Where does “あ行” come from?

あ行 (Japanese) comes from Japanese 行, from Middle Chinese 行.

あ行 (Japanese): the first row of the 五十音図, consisting of the five kana あ/ア, い/イ, う/ウ, え/エ and お/オ

Definitions

  1. the first row of the 五十音図, consisting of the five kana あ/ア, い/イ, う/ウ, え/エ and お/オ

Ancestry of “あ行”, step by step

あ行 traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.

via Japanese 行

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Japanese行a line of text; a row of a matrix; Abbreviation...
2Middle Chinese行—

via Japanese あ

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Japaneseあexpresses surprise: Ah! Oh!; used to get...
2Japaneseあり有り existing; 蟻 ant
Every word from Middle Chinese 行 →Every word from Japanese 行 →