z
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Translingual
Pronunciation
IPA (file)
See also
Symbol
z
- (metrology) Symbol for the prefix zepto-.
- (astronomy) Symbol for the redshift.
- (mathematics) Used to denote a real variable when x and y are already in use.
- (mathematics) Used to denote the third coordinate in three-dimensional Cartesian and cylindrical coordinate systems.
- (mathematics) Used to denote a complex variable.
- (statistics) Used to denote a value of a standard normal random variable.
- (chemistry) Symbol for atomic number.
- (IPA) a voiced alveolar sibilant.
Derived terms
- Prefix zepto-
Gallery
- Letter styles
Uppercase and lowercase versions of Z, in normal and italic type
Uppercase and lowercase Z in Fraktur
English
Pronunciation
Letter name
- (UK) IPA(key): /zɛd/
Audio (UK) (file) - (US) IPA(key): /zi/
Audio (US, California) (file) - (Hong Kong) IPA(key): /iˈzɛd/, /ɪˈzɛd/ (from izzard)
- (India) IPA(key): /ɪˈzɛd/, /ɪˈzɛɖ/
- Rhymes: -ɛd, -iː
Phoneme
- IPA(key): /z/
Letter
See also
Alemannic German
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /t͡s/
Cimbrian
Alternative forms
- 's (Sette Comuni)
Article
z
- (Luserna) the; definite article for two declensions:
- nominative singular neuter
- accusative singular neuter
See also
| Cimbrian definite articles | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Masculine | Feminine | Neuter | Plural | |
| Nominative | dar | de / di | 's / z | de / di |
| Accusative | in | de / di | 's / z | de / di |
| Dative | me | dar | me | in |
References
- Patuzzi, Umberto, ed., (2013) Luserna / Lusérn: Le nostre parole / Ünsarne börtar / Unsere Wörter [Our Words], Luserna, Italy: Comitato unitario delle isole linguistiche storiche germaniche in Italia / Einheitskomitee der historischen deutschen Sprachinseln in Italien
Czech
Alternative forms
Etymology
Inherited from Old Czech z, ze, from Proto-Slavic *jьz, from Proto-Indo-European *h₁eǵʰs.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /z/
Audio (file)
Preposition
z [+genitive]
Usage notes
- The more usual form is z, while ze is used before words starting with s, z and certain consonant clusters.
- In certain contexts (in the meaning "out of the surface" or "down from the surface") the preposition s, which normally requires instrumental case, can be used synonymously requiring the genitive case. This use of the preposition s is dated though and is mainly seen in older literature.
- spadnout z/s kopce ― to fall down the hill
- sundat něco ze/se skříně ― to take something off the cupboard
Dutch
Pronunciation
Audio (file) - Rhymes: -ɛt
- (letter name): IPA(key): /zɛt/
Letter
z (lower case, upper case Z)
See also
- Previous letter: y
Egyptian
Pronunciation 1
- (modern Egyptological) IPA(key): /zɛ/, /zɑ/
- Conventional anglicization: ze, za
Inflection
| singular | z |
|---|---|
| dual | zwj |
| plural | zw |
Alternative forms
| [Old Kingdom] | [New Kingdom] | [Late Period] | [Late Period] |
Pronunciation 2
- (reconstructed) IPA(key): /zuʀ/ → /suʀ/ → /suʔ/ → /søʔ/
Noun
m
- man (male person) [since the Old Kingdom]
- someone, anyone
- c. 1944 BCE, (year 17 of the reign of Senusret I), Stela of Mentuwoser (MMA 12.184), lines 11–12:

![S29 [s] s](../I/hiero_S29.png.webp)
![M36 [Dr] Dr](../I/hiero_M36.png.webp)
![D21 [r] r](../I/hiero_D21.png.webp)



![V28 [H] H](../I/hiero_V28.png.webp)
![N29 [q] q](../I/hiero_N29.png.webp)
![D21 [r] r](../I/hiero_D21.png.webp)
![G43 [w] w](../I/hiero_G43.png.webp)
![G37 [nDs] nDs](../I/hiero_G37.png.webp)
![D21 [r] r](../I/hiero_D21.png.webp)
![D46 [d] d](../I/hiero_D46.png.webp)
![W19 [mi] mi](../I/hiero_W19.png.webp)
![M17 [i] i](../I/hiero_M17.png.webp)


- nj sḏr z ḥqr.w r dmj.j
- No one went to bed hungry in my district.
