لا

لا - Arabic

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.
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

Usage notes

As shown in the example, sense 4 generally governs a noun in the determinate state 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 حَاضِرٌ‎ ― lā ṭāliba mujtahidan ḥāḍirun ― No 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 حَاضِرٌ‎ ― lā ṭāliba ladaynā mujtahidan ḥāḍirun ― No hard-working student of ours is present.
‏لَا طَالِبًا لِلْعِلْمِ مُقَصِّرٌ‎ ― lā ṭāliban lilʕilmi muqaṣṣirun ― No 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

(no): نَعَم‎ (naʕam)
(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 كُتُبَكَ‎
  - ʔaḥḍir waṯāʔiqaka lā kutubaka
  - Bring your documents, not your books.

Antonyms

بَلْ‎ (bal)

Derived terms

مُكْرَهٌ أَخَاكَ لَا بَطَلٌ‎ (mukrahun ʔaḵāka lā baṭalun, proverb)^[sic]

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)

Particle

لَا • (la)

(Classical Arabic, before a hamza) Alternative spelling of لَ‎ (la, “truly, indeed”)

لا - Persian

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)

Particle

لا • (lâ)

(rare) un-

Synonyms

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

Alternative forms

لای‎ (lây)

Noun

لا • (lâ)

لا - Shina

Pronunciation

IPA: /laː/

Noun

لا (lā)

cucumber

لا - South Levantine Arabic

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 صاب ه 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).