing 啊
Characters that look like 啊
Easy to confuse on sight. Compare them side by side once and the pair stops costing you.
- 哪nǎhow; which
- 钟zhōnghandleless cup; goblet; (bound form) to concentrate (one's affection etc); variant of 钟
- 衔xiánbit (of a bridle); to hold in the mouth; to harbor (feelings)
- 鸭yāduck; (slang) male prostitute
- 咧liēused in 咧咧; used in 大大咧咧; used in 骂骂咧咧
Sounds the same
Read ā, tone for tone, but written differently.
- 阿prefix used before monosyllabic names, kinship terms etc to indicate familiarity…
- 腌used in 腌臜; Taiwan pr. āng
- 吖(used in transliterating chemical names)
- 锕actinium (chemistry)
- 呵variant of 啊
Where 啊 is taught
In the GraphChinese course it is part of Sequence, Similarity & Remaining Words (HSK 3), HSK 3 Characters · Set 1 (HSK 3), each one a topic in the dependency graph of HSK 1–6 that opens only once its prerequisites are solid.
Go deeper
- Every HSK 3 word, with the rest of its level.
- How characters are built from components.
- How to learn Chinese characters.
- The four tones and the neutral tone, to read ā correctly.
- Look up another word in the free dictionary.
Looking a word up is not learning it. GraphChinese puts all of HSK 1–6 into one dependency graph, teaches each piece only once its prerequisites are solid, and schedules reviews to land just before you would forget.
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