Prefix indicating something is subordinate, lower in rank, or of lesser quality. Common in compounds like 亜種 (subspecies) and 亜流 (follower, imitator).
This plant is classified as a subspecies.
-ous (low oxidation state); -ite
Chemistry prefix used in compound names to indicate a lower oxidation state, corresponding to English '-ous' or '-ite'. Example: 亜硫酸 (sulfurous acid).
Asia (abbr.); Argentina (abbr.); Arabia (abbr.); America (obs. abbr.)
Abbreviation used in ateji country names. 亜 alone can stand for Asia (from 亜細亜), Argentina (亜爾然丁), Arabia (亜剌比亜), and historically America (亜米利加, now obsolete). In modern Japanese, 亜 primarily appears in compounds like 東亜 (East Asia) and 欧亜 (Eurasia).
See also: アジア
He is nothing more than a second-rate writer.
Sodium nitrite is used as a food additive.
The term 東亜 refers to East Asia.
In the Meiji era, 亜 was used as an abbreviation for America.
米 is the modern abbreviation for America used in compounds like 米国, while 亜 (from 亜米利加) is the obsolete abbreviation for the same meaning.
亜 is the single-kanji abbreviation for Asia (亜細亜), while 阿 is the similarly-shaped abbreviation for Africa (阿弗利加), so the two are easy to mix up.
East Asia; the Orient
zinc (Zn)
subtropics; subtropical zone
flax; linseed
chalk (rock) · white wall; whitewashed wall
inferior imitator; copycat; poor imitation · follower; adherent; person of the same school
sulfurous acid
flaxseed; linseed
subarctic zone; subpolar region
Standard kanji form for the prefix and abbreviation senses.
Katakana spelling, sometimes used for emphasis or in technical contexts.
Kyūjitai form; not used in modern Japanese.
From Chinese 亞 (yà), meaning 'second' or 'inferior'. Used as a prefix in Sino-Japanese compounds. The abbreviation senses derive from ateji usage in country names.
raising Asia; development of Asia
subfamily
subhuman; demi-human · Argentinian (person) · American (person)
subseries
subgenus
subgroup (periodic table) · subtribe (taxonomy)
lignite; brown coal
respected elder second only to one's father
subkingdom
suborder