Ä

See also: ä, Ӓ, and Appendix:Variations of "a"

Ä U+00C4, Ä LATIN CAPITAL LETTER A WITH DIAERESIS Composition: A [U+0041] + ◌̈ [U+0308] ← Ã [U+00C3] Latin-1 Supplement Å → [U+00C5]

Central Franconian

Etymology

• For the origin of /ɛ/, see E.
• /ɛː/ is from e before certain consonants; from analogical umlaut of /aː/; from Middle High German æ in some dialects; in Moselle Franconian from all cases where Ripuarian has /œː/ (see Ö); in eastern Moselle Franconian from Middle High German ei, öu.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): (short) /ɛ/, (long) /ɛː/

Letter

Ä

1. A letter in the German-based alphabet of Central Franconian.

Usage notes

• In the Dutch-based spelling, short /ɛ/ is always represented by E (see there). Long /ɛː/ is represented by ae or è(è).

Doubling of long Ä

• Long ä may be doubled to ää in the following cases:
  • when it is followed by two or more consonants: Wääch or Wäch;
  • when the German cognate has two vowel letters: Stään or Stän (German Stein);
  • when the German cognate has a consonant lost or not present in Central Franconian: Stään or Stän (German Stern);
  • when the German cognate has a short vowel: ääße or äße (German essen).

Choice between Ä and E

• /ɛː/ is always represented by ä, never e.
• /ɛ/ may be represented by e or ä. The latter of these is used when the German cognate has ä or a. It may or may not be used in the following cases:
  • when the German cognate has another umlaut letter: Läffel or Leffel (German Löffel);
  • when the German cognate has er: Hätz or Hetz (German Herz);
  • when there is a related word with a: trämmele or tremmele (because of the variant trammele);
  • when there is a special reason to specify that the vowel is /ɛ/, not /e/: bränge or brenge (because German bringen suggests /e/).
• /œy̯/, /øy̯/ may be represented by eu or äu. The latter of these is used when the German cognate has äu or au. It may or may not be used when there is a related word with au: däue or deue (because of related Dau).

Elfdalian

Alternative forms

• ᚯ (Dalecarlian runes)

Letter

Ä (upper case Ä, lower case ä)

1. The thirty-first letter of the Elfdalian alphabet, written in the Latin script.

Estonian

Letter

Ä (upper case, lower case ä)

1. The twenty-eighth letter of the Estonian alphabet, called ää and written in the Latin script.

See also

• (Latin-script letters) täht; A a, B b (C c), D d, E e, F f, G g, H h, I i, J j, K k, L l, M m, N n, O o, P p (Q q), R r, S s, Š š, Z z, Ž ž, T t, U u, V v (W w), Õ õ, Ä ä, Ö ö, Ü ü (X x, Y y)

Finnish

Etymology

Derived from Swedish Ä and/or its origin, German Ä, in which the umlaut (two dots) were originally a lowercase e, first placed to the side and later on top of a/A to signify fronting of the vowel via Germanic umlaut. This letter was already used in the earliest known Finnish writings in the 16th century, where it in fraktur (blackletter) still clearly displayed the lowercase e (aͤ). Over time, its usage became more regular as the Finnish spelling did, and the e simplified into two vertical lines and then two dots, as in the other regions where the letter is used.

Letter

Ä (upper case, lower case ä)

1. The twenty-seventh letter of the Finnish alphabet, called ää and written in the Latin script.

Usage notes

In case of technical restrictions, ä should be represented by a (not ae, as in German).

See also

• (Latin-script letters) kirjain; A a, B b, C c, D d, E e, F f, G g, H h, I i, J j, K k, L l, M m, N n, O o, P p, Q q, R r, S s (Š š), T t, U u, V v (W w), X x, Y y, Z z (Ž ž), Å å, Ä ä, Ö ö

German

Alternative forms

• ä (lowercase)

Etymology

• (letter) From Alemannic Middle High German aͤ, a representation of secondary umlaut [æ]. In Early Modern German, the letter spread to Central German, which did not have a special phoneme for secondary umlaut. Therefore, ä was seen there as a marker of umlaut as such, and was used analogously.

