noun
a-row of the Japanese syllabary
Linguistics term referring to the row of kana (あ, か, さ, た, な, は, ま, や, ら, わ) that end with the vowel 'a' in the gojūon table.
See also: 五十音
五十音図のあ段には「あ、か、さ、た、な、は、ま、や、ら、わ」が並ぶ。
In the gojūon chart, the a-row contains a, ka, sa, ta, na, ha, ma, ya, ra, wa.
い段 is the i-row; あ段 is the a-row. Both are rows in the gojūon table.
Compound of あ (the kana for 'a') and 段 (row, column), referring to the row of the syllabary table that ends with the vowel 'a'.