# が

| が | U+304C, &#12364; HIRAGANA LETTER GA |
| Composition: | か [U+304B] + ◌゙ [U+3099] |
| ← か [U+304B] | Hiragana | き → [U+304D] |

## Japanese
### Etymology 1

The hiragana character か (ka) with a dakuten (゛).

#### Pronunciation

* IPA: [ɡa̠]
* IPA: [ŋa̠] (morpheme-medial alternative pronunciation)

#### Syllable

が • (ga)
* The hiragana syllable が (ga). Its equivalent in katakana is ガ (ga).

##### See also

* (Hiragana) 平仮名; あぁ, いぃ, うぅゔ, えぇ, おぉ, かゕが, きぎ, くぐ, けゖげ, こご, さざ, しじ, すず, せぜ, そぞ, ただ, ちぢ, つっづ, てで, とど, な, に, ぬ, ね, の, はばぱ, ひびぴ, ふぶぷ, へべぺ, ほぼぽ, ま, み, む, め, も, やゃ, ゆゅ, よょ, ら, り, る, れ, ろ, わゎ, ゐ, ゑ, を, ん, ー, ゝ, ゞ, ゟ

### Etymology 2

From Proto-Japonic *-ka. Compare Korean 가 (-ga) (possibly borrowed from Japanese into Korean).

#### Particle

が • (ga)
* Indicates the subject of a sentence.
    猫(ねこ)が餌(えさ)を食(た)べた。
       Neko ga esa o tabeta.
       The cat [is the thing that] ate the cat food.
    犬(いぬ)がいる。
       Inu ga iru.
       There is a dog.
       (literally, “A dog [is a thing that] exists.”)
** 2012, “空想少女への恋手紙 [Love Letters to an Imaginary Girl]”, まらしぃ (Marasy) (lyrics)‎:
    宛先(あてさき)が君(きみ)のラブレターは　どこに出(だ)せば届(とど)くのかな
       atesaki ga kimi no rabu retā wa doko ni daseba todoku no ka na
       The love letter whose destination is you, where should I post it that it may reach you?
* (formal) conjunction; "but"
    Synonym: けれども (keredomo)
    犬(いぬ)は好(す)きだが、猫(ねこ)は嫌(きら)いだ。
       Inu wa suki da ga, neko wa kirai da.
       I like dogs but I hate cats.
* (formal) Used to introduce a new topic into the discussion.
    Synonym: けれども (keredomo)
    先日(せんじつ)の件(けん)ですが、 […]
       senjitsu no ken desu ga, […]
       About that thing from yesterday; […]
* (literary or Kagoshima) Possessive used to connect nouns, most often seen in place names as ヶ.
    我(われ)々(われ)が心(こころ)
       wareware ga kokoro
       our heart
       (literally, “we's heart / the heart of us”)
    富(ふ)士(じ)見(み)ヶ丘(おか)
       Fujimigaoka
       Fuji View Hill
    関(せき)ヶ原(はら)
       Sekigahara
       Gateway Plains (site of the Battle of Sekigahara)
    おやっが
       oyagga
       father's (Kagoshima dialect)
    あにょが
       anyoga
       brother's (Kagoshima dialect)
* Used after interjected nouns to express contempt.
    このくそが！
       Kono kuso ga!
       You piece of shit!

##### Usage notes

* Words that continue to be used with the literary possessive today include まま (mama) and ため (tame).
    言(い)われるがまま ― iwareru ga mama ― (doing) as one is told
    君(きみ)がために ― kimi ga tame ni ― for you

##### Alternative forms

* (literary possessive): ヶ (ga)

##### See also

* ぎゃ (gya)
* は (wa)

### Etymology 3

For pronunciation and definitions of が – see the following entries. :
| 【画】2 | [noun] picture, drawing, painting [noun] movie, film, video [suffix] genre or style of painting |
| 【芽】4 | [affix] bud; sprout; shoot |
| 【我】6 | [noun] the ego, self [noun] self-righteousness [noun] (Buddhism) obstinacy [noun] (Hinduism) atman [affix] self, oneself, myself [affix] egotism, selfishness [affix] (Buddhism) atman |
| 【牙】S | [affix] an animal's fang or tusk [affix] an elephant's tusk: ivory [affix] a tooth |
| 【瓦】S | [affix] roof tile [affix] Used phonetically. |
| 【雅】S | [adjective] elegant [noun] elegance |
| 【餓】S | [affix] hungry; hunger |
| 【臥】J | [affix] to bend down; to lie down; to prostrate |
| 【俄】J | [affix] sudden, abrupt, unexpected |
| 【駕】J | [noun] vehicle; horse-drawn carriage |
| 【蛾】H | [noun] a moth (insect similar to a butterfly) Alternative spelling ガ |
(This term, が (ga), is the hiragana spelling of the above terms.) For a list of all kanji read as が, see Category:Japanese kanji read as が.) :
(The following entries do not have a page created for them yet: 賀, 峨, 衙.)

### References

* ↑ 鄭光, 主格 ‘가’의 發達에 대하여: 近代國語資料의 解釋을 中心으로, 우리문화, 2.

## Okinawan
### Etymology 1

From Proto-Ryukyuan *ga, from Proto-Japonic *-nka (“nominative and genitive case marker”). Cognate with Japanese が (ga).

#### Pronunciation

* IPA: /ɡa/

#### Particle

が (ga)
* genitive case marker
** Indicates possession: of, -'s
    彼(あり)が書物(しむち)
       ari-ga shimuchi
       His book
* nominative case marker
** Indicates the subject of a sentence.
    彼(あり)が来(ち)ゃん。
       Ari-ga chan.
       He came.
    学生(がくそー)が毎日(めーなち)学校(がっこー)んかい行(い)ちゃびーん。
       Gakusō-ga mēnachi gakkō-nkai ichabīn.
       The students go to school every day.
* particle indicating purpose/intent; for; to
    魚(いゆ)取(とぅ)いが行(い)ちゅん。
       Iyu tui-ga ichun.
       I will go (to) catch a fish.

##### Usage notes

* が (ga) is used for personal names or pronouns, ぬ (nu) is used otherwise. See *ga for details.
* Historically, after an original Proto-Ryukyuan */i/, ga palatalizes to gya, as seen in the Omoro Sōshi.

### Etymology 2

Cognate with Japanese か (ka).

#### Pronunciation

* IPA: /ɡa/

#### Particle

が (ga)
* final interrogative particle, similar to a question mark ("?"). Appear only in wh-questions,but followed by やー can be used in other interrogations.
    今日(ちゅー)や何(ぬー)さびたが？
       Chū-ya nū sabitaga?
       What did you do today?

### References

* “が” in JLect - Japonic Languages and Dialects Database Dictionary, 2019.
* “が” in JLect - Japonic Languages and Dialects Database Dictionary, 2019.
* “ガ” in Okinawa Center of Language Study, Shuri-Naha Dialect Dictionary (archived; reopens 2024).