• (sound) Middle High German distinguished up to five stressed e-vowels: [æ], [ɛ], [ɛː], [e], [eː]. Through open-syllable lengthening, mergers, and analogy, this system was not just reduced but entirely altered. 19th-century Standard German generally retained only one short vowel, but distinguished [ɛː] from [eː]. All long ⟨ä⟩s were by then usually pronounced [ɛː], while ⟨e⟩ was [ɛː] in some words, [eː] in others. The choice between these, however, varied greatly from region to region, and was entirely absent in many Low German areas. Theodor Siebs therefore (consistently but rather arbitrarily) restricted [ɛː] to the spelling ⟨ä⟩ in his codification of stage and broadcasting German. Unintendedly, this reinforced the tendency towards total merger as the dialectal systems of distinction were disturbed.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ɛː/, /ˌaː ˈʊmlaʊ̯t/ (letter name)

  • Audio:

    (file)

• IPA^(key): /ɛ/ (short phoneme)
• IPA^(key): /ɛː/, [ɛː], [eː] (long phoneme)
  • The distinction between long /ɛː/ and /eː/ is maintained in some regions, including Switzerland and most of western Germany. In many other regions the two are merged in normal speech, though speakers may nevertheless distinguish them in individual words (such as conditional forms of strong verbs, e.g., gäbe) and in enunciation. This usually also includes the monosyllabic pronunciation of the letter name ⟨Ä⟩ itself.
• Rhymes: -eː (one pronunciation)
• Homophones: E, eh (one pronunciation)

Letter

Ä n (strong, genitive Ä or Äs, plural Ä or Äs)

1. a letter used in German spelling: most often an umlauted version of A

Declension

Declension of Ä [neuter, strong]

	singular			plural
	indef.	def.	noun	def.	noun
nominative	ein	das	Ä	die	Ä, Äs
genitive	eines	des	Ä, Äs	der	Ä, Äs
dative	einem	dem	Ä	den	Ä, Äs
accusative	ein	das	Ä	die	Ä, Äs

Further reading

• “Ä” in Duden online
• “Ä” in Digitales Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache

Kalo Finnish Romani

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /æ/

Letter

Ä (upper case, lower case ä)

1. The thirtieth letter of the Kalo Finnish Romani alphabet, written in the Latin script.

See also

• (Latin-script letters) A a, B b, C c, D d, E e, F f, G g, H h, Ȟ ȟ, I i, J j, K k, L l, M m, N n, O o, P p, Q q, R r, S s, Š š, T t, U u, V v, W w, Y y, Z z, Ž ž, Å å, Ä ä, Ö ö

Luxembourgish

Alternative forms

• ä (lowercase)

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [æ] (short phoneme)
• IPA^(key): [ɛː] (long phoneme before /r/, phonemically /eː/)
• IPA^(key): [ɛː] (long phoneme elsewhere, phonemically /ɛː/)

Letter

Ä

1. A letter used in Luxembourgish spelling: an umlauted version of A.

Usage notes

• The short vowel [æ] is spelt ä (rather than e) when it occurs as an umlaut in inflections. Otherwise its use is chiefly dependent on the spelling of the German cognate. Ä is used when the German word has one of a, ä, o, ö, thus e.g., Fläsch and Fräsch (German Flasche, Frosch). If no German cognate exists, ä is used when there is a closely related Luxembourgish word with a.
• The long vowel [ɛː] is always spelt ä. In native Luxembourgish words this sound occurs only before r as an allophone of /eː/. Elsewhere it must be interpreted as a distinct phoneme /ɛː/, which is restricted to borrowings.

Romani

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): () /ɨ/, () /ə/

Letter

Ä (lower case, upper case Ä)

1. (International Standard) Used to represent a dialectal centralized vowel.

See also

• (Latin-script letters) A a, B b, C c, D d, E e, F f, G g, H h, X x, I i, J j, K k, Kh kh, L l, M m, N n, O o, P p, Ph ph, R r, S s, T t, Th th, U u, V v, Z z International Standard: (À à, Ä ä, Ǎ ǎ), Ć ć, Ćh ćh, (È è, Ë ë, Ě ě), (Ì ì, Ï ï, Ǐ ǐ), (Ò ò, Ö ö, Ǒ ǒ), Rr rr, Ś ś, (Ù ù, Ü ü, Ǔ ǔ), Ź ź, Ʒ ʒ, Q q, Ç ç, ϴ θ. Pan-Vlax: Č č, Čh čh, Dž dž, (Dź dź), Ř ř, Š š, (Ś ś), Ž ž, (Ź ź).

Skolt Sami

Pronunciation

• (phoneme) IPA^(key): /a/

Letter

Ä (lower case ä)

1. The thirty-sixth letter of the Skolt Sami alphabet, written in the Latin script.

See also

• (Latin-script letters) bukva; A a,  â, B b, C c, Č č, Ʒ ʒ, Ǯ ǯ, D d, Đ đ, E e, F f, G g, Ǧ ǧ, Ǥ ǥ, H h, I i, J j, K k, Ǩ ǩ, L l, M m, N n, Ŋ ŋ, O o, Õ õ, P p, R r, S s, Š š, T t, U u, V v, Z z, Ž ž, Å å, Ä ä, ʹ

Slovak

Pronunciation

• (phoneme) IPA^(key): /ɛ/, /ɛɐ̯/

Letter

Ä (lower case ä)

