Translingual

Letter

ལ

1. Tibetan letter la

Tibetan

Etymology 1

Perhaps from Sino-Tibetan *la ‎(“area far from settlements; wilderness”); compare Chinese 野 (OC *laːʔ, *ɦljaʔ, “countryside; field”).

Pronunciation

• Old Tibetan:
  • IPA^(key): /*la/ (reconstructed)
• Ü-Tsang
  • Tibetan Pinyin: la^v
  • (Lhasa) IPA^(key): /la˩˧/

Noun

ལ • ‎(la)

1. hillside, mountain pass

Etymology 2

Pronunciation

• Old Tibetan:
  • IPA^(key): /*la/ (reconstructed)
• Ü-Tsang
  • Tibetan Pinyin: la
  • (Lhasa) IPA^(key): /laˑ/

Postposition

ལ • ‎(la)

1. Marks oblique locatives.
2. Marks the dative (a recipient in a trivalent construction).
   1. Marks the possessor in have-constructions which use a copular verb.
3. Marks the subject of verbs such as "like" and "need".
4. Marks the direct object of verbs which involve contact but no change of state.

Usage notes

When the preceding syllable ends in a vowel, la becomes r and goes in the coda of the preceding syllable. For example, "in Lhasa" is ལྷ་སར ‎(lha sar).