- c. 1944 BCE, (year 17 of the reign of Senusret I), Stela of Mentuwoser (MMA 12.184), lines 11–12:
Usage notes
This word can be placed after a type of person and before a number to indicate that many prisoners of that type were taken.
Inflection
| singular | z |
|---|---|
| dual | zwj |
| plural | zw |
Alternative forms
Derived terms
Descendants
- Coptic: ⲥⲁ- (sa-)
Inflection
| singular | z |
|---|---|
| dual | zwj |
| plural | zw |
Noun
m
- A type of fish [22nd dynasty]
Inflection
| singular | z |
|---|---|
| dual | zwj |
| plural | zw |
References
- Erman, Adolf; Grapow, Hermann (1926–1961) Wörterbuch der ägyptischen Sprache, Berlin: Akademie-Verlag, →ISBN
Esperanto
Pronunciation
- (letter name): IPA(key): /zo/
- (phoneme): IPA(key): /z/
Audio (file)
Letter
z (lower case, upper case Z)
Estonian
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /ˈtsetː/
Letter
z (lower case, upper case Z)
Usage notes
- Used only in loanwords.
Finnish
Etymology
The Finnish orthography using the Latin script was based on Swedish, German and Latin. No earlier script is known. See the Wikipedia article on Finnish for more information, and z for development of the glyph itself.
Pronunciation
Audio (file)
Letter
z (lower case, upper case Z)
Usage notes
- Used only in loanwords. In more established loanwords replaced with ts.
French
Pronunciation
- (letter name) IPA(key): /zɛd/
Gothic
Hungarian
Pronunciation
- (phoneme): IPA(key): [ˈz]
- (letter name): IPA(key): [ˈzeː]
Letter
z (lower case, upper case Z)
Declension
| Inflection (stem in long/high vowel, front unrounded harmony) | ||
|---|---|---|
| singular | plural | |
| nominative | z | z-k |
| accusative | z-t | z-ket |
| dative | z-nek | z-knek |
| instrumental | z-vel | z-kkel |
| causal-final | z-ért | z-kért |
| translative | z-vé | z-kké |
| terminative | z-ig | z-kig |
| essive-formal | z-ként | z-kként |
| essive-modal | — | — |
| inessive | z-ben | z-kben |
| superessive | z-n | z-ken |
| adessive | z-nél | z-knél |
| illative | z-be | z-kbe |
| sublative | z-re | z-kre |
| allative | z-hez | z-khez |
| elative | z-ből | z-kből |
| delative | z-ről | z-kről |
| ablative | z-től | z-ktől |
| non-attributive possessive - singular |
z-é | z-ké |
| non-attributive possessive - plural |
z-éi | z-kéi |
| Possessive forms of z | ||
|---|---|---|
| possessor | single possession | multiple possessions |
| 1st person sing. | z-m | z-im |
| 2nd person sing. | z-d | z-id |
| 3rd person sing. | z-je | z-i |
| 1st person plural | z-nk | z-ink |
| 2nd person plural | z-tek | z-itek |
| 3rd person plural | z-jük | z-ik |
See also
- (Latin-script letters) betű; A a, Á á, B b, C c, Cs cs, D d, Dz dz, Dzs dzs, E e, É é, F f, G g, Gy gy, H h, I i, Í í, J j, K k, L l, Ly ly, M m, N n, Ny ny, O o, Ó ó, Ö ö, Ő ő, P p, R r, S s, Sz sz, T t, Ty ty, U u, Ú ú, Ü ü, Ű ű, V v, Z z, Zs zs. Only in the extended alphabet: Q q W w X x Y y. Commonly used: ch. Also defined: à ë. In surnames (selection): ä aa cz ds eé eö ew oe oó th ts ÿ.
Further reading
- z in Bárczi, Géza and László Országh. A magyar nyelv értelmező szótára (‘The Explanatory Dictionary of the Hungarian Language’, abbr.: ÉrtSz.). Budapest: Akadémiai Kiadó, 1959–1962. Fifth ed., 1992: →ISBN
Ido
Indonesian
Pronunciation
Letter
z (lower case, upper case Z)
Usage notes
- Used only in loanwords from Arabic, English, etc.
