A facts for kids
| The Latin alphabet | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aa | Bb | Cc | Dd | ||
| Ee | Ff | Gg | Hh | Ii | Jj |
| Kk | Ll | Mm | Nn | Oo | Pp |
| Rr | Ss | Tt | Uu | Vv | |
| Ww | Xx | Yy | Zz | ||
A or a is the first letter of the English alphabet. The small letter, a, is used as a vowel.
When you say 'A' like in the word bake, it makes a long sound. The letter A looks and sounds like Alpha from the Greek alphabet. This makes sense because they represent the same sound!
The phrase "Alpha and Omega" (the last letter of the Greek alphabet) means "from beginning to end." In musical notation, the letter A is the symbol for a specific note in a musical scale. It is found below the note B and above the note G. In binary code, the letter A is represented by the numbers 01000001.
You might also know 'A' from the old TV show, The A-Team, where it represented the team. You use a capital 'A' at the start of a sentence or for proper nouns.
Contents
The Journey of the Letter A
The letter 'A' has a long and interesting history! It started as a symbol called aleph in the ancient Phoenician alphabet. This symbol actually came from a simple picture of an ox head.
| Egyptian | Phoenician aleph |
Greek Alpha |
Etruscan A |
Roman/Cyrillic A |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
The Phoenician letter aleph helped create the basic shape for later versions of the letter. The Greeks then changed this letter and used it as their letter Alpha. The Greek alphabet was later used by the Etruscans in northern Italy. Finally, the Romans changed the Etruscan alphabet to create their own, which is similar to the one we use today.
How We Use the Letter A
The letter 'A' can make several different sounds in English words. For example, it can sound like the 'a' in pad, or the 'a' in father. It can also sound like the 'a' in ace. The way 'A' sounds often depends on the other letters around it in a word.
A in Math and Science
In algebra, the letter "A" (along with other letters at the beginning of the alphabet) is often used to stand for numbers or amounts that we already know.
In geometry, capital letters like A, B, and C are used to label line segments or lines. For example, if you have a triangle, the letter 'A' is often used to label one of its angles.
Images for kids
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Road sign in Ireland, showing the Irish "Latin alpha" form of "a" in lower and upper case forms.
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How the letter 'a' is pronounced in different European languages.
See also
In Spanish: A para niños
