The hiragana あ derives from cursive simplification of the kanji 安.

Stroke order

Derived from

The hiragana あ derives from cursive simplification of the kanji 安.

Variations

Scaled-down versions of the kana (ぁ) are used to express sounds foreign to Japanese language, such as ファ (fa).

In Okinawa, a small ぁ is also combined with く (ku) or ふ (fu or hu) can form the digraphs くぁ kwa and ふぁ hwa.