1. The third letter of the Slovak alphabet, written in the Latin script.

See also

• (Latin-script letters) písmeno; A a, Á á, Ä ä, B b, C c, Č č, D d, Ď ď, Dz dz, Dž dž, E e, É é, F f, G g, H h, Ch ch, I i, Í í, J j, K k, L l, Ĺ ĺ, Ľ ľ, M m, N n, Ň ň, O o, Ó ó, Ô ô, P p, Q q, R r, Ŕ ŕ, S s, Š š, T t, Ť ť, U u, Ú ú, V v, W w, X x, Y y, Ý ý, Z z, Ž ž

Further reading

• “Ä”, in Slovníkový portál Jazykovedného ústavu Ľ. Štúra SAV [Dictionary portal of the Ľ. Štúr Institute of Linguistics, Slovak Academy of Science] (in Slovak), https://slovnik.juls.savba.sk, 2024

Slovene

Etymology 1

Derived from German Ä, with its corresponding pronunciation, which is still used by some speakers, however, the majority of speakers have vernacularized the pronunciation to a long close-mid vowel regardless of the initial pronunciation.

Pronunciation

• (phoneme): IPA^(key): /éː/, /èː/, [ɛ́ː]
• (letter name, common): IPA^(key): /prɛɡlaʃɛ̀ːni àː/, /prɛɡlaʃɛ̀ːni áː/ (preglašeni a)
• (letter name, educated): IPA^(key): /ɛ̀ː/, /ɛ́ː/
• Rhymes: -ɛː
• Homophone: e

Letter

Ä (upper case, lower case ä)

1. Additional letter in Slovene common mostly in loanwords from German.

Noun

Ä m inan

1. (educated) The name of the Latin script letter Ä / ä.

Usage notes

It is more common to use the name preglašeni a than to use this name.

Inflection

• Overall more common

The diacritics used in this section of the entry are non-tonal. If you are a native tonal speaker, please help by adding the tonal marks.

Masculine inan., soft o-stem
nom. sing.	Ä
gen. sing.	Ä-ja
	singular	dual	plural
nominative (imenovȃlnik)	Ä	Ä-ja	Ä-ji
genitive (rodȋlnik)	Ä-ja	Ä-jev	Ä-jev
dative (dajȃlnik)	Ä-ju	Ä-jema	Ä-jem
accusative (tožȋlnik)	Ä	Ä-ja	Ä-je
locative (mẹ̑stnik)	Ä-ju	Ä-jih	Ä-jih
instrumental (orọ̑dnik)	Ä-jem	Ä-jema	Ä-ji

• More common when with a definite adjective

Masculine inan., no endings
nom. sing.	Ä
gen. sing.	Ä
	singular	dual	plural
nominative	Ä	Ä	Ä
accusative	Ä	Ä	Ä
genitive	Ä	Ä	Ä
dative	Ä	Ä	Ä
locative	Ä	Ä	Ä
instrumental	Ä	Ä	Ä

Etymology 2

Letter A with diaeresis (¨) to signify centralization.

Pronunciation

• (Resian) IPA^(key): /ɐ/

Letter

Ä (upper case, lower case ä)

1. The second letter of the Slovene alphabet (Resian), written in the Latin script.

References

• Steenwijk, Han (1994) Ortografia resiana = Tö jošt rozajanskë pïsanjë (overall work in Italian and Slovene), Padua: CLEUP

Swedish

Alternative forms

• Æ, Aͤ (archaic)
• Ā (handwriting)

Etymology

The word haͤnnes (“hers”) from year 1786, where the now obsolete variation Aͤ is still used.

First attested in 1495. Originally a ligature of A and E. During the 16th century, the letter began to be written as an A with a lower case e on top (Aͤ and aͤ respectively). During the first decades of the 18th century, the use of umlaut (Ää) emerged.

Pronunciation

Letter name

• IPA^(key): /ɛː/

Phoneme

• IPA^(key): /ɛː/, /ɛ/

Letter

Ä (upper case, lower case ä)

1. The second last letter of the Swedish alphabet, pronounced /ɛː/ when long, /ɛ/ when short, /æː/ when long and before r, and /æ/ when short and before r.

Declension

Declension of Ä

		nominative	genitive
singular	indefinite	Ä	Äs
	definite	äet	äets
plural	indefinite	än	äns
	definite	äna	änas

Turkmen

Letter

Ä (lower case ä)

1. The sixth letter of the Turkmen alphabet, written in the Latin script.

See also

• (Latin-script letters) harp; A a, B b, Ç ç, D d, E e, Ä ä, F f, G g, H h, I i, J j, Ž ž, K k, L l, M m, N n, Ň ň, O o, Ö ö, P p, R r, S s, Ş ş, T t, U u, Ü ü, W w, Y y, Ý ý, Z z

Welsh

Pronunciation

• (phoneme): IPA^(key): /ˈaː/, /ˌa/

Letter

Ä (lower case ä)

1. The letter A, marked for its syllabic pronunciation distinct from adjacent vowels.