# لا

| ﻻ | U+FEFB, &#65275; ARABIC LIGATURE LAM WITH ALEF ISOLATED FORM |
| ← ﻺ [U+FEFA] | Arabic Presentation Forms-B | ﻼ → [U+FEFC] |
| ﻼ | U+FEFC, &#65276; ARABIC LIGATURE LAM WITH ALEF FINAL FORM |
* [unassigned: U+FEFD–U+FEFE]
| ← ﻻ [U+FEFB] | Arabic Presentation Forms-B | → [U+FEFF] |

## Arabic
### Etymology 1

From Proto-Semitic *lā. Compare Hebrew לֹא (lo), which, in older texts, is used in the negative imperative and the negative existential indicative.

#### Pronunciation

* IPA: /laː/

#### Particle

لَا • (lā)
* no
* not; negates an indicative present-tense verb
* do not; expresses prohibition with a jussive verb
    لَا نَنْسَ… ― lā nansa… ― Let us not forget…
    لَا يَفُتْكُمْ ― lā yafutkum ― You shall not miss it.
** 609–632 CE, Qur'an, 49:11:يَا أَيُّهَا ٱلَّذِينَ آمَنُوا لَا يَسْخَرْ قَوْمٌ مِنْ قَوْمٍ عَسَى أَنْ يَكُونُوا خَيْرًا مِنْهُمْ وَلَا نِسَاءٌ مِنْ نِسَاءٍ عَسَى أَن يَكُنَّ خَيْرًا مِنْهُنَّ وَلَا تَلْمِزُوا أَنْفُسَكُمْ وَلَا تَنَابَزُوا بِٱلْأَلْقَابِyā ʔayyuhā llaḏīna ʔāmanū lā yasḵar qawmun min qawmin ʕasā ʔan yakūnū ḵayran minhum wa-lā nisāʔun min nisāʔin ʕasā ʔan yakunna ḵayran minhunna wa-lā talmizū ʔanfusakum wa-lā tanābazū bi-l-ʔalqābiO you who have believed, let not a people ridicule people; perhaps they may be better than them; nor let women ridicule women; perhaps they may be better than them. And do not insult one another and do not call each other by names.
** Zuhayr ibn Abi Sulma
    يَا حَارِ لَا أُرْمَيَنْ مِنْكُمْ بِدَاهِيَةٍ لَمْ يَلْقَهَا سُوقَةٌ قَبْلِي وَلَا مَلِكُyā ḥāri lā ʔurmayan minkum bidāhiyatin lam yalqahā sūqatun qablī walā maliku(please add an English translation of this quotation)
** Al-Farazdaq
    إِذَا مَا خَرَجْنَا مِنْ دِمَشْقَ فَلَا نَعُدْ لَهَا أَبَدًا مَا دَامَ فِيهَا الْجُرَاضِمُʔiḏā mā ḵarajnā min dimašqa falā naʕud lahā ʔabadan mā dāma fīhā l-jurāḍimu(please add an English translation of this quotation)
* there is not, there is no, there is nothing, nothing is
    لَا طَالِبَ حَاضِرٌ. ― lā ṭāliba ḥāḍirun. ― No student is present.
* not; negates any non-verbal sentence element
* neither, nor
* A negation particle used to convey a prayer or wish.
    لَا عَدِمْنَاك. ― lā ʕadimnāk. ― May we not lose you.

##### Usage notes

As shown in the example, sense 4 generally governs a noun in the determinate state (but without the definite article) and the accusative case — that is, a noun without nunation. However, subsequent adjectives are in the indeterminate state, meaning they are nunated:
* لَا طَالِبَ مُجْتَهِدًا حَاضِرٌlā ṭāliba mujtahidan ḥāḍirunNo hard-working student is present.
If, instead of an adjective, there is an attributive prepositional phrase, the initial noun can be in either state:
* لَا طَالِبَ لَدَيْنَا مُجْتَهِدًا حَاضِرٌlā ṭāliba ladaynā mujtahidan ḥāḍirunNo hard-working student of ours is present.
* لَا طَالِبًا لِلْعِلْمِ مُقَصِّرٌlā ṭāliban lilʕilmi muqaṣṣirunNo seeker of knowledge is delinquent.
Additionally, sense 4 can govern a preposition alone, with an implicit third-person singular masculine subject and no visible case or state. This is the origin of لَا عَلَيْكَ (lā ʕalayka, “no worries”, literally “there is not [anything] on you”) and similar collocations.
| Isolated form | Final form |
| لا | ـلا |