Italian
Kashubian
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /ˈs/
- Syllabification: z
Etymology 1
The Kashubian orthography is based on the Latin alphabet. No earlier script is known. See the Kashubian alphabet article on Wikipedia for more, and z for development of the glyph itself.
Letter
z (lower case, upper case Z)
See also
Etymology 2
Inherited from Proto-Slavic *jьz, from Proto-Indo-European *h₁eǵʰs.
Etymology 3
Inherited from Proto-Slavic *sъ(n).
Further reading
- Stefan Ramułt (1893), “z”, in Słownik języka pomorskiego czyli kaszubskiego, page 258
- Eùgeniusz Gòłąbk (2011), “z”, in Słownik Polsko-Kaszubski / Słowôrz Pòlskò-Kaszëbsczi, volume 2, page 1439
- “z”, in Internetowi Słowôrz Kaszëbsczégò Jãzëka [Internet Dictionary of the Kashubian Language], Fundacja Kaszuby, 2022
Latin
Etymology
The minuscule form derives from the majuscule Z.
Letter
z (lower case, upper case Z)
- The twenty-third letter of the Classical Latin alphabet, called zēta.
References
- z in Charles du Fresne du Cange’s Glossarium Mediæ et Infimæ Latinitatis (augmented edition with additions by D. P. Carpenterius, Adelungius and others, edited by Léopold Favre, 1883–1887)
- “z”, in Harry Thurston Peck, editor (1898) Harper's Dictionary of Classical Antiquities, New York: Harper & Brothers
Latvian
Etymology
Proposed in 1908 as part of the new Latvian spelling by the scientific commission headed by K. Mīlenbahs, which was accepted and began to be taught in schools in 1909. Prior to that, Latvian had been written in German Fraktur, and sporadically in Cyrillic.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): [z]
Lower Sorbian
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /z/
Letter
z (upper case Z)
See also
- See Template:list:Latin script letters/dsb.
Etymology 2
From Proto-Slavic *jьz, from Proto-Indo-European *h₁eǵʰs.
Alternative forms
- ze (used before sibilants and certain consonant clusters)
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /z/, (before a voiceless consonant) /s/
Etymology 3
From Proto-Slavic *sъ(n), from Proto-Indo-European *ḱom.
Alternative forms
- ze (used before sibilants and certain consonant clusters)
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /z/, (before a voiceless consonant) /s/
Preposition
z (with instrumental)
- with
- Stej bratš ze sotšu..
- They are brother and sister
- (literally, “brother with sister”)
Malay
Letter
z (lower case, upper case Z)
Maltese
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /t͡s/, /d͡z/
- Simple z is almost always /t͡s/. Geminated zz is also predominantly voiceless, but intervocalically it may represent /dd͡z/, notably in the verbal suffix -izza.
Norwegian
Pronunciation
- (letter name): IPA(key): /set/, /sɛt/
- (phoneme): IPA(key): /s/, /ʃ/
Audio (file)
Usage notes
- Not used in Norwegian, only appears in loanwords from e.g. Slavic.
- Used interchangeably with s in Internet slang and informal writing.
Old Czech
Alternative forms
Etymology
Inherited from Proto-Slavic *jьz, from Proto-Indo-European *h₁eǵʰs.
Descendants
- Czech: z
References
- Jan Gebauer (1903–1916), “z”, in Slovník staročeský (in Czech), Prague: Česká grafická společnost "unie", Česká akademie císaře Františka Josefa pro vědy, slovesnost a umění
Old Polish
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /z/, /s/
Etymology 1
Inherited from Proto-Slavic *jьz.
Preposition
z [+genitive]
Etymology 2
Inherited from Proto-Slavic *sъ(n).
