In Aramaic, the suffix ־ָא was originally used as a definite article added to words, much like the Hebrew ה"א (the) to indicate definiteness. For example, מַלְכָּא means "the king," and עָלְמָא means "the world." In Rabbinic literature, many masculine nouns adopted this suffix, such as עסקא (or עיסקא), עובדא, and פיסקא, with ־ָא becoming an inseparable part of these words. Thus, in Aramaic, "עסקא" could mean either "business" or "the business," and "עובדא" could mean "event" or "the event."
A series of Aramaic nouns with the suffix ־ָא entered Hebrew and were perceived as feminine nouns due to the similarity in sound to the feminine Hebrew suffix ־ָה. Examples include סדנא, גרסא, פירכא, מימרא, בעיא, סוגיא, and דוגמא, as well as טבלא and קופסא (originally from Greek). These words are inflected in the singular just like their Hebrew feminine counterparts ending in ־ָה, with the feminine תי"ו (tav) suffix applied: עסקת טיעון (plea bargain), סדנת יצירה (creative workshop), גרסתי (my version), גרסתך (your version), and so on.
Therefore, the Academy of the Hebrew Language decided that these words should be written with ה"א, following the convention for all feminine nouns ending in an "a" sound: עסקה (business), עובדה (fact), פסקה (paragraph), סדנה (workshop), גרסה (version), פרכה (objection), מימרה (saying), בעיה (problem), סוגיה (topic), דוגמה (example), טבלה (table), קופסה (box), רישה (head), סיפה (end). The rule also applies to words that were originally feminine in Aramaic: משכנתה (mortgage), שאילתה (query), אסמכתה (reference).
For pluralization, these words generally follow the Hebrew form: דֻּגְמָה–דֻּגְמוֹת (examples), עִסְקָה–עֲסָקוֹת (businesses), like חֻלְצָה–חֻלְצוֹת (shirts) or שִׂמְלָה–שְׂמָלוֹת (dresses). Additionally, the plural form may use the suffix ־אוֹת, irrespective of the singular form's original ending: דֻּגְמָאוֹת or דֻּגְמוֹת, עִסְקָאוֹת or עֲסָקוֹת, מַשְׁכַּנְתָּאוֹת or מַשְׁכַּנְתּוֹת. Some words only take the ־אוֹת plural form, such as טַבְלָאוֹת (tables) rather than טְבָלוֹת, and סַדְנָאוֹת (workshops) rather than סְדָנוֹת.
Exceptions to the Academy's Guidelines
The Academy's requirement to write with ה"א does not apply to these groups:
1. Proper names, such as cantillation marks (e.g., אתנחתא, מירכא), names of texts (e.g., גמרא, תוספתא), or names of liturgical poems (e.g., קדושתא).
2. Words that are not feminine nouns, such as תנא, בר סמכא, דווקא, גרידא, איפכא מסתברא, בעלמא. However, these may optionally be written with ה"א at the end following Aramaic conventions in Eretz Yisrael.
Note:
Terms like אימא (mother), אבא (father), סבא (grandfather), and סבתא (grandmother) were borrowed directly from Aramaic with the ־ָא suffix, which retains its original function as a definite article. Hence, we rarely say "האימא" (the mother) or "האימא שלו" (his mother). Alongside these terms, which we use to address our parents and grandparents, we also have the Hebrew equivalents אֵם (mother), אָב (father), סָב (grandfather), and סָבָה (grandmother), especially in construct forms like אִמִּי (my mother), אָבִי (my father), סָבִי (my grandfather), and סָבָתִי (my grandmother).
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