##### Antonyms

* (antonym(s) of “no”): نَعَم (naʕam)
* (antonym(s) of “expresses prohibition with a jussive verb”): لِـ (li-)

##### Descendants

* Gulf Arabic: لَأْ (laʔ, “no”), لا (la, “don't (used before imperatives)”)
* South Levantine Arabic: لأ (laʔ), لا (la, “don't (with imperative or subjunctive)”)
* Maltese: la, le
* → Swahili: la

#### Conjunction

لَا • (lā)
* not, and not
    أَحْضِرْ وَثَائِقَكَ لَا كُتُبَكَʔaḥḍir waṯāʔiqaka lā kutubakaBring your documents, not your books.

##### Antonyms

* بَلْ (bal)

##### Derived terms

* مُكْرَهٌ أَخَاكَ لَا بَطَلٌ (mukrahun ʔaḵāka lā baṭalun, proverb)

#### Prefix

لَا • (lā)
* non-, un-, in-
    لَاسُلْطَوِيّ (lāsulṭawiyy)
    لَاسِلْكِيّ (lāsilkiyy)
    لَامُبَالَاة (lāmubālāh)
    لَافَقَارِيَّات (lāfaqāriyyāt)
    لَامَرْكَزِيَّة (lāmarkaziyya)

##### Derived terms

* وَلَا سِيَّمَا (walā siyyamā)
* لَا جَرَمَ (lā jarama)
* لَا بَأْسَ (lā baʔsa)
* لَا بُدَّ (lā budda)
* لَا مَحَالَةَ (lā maḥālata)

#### See also

* إِلَّا (ʔillā)
* بَلْ (bal)
* غَيْر (ḡayr)
* عَدَم (ʕadam)
* كَلَّا (kallā)
* لَيْسَ (laysa)
* لَمْ (lam)
* لَمَّا (lammā)
* لَنْ (lan)
* مَا (mā)

### Etymology 2
#### Particle

لَا • (la)
* (Classical Arabic, before a hamza) Alternative spelling of لَ (la, “truly, indeed”)
** 609–632 CE, Qur'an, 27:21:

### References

* Fischer, Wolfdietrich (2006) Grammatik des Klassischen Arabisch (in German), 4th edition, Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz, →ISBN, § 318

## Persian
### Etymology 1

From French la.

#### Noun

لا • (lâ)
* (music) A, La (the sixth note of the fixed-Do solfège scale)
* (music) La (the sixth note of the movable-Do solfège scale, i.e. the submediant)

### Etymology 2

From Arabic لَا (lā).

#### Particle

لا • (lâ)
* (rare) un-

##### Synonyms

* (no, not): نه (na), نیست (nist)
* (-un): نا (nâ)

### Etymology 3
#### Alternative forms

* لای (lây)

#### Noun

لا • (lâ)
* fold
* layer
* ply
* strand

## Shina
### Pronunciation

* IPA: /laː/

### Noun

لا (lā)
* cucumber

## South Levantine Arabic
### Etymology

From Arabic لَا (lā).

### Particle

لا • (la)
* don't (negative imperative)
    Synonyms: ما (mā), ـش (-š)
    لا تنسى تعمل واجباتك! ― la tinsa tiʕmil wājbātak ― Don't forget to do your homework!
* may it not (with subjunctive verb)
    لا يكون صابه إشي. ― la ykūn ṣābo ʔiši ― May it not be that something hurt him.

#### Usage notes

* The negative imperative with لا (la) is more formal, while ما (mā) and the suffix ـش (-š) are more common in informal speech.
* لا يكون (la ykūn) is often used a fixed expression not conjugated by person and number and might be written as one word ليكون (laykūn).

#### See also

* لأ (laʔ, “no”)

## Urdu
### Etymology

From Arabic لَا (lā).

### Particle

لا • (lā)
* not