Preposition
z [+instrumental]
- denotes comitative or sociative relation; with, alongside
- denotes instrumental relation; with, by means of
- denotes origin or cause; because of, from
References
- B. Sieradzka-Baziur, editor (2011–2015), “z”, in Słownik pojęciowy języka staropolskiego [Conceptual Dictionary of Old Polish] (in Polish), Kraków: IJP PAN, →ISBN
Polish
Etymology 1
The Polish orthography is based on the Latin alphabet. No earlier script is known. See the history of Polish orthography article on Wikipedia for more, and z for development of the glyph itself.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /z/, or IPA(key): /s/ if devoiced
- (letter name) IPA(key): /zɛt/
Letter
z (upper case Z, lower case)
See also
Etymology 2
Inherited from Old Polish z, from Proto-Slavic *jьz.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /z/, /s/
Audio (file)
Preposition
z [+genitive]
- Denotes delative movement; off of
- Jesteś z przodu czy z tyłu? ― Are you at the front or at the back?
- Denotes duration; since
- Denotes a change of state; from
- Denotes origin or cause; because of, from
- Denotes elative movement; out of
- Jestem z Polski. ― I'm from Poland.
- jeden z dziesięciu ― one out of ten
- Denotes the composition of an item; from, out of, of
- motyka z drewna ― a hoe made of wood
Particle
z
- (colloquial) ish approximately, about
- Synonyms: mniej więcej, około
- Mam z pięć jabłek ― I have five ish apples.
Etymology 3
Inherited from Old Polish z, from Proto-Slavic *sъ(n).
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /z/, /s/
Audio (file)
Preposition
z [+instrumental]
- Denotes comitative or sociative relation; with, alongside
- Antonym: bez
- Denotes instrumental relation; with, by means of
- Podróżuje z prędkością światła! ― It's travelling at the speed of light?
Usage notes
- The preposition or particle generally changes to ze when the pronunciation of the two consecutive words becomes problematic. Some dictionaries claim that this rule applies to words starting with one of the following consonants: s, z, ś, ź, ż, rz, sz that are followed by another consonant. [1] Examples include:
- Ten pręt jest z żelaza. ― This rod is made of iron.
- Ten pręt jest ze stali. ― This rod is made of steel.
- Pochodzę z Francji. ― I come from France.
- Pochodzę ze Szwecji. ― I come from Sweden.
Trivia
According to Słownik frekwencyjny polszczyzny współczesnej (1990), z is one of the most used words in Polish, appearing 1744 times in scientific texts, 1828 times in news, 1527 times in essays, 1920 times in fiction, and 1291 times in plays, each out of a corpus of 100,000 words, totaling 8310 times, making it the 7th most common word in a corpus of 500,000 words.[2]
References
Further reading
- z in Wielki słownik języka polskiego, Instytut Języka Polskiego PAN
- z in Polish dictionaries at PWN
- “Z”, in Elektroniczny Słownik Języka Polskiego XVII i XVIII Wieku [Electronic Dictionary of the Polish Language of the XVII and XVIII Century], 20.02.2014
- Samuel Bogumił Linde (1807-1814), “z”, in Słownik języka polskiego
- Aleksander Zdanowicz (1861), “z”, in Słownik języka polskiego, Wilno 1861
- J. Karłowicz, A. Kryński, W. Niedźwiedzki, editors (1927), “z”, in Słownik języka polskiego (in Polish), volume 8, Warsaw, page 1
Portuguese
Pronunciation
- (phoneme) IPA(key): /z/
- (letter name) IPA(key): /ze/
Letter
z (lower case, upper case Z)
Romani
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /z/
Letter
z (lower case, upper case Z)
See also
- (Latin-script letters) A a, B b, C c, D d, E e, F f, G g, H h, X x, I i, J j, K k, Kh kh, L l, M m, N n, O o, P p, Ph ph, R r, S s, T t, Th th, U u, V v, Z z International Standard: (À à, Ä ä, Ǎ ǎ), Ć ć, Ćh ćh, (È è, Ë ë, Ě ě), (Ì ì, Ï ï, Ǐ ǐ), (Ò ò, Ö ö, Ǒ ǒ), Rr rr, Ś ś, (Ù ù, Ü ü, Ǔ ǔ), Ź ź, Ʒ ʒ, Q q, Ç ç, ϴ θ. Pan-Vlax: Č č, Čh čh, Dž dž, (Dź dź), Ř ř, Š š, (Ś ś), Ž ž, (Ź ź).
Sani
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /z̊³³/
References
- Linguistics of the Tibeto-Burman Area, volumes 26-27 (2003, Department of Linguistics, University of California), page 74
- Huang Bufan (editor), Xu Shouchun, Chen Jiaying, Wan Huiyin, A Tibeto-Burman Lexicon (1992; Central Minorities University, Beijing) (has z̊³³)
Serbo-Croatian
Alternative forms
- (uppercase) Z
Pronunciation
- (phoneme) IPA(key): /z/
Preposition
z (Cyrillic spelling з)
- (Kajkavian, Chakavian, Croatia) (+ instrumental case) with
- 1501, Marko Marulić, Judita:
- požgat su pritili sela naša stane,
žene z dicom htili vest u svoje strane,
inim dati rane, svih smrtno sikući;- (please add an English translation of this quote)
- 1622, Ivan Gundulić, Suze sina razmetnoga:
- od svjetlosti zrak otvori,
i ostaše razlučene,
z bielim danom noćne sjene:- (please add an English translation of this quote)
- 1927, Dragutin Domjanić, Kaj:
- I srce mi greje
I z menom se smeje
I v žalosti plače takaj.- (please add an English translation of this quote)
-
- (Kajkavian) (+ genitive case) from, out of
- 1927, Dragutin Domjanić, Kaj vrt si senja:
- Oblaček po nebu
Si stiha putuje,
A z trave još samo
Šćurica se čuje.- (please add an English translation of this quote)
-
Seri
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /ʃ/
Silesian
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /ˈs/
- Syllabification: z
Etymology 1
The Silesian orthography is based on the Latin alphabet. No earlier script is known. See the Silesian language article on Wikipedia for more, and z for development of the glyph itself.
Letter
z (lower case, upper case Z)
See also
Etymology 2
Inherited from Old Polish z.
Preposition
z [+genitive]
Etymology 3
Inherited from Old Polish z.
Preposition
z [+instrumental]
Further reading
- z in silling.org
Slovak
Alternative forms
- zo (see usage notes)
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /z/
Usage notes
- The zo form is used when the following word starts with the letter z, ž, s, š and certain consonant clusters.
Further reading
- z in Slovak dictionaries at slovnik.juls.savba.sk
Slovene
Etymology 1
See Translingual section.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /s/
Letter
z
Etymology 2
From Proto-Slavic *sъ(n), from Proto-Indo-European *ḱom.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /s/
Preposition
z
Alternative forms
- s (before a voiceless consonant)
Further reading
- “z”, in Slovarji Inštituta za slovenski jezik Frana Ramovša ZRC SAZU, portal Fran
Spanish
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): (phoneme) /s/, /θ/
- IPA(key): (letter name, Spain) /ˈθeta/ [ˈθe.t̪a]
- IPA(key): (letter name, Latin America) /ˈseta/ [ˈse.t̪a]
- (Castilian)
Audio (file) - Rhymes: -eta
- (Castilian)
Swedish
Pronunciation
- Letter name
- IPA(key): /ˈsɛːta/
- Phoneme
Tagalog
Etymology
Pronunciation
- Hyphenation: z
- (letter name, Filipino alphabet):
- IPA(key): /zi/, [zɪ]
- IPA(key): /si/, [sɪ]
- (letter name, Abecedario):
- IPA(key): /ˈzeta/, [ˈzɛ.tɐ]
- IPA(key): /ˈseta/, [ˈsɛ.tɐ]
- (phoneme):
- IPA(key): /z/, [z]
- IPA(key): /s/, [s]
- Rhymes: -i, -eta
Letter
z (lower case, upper case Z, Baybayin spelling ᜐᜒ)
- The twenty-eighth letter of the Tagalog alphabet (Filipino alphabet), called zi and written in the Latin script.
Usage notes
- This letter is mostly used only in proper nouns, unadapted loanwords, or Spanish-based spellings.
- Some purists of Tagalog replace z in words with s.
See also
Letter
z (lower case, upper case Z, Baybayin spelling ᜐᜒᜆ)
- (historical) The twenty-eighth letter of the Tagalog alphabet (Abecedario), called zeta and written in the Latin script.
Further reading
- “z”, in Pambansang Diksiyonaryo | Diksiyonaryo.ph, Manila: Komisyon sa Wikang Filipino, 2018
Turkish
Letter
z (lower case, upper case Z)
Zulu
Letter
z (lower case, upper